Tags
author income, Authors Guild, Jane Friedman, professional writing, Publishers Marketplace, Quora
Of all the learned professions, literature is the most poorly paid.
—Dr. Edward Eggleston, 1890
Lately, I have taken to answer publishing-related questions on Quora. Yesterday, I came across someone who asked, What percentage of novelists earn a living wage (i.e. $40,000-$50,000 a year)?
After a little research, I came across some data that I think will be of interest to you, so I’m sharing here my response.
What Percentage of Novelists Earn a Living Wage?
Writing is typically a poorly paid profession—or so most people think. However, just how poorly paid it is, is a matter of some debate. Last year, the Authors Guild released an income survey with the usual “crisis” headline. However, a large number of respondents reported little or no income. Once you filter out these people, the numbers are quite different.
As Publishers Marketplace explains, the median income for full-time published authors, once you remove the people reporting nothing at all, was $20,857.
In fact, despite the Authors Guild study conclusions, full-time authors saw their median income rise 13 percent since 2013, and romance/romantic suspense authors also saw gains.
For the 63 percent of authors who reported receiving book-related income in 2017, the average total income was $43,247 (which, again, paints a very different picture than the Authors Guild headline of $6,080).
And three-sevenths of full-time authors with any earnings were making over $50,000 (source: Author Income Surveys Are Misleading and Flawed—And Focus on the Wrong Message for Writers | Jane Friedman)
So, with apologies to George Orwell, you can make money out of publishing even if you don’t marry the publisher’s daughter.
However, I should stress that full-time authors are usually those who have been at it for years, if not decades. So, if you’re asking whether a newcomer can make that kind of money in, say, a year, my answer would be, it’s highly unlikely.
Nicholas C. Rossis 
Thanks for the research and good advice, Nicholas.
Anyone expecting to make a fortune from their first Kindle book should take heed. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Outliers exist, but they’re just that: outliers. Thank you, Pete 🙂
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I’m a little confused. Why filter out those who reported to little or no income? Getting rid of them sounds like it skews the numbers.
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That’s exactly what I was going to say, Charles.
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Yeah. As someone who falls into that category, I feel a little insulted here. Almost like it says ‘Do NOT look over there!’ while pointing directly at me.
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I *know* you don’t fall in that category: I’ve bought all of y our books 🙂
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Except that was long ago. I get very little income from the books. Not even enough to cover my cellphone bill like I could about 3 years ago.
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I know how hard it’s been these last few years for you and how you’ve started a new career in teaching. I wonder if the two are related. Maybe you would classify yourself as a full-time author until last year, while now you’re a part-time one?
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The sales were dropping fast prior to the teaching job. The promotion sites I used were very clogged and blog traffic slowed down overall. Noticed a lot of authors stopped promoting others too and just stayed in their corners, so that community boost only remained if you joined an author group. Those tended to require a lot of time and attention from members, which I didn’t have. I’ve seen nothing from Twitter, Facebook’s algorithm is a nightmare unless you pay money, and nothing has really shown up to fill the void. Things simply weren’t working out and I’d say it started in 2015-2016. That’s when I saw that my new releases weren’t landing with the same impact regardless of what I did.
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“Those tended to require a lot of time and attention from members, which I didn’t have.”
Therein lies the rub… We need so much marketing time, it’s just crazy. But you won’t get far without it (or a big budget).
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I think the budget is more important than the time these days. Keep in mind that while I didn’t join the groups, I was doing a lot on social media during the early parts of the dip. All the retweeting and reblogging hit nowhere. I was getting fewer and fewer new release volunteers since many jumped into the groups and rarely strayed out of them. I became this bizarre outsider and that didn’t help with my confidence.
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Well, you can always count on me for a volunteer promo 🙂
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Thanks.
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Me too.
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lol – me too.
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As I explained, it focuses on professionals rather than anyone who has published a book, then forgot all about it.
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By filtering out those with no income, you filter out anyone not doing this professionally. Arguably, what skews the numbers is adding those who have just published one book and didn’t bother with promotion.
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How do you know they don’t bother with promotion? These days, there are many who can’t afford effective promotions. This forces them to find another job, so they have even less time to be a professional author. I’ve been watching a lot of people drop out because their efforts aren’t gaining enough returns to make it viable for survival.
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Me too. In one sense, I’m one of them, as I write for clients rather than my fiction. As a rule, though, if you advertise, you make money, no matter how small your profit may be.
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I don’t think that rule stands anymore. Last year, and already this year, I’ve put a little money into promoting some of my books. A few social media blasts and blogging stuff. The sales don’t move during those periods. Any time I’ve had a surge in sales for the last 2 years, I’ve done nothing to create it. None of my actions have matched up with the blips, which is leaves me with no real plan.
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That’s so weird… I, too, have noticed a similar thing but at a much smaller scale.
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When you’re not getting much to begin with, the slight drop is equivalent to an unexpected cliff dive . . . onto asphalt.
