From Skyhorse Publishing Employee (Current Employee) — Rating 4.0 out of 5 — Tue, 25 Aug 2015
Pros
*Interesting variety of books published. You will not find a list like this anywhere else.
*Nice office that has recently expanded to include an extra floor. Will be much more comfortable and roomy once the move is complete.
*Good processes that include a final check where everyone signs off on the finished product. This type of final check doesn't happen at many publishers where acquiring editors can be more hands off, and it really shows the company's mission of producing the best quality books in the shortest amount of time.
*Decent location that is close to the subway, LIRR, and Metro-North.
*On most days a very professional atmosphere. Yes, people do sometimes get stressed out and overreact about things. This is normal in any publishing environment, especially trade publishing.
*An extremely competent level of middle management. Everyone has extensive publishing experience that they rely on every single day to do their jobs and lead the group.
*A very hard-working group of people work here who care about the books being published and the overall quality of the finished product.
**Skyhorse is a publishing company. You will need to be flexible and determined to succeed here or at any publishing house. Give the company a chance, keep an open mind, and reserve passing judgment on the company until you've been here a little while. Many of the negative reviews seem to have been written by disgruntled people intent on creating drama. Some things are possibly true but most of the complaints are obviously exaggerated and wrong.**
Cons
*Sometimes unclear expectations or unexpected last minute change of plans.
*Tight and occasionally competing deadlines, not always explained or understood which projects take priority over others.
*Heavy workload.
*Slightly longer than average hours (M-F 9:00 to 5:30 instead of M-F 9:00 to 5:00).
Advice to Senior Management
The company is definitely improving. You have been making a lot of changes and they are appreciated. I would suggest changing the hours to 9:00 to 5:00. People who are focused on their jobs will stay late anyway to get their work done. No need to force it and sometimes leaving at 5:00 would be a real treat for many people. I have heard that salaries are below the market average. This is okay for a smaller publishing company but I would suggest raising up some of the people who are making less than $35k. You will keep more people and not lose them when they find out they could be making more elsewhere. Benefits have been getting better and the communication about benefits has been greatly improved in recent months. As far as I know there is still no 401K option and this would be the next thing to add. If people know you are investing in their retirement plans by matching contributions that would go a long way in raising company morale. A little flexibility regarding work-from-home options and other remote arrangements would be appreciated as well.