A British survey has found that indy presses can compete, salary-wise, with large conglomerates. So, why are you still pulling levers in the cubicle matrix, chivato? Ah, I see. And what did you get in return for this “soul” thing of which you speak? Ah, the job. Right. Well, let me know how that works out for you. Will you even notice when you’re switched from your desk to Hell? (I’m kidding people. We all know you’re working there because it shields you from the grinding drudgery and sense of hopeless futility that is independent publishing.) … Well, that’s just about everyone now offended… My work here is done.

Independent publishers offer an average salary which “competes, at the very least” with that earned by staff at conglomerate houses, according to research by the Independent Publishers Guild.

The 2009 Salary Survey found that although rates of pay fluctuated quite widely, the average basic salary for managing directors and proprietors of publishing houses was just under £56,000, before bonuses and benefits.

At director level, the most common pay bracket — earned by more than a third of staff — was more than £60,000. Managers most frequently earned between £25-30,000, with no manager earning less than £15,000. Editors, executives and coordinators tended to earn £20-25,000. Assistants most commonly earned between £15,000 and £20,000.