Role of a Publishing Consultant - Anonymous employee Author Solutions Employee Review

AuthorSolutions was a former subsidiary of Random House. In March 2016 the firm was acquired by Najafi Companies. The new ownership promptly cut the hourly pay by $4 per hour. The base pay went from $15.41/hour to $11.41 per hour. The commission plan was recently modified so that reps are poorly compensated. The minimum expectation is $12,000. Publishing Consultants earn 6% from $12,000.00 to $17,999.00 which amounts to $359.94. The employee earns 8.5% on sales $18,000 +. However this is also on the difference. So if an employee sells $25,000 they earn $359.94 on the 6% and $595 total on the$7000 difference between $18,000 and $25,000. This amounts to $954.94 in commission. However if call metrics are not maintained or the sales rep does not sign up at least 20 Author Learning Center subscriptions, commission will be docked as much as 15%.Tenured reps are estimating a $30,000 loss in pay annually. Additionally if an author refunds on the services purchased, the sales consultant is penalized. For example if an author refunds on an $8000 package they automatically forfeit 10% of the purchase price or $800. So while the company is making $800 the sales rep is left essentially left in an $8000 hole they have to climb out of. There are many moving parts to what we do as publishing consultants. Once the author purchases a package they still have to go through production, work with a marketing consultant, and publish their work. There are numerous points where the author may become scared or annoyed with their marketing consultant and decide to refund. Perhaps the biggest concern from a sales perspective is a complete lack of new leads. New leads have been stagnant for months. Without new leads it is difficult to maintain quota on a consistent basis. Management declares mandatory overtime in a scramble to try and hit their number, while the reps are left working extended hours for very little compensation. There is no balance and poor communication with management. The firm is offering incentive to new hires such as $1000 commission for the first 3 months regardless of sales. Don't fall for it. Where is this money coming from and if the firm can afford these types of incentives surely they can afford to compensate their tenured employees.