secretly evil - Editorial Sourcebooks Employee Review

1.0
May 17, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

the first month or so you think you won the lottery...

Cons

...but then reality hits quick and hard. Publisher and many others in management need constant ego boosts and think they are god's gift to publishing. Half of your time working there will be spent in long company meetings that seem to be created to do this ego boosting of Dominique (publisher). A lot of your time will also be spent in fake "Connect" meetings so you and your coworkers can act like you are connected but no one can really talk to each other for real because it's basically a cult and everyone must seem super happy and filled with growth mindset and gratitude that you have been chosen to work for the magical Sourcebooks. It's all super fake and lame though and you'll do it for the lowest pay you've seen in decades. My experience there was like scoring a date with Jason Momoa only to find out he's got a micro d*#$. Something like that. Oh, and don't ever get sick or need time off...they'll really hate you for that but act like they really care about the team. Fake, fake, fake. Midwest losers making mediocre books. Find a cooler publisher.

Explore other reviews about Sourcebooks

5.0
Jun 20, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Incredible managers, great team, genuine openness to growth and learning, meaningful work

Cons

None to speak of at this moment

1.0
Apr 20, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

In hindsight, I'm not sure if there were any apart from some friendly coworkers.

Cons

I infuriatingly see promotions handed out left and right via LinkedIn, but just know that actually being someone to get to that level means literally grovelling and being lucky enough to be in the good graces of the egotistical CEO. Upper management brown-noses her as their main job, and they will prevent you from any upward mobility if you're not one of her favorites (which seems to be picked based on how much you kiss up to her, and if you keep your own opinions to yourself, and other factors entirely unrelated to your actual performance). Absolutely criminally high monthly healthcare premiums, paired with insanely high deductibles, bare-minimum PTO, and mat leave. HR is a joke and not one HR employee seems to last very long. Salaries are abysmal, even by publishing standards. Most books acquired are bottom-of-the-barrel since they don't pay most of their authors much, and they have to be edited within an inch of their lives to be readable and marketable. I left the industry after this company and have never been happier.

2
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