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By the way, have you tried free days? There’s usually a small uptick in sales after running one (albeit much smaller than it used to be).
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I’m thinking of doing that for Loyalty when I have my next break. My first book is permanently free on Amazon.com, but that doesn’t seem to be as useful as it once was. I’ve heard many people say they just grab a freebie with no intention of reading or moving on to the next. Still, Loyalty being free when I release Eradication might do something.
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Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
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In 1983, I was commissioned (a fluke…) to write a factual book by Kogan Page Ltd., of London. Subject “How to run a small hotel”. (We had just sold ours…) I received a cheque on delivery of the m/s and another once it was published, then regular royalties for a few years. I attended a publishing party, and appreciated that the book, which was modest in my estimation, went to a second reprint. I was then asked to write a second book on “Jobs in Baking & Confectionery” and was offered a lump sum or royalties. I foolishly accepted a lump sum…There was then a break in my output, although I ran a poetry group and won a few prizes for poetry. Fast forward to retirement in Spain and the year 2,000 when I won a big short story competition and that restarted by so-called writing career…Trouble is I am not technically minded…and, although my memoir MY GENTLE WAR went to No.1 in the social history and memoir category for a while on Kindle, I made little money. I have written five more books since then and had them published (one with a friend) and can just about afford a weekend in Benidorm (ugh…) Nevertheless, money apart, I have had the greatest pleasure from writing and just love words…Of late, I have received huge boosts from fellow writers and applaud the camaraderie which exists (usually…) on line. People like Sally Cronin (Smorgasbord), Debby Kaye, Esme Salon, Robbie Cheadle, et al, are priceless. Cheers.
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Thank you so much for sharing your experience, Joy! As you point out, there are many different (and strange) paths into writing and not all benefits are monetary 🙂
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I imagine it’s becoming more difficult with each passing year, as more & more new authors join the ranks of those already struggling to earn. Still, quality of life is also important: if writing is what gives you pleasure, you will find a way to do it! Cheers, Jon.
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That’s so true, Jon. It’s always been a game of perseverance, as far as making money out of it is concerned.
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I am so thrilled that if I stick with this writing thing for decades, I may make a living. In the meantime I’ll just enjoy myself. Thanks, Nicholas.
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Lol–well said, John 🙂
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Thanks, Nicholas.
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Written Word Media–the people who run Freebooksy and Bargain Booksy–did a survey of the authors who advertise with them. They came up with some very interesting numbers and stats on things like hours spent writing in a week for people who earn more or less money. Here’s a link: https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/2019-author-survey-bonus-statistics/
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Many thanks for sharing that, Linda! I was going to add that in a future post 🙂
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Reblogged this on Pamela D. Beverly.
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Pingback: What Percentage of Novelists Earn a Living Wage? — Nicholas C. Rossis | When Angels Fly
I’m sticking to my own convictions. But, I agree… Writers are poorly paid. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Plaisted Publishing House and commented:
One question. Was this Traditionally Published Author, Independent or a mixture of both?
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And this is why I keep my day job. 🙂 Interesting!
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I know the feeling 🙂
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Very interesting information. Its really a shame giving brainworkers (exepted trouble makers like lawyers. ;-)) not enough income to inspire the world. Michael
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That’s very true, Michael! I still don’t get how people are happy to pay $4 for a coffee that takes all of one minute to make, but expect books to be 99c…
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With my income of *mumble* I would be among those eliminated from the study. That is why I’ve turned away from $$$ and units sold as the measure of my artistic merit.
So, I work a day job while writing. I finish the projects I start. I self-publish them. That is how I define my own success.
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It sounds like a great way to measure your success, Deby. Thank you for sharing your experience 🙂
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Like some others that commented on this post, I don’t know why one would brush aside those that reported no income. Without poor people, we would all average about upper-middle-class or higher.
I’m aware of the fact that writing might not be as glamorous for everyone as one might think. Often times it feels like we volunteer our services by writing and not charging for it (or charging much less than expected).
That’s why I still have my day job. But I still dream of becoming a full-time writer at some point.
One way or another, I plan on writing.
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The point is to separate those who write professionally from those who only do it as a hobby, Sam. It doesn’t reflect on the quality of writing and it’s not intended as a measure of success.
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How do you distinguish between writing “professionally” vs. “as a hobby?”
No, it definitely doesn’t reflect the quality of writing. Success on the other hand… I wouldn’t be so sure.
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Shall we say, full-time vs. part-time?
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While I see why you’d think that, I disagree.
From my observation it seems that people start out with a “hobby.” They like to write. For some people, that “hobby” might never leave their night stand. It will never see the light of day. However, for some, that hobby becomes something more. That’s when people start doing it “part-time.” I don’t think that makes their writing not “professional.” They simply have bills to pay and are being realistic. Only when they go big by some divine luck, they might to decide to go “full-time.” Does that mean that suddenly they decided to make a conscious decision to write “professionally?” No. It just means that they got a break.
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That makes sense. But the point of the survey was to examine how much authors make. Both approaches are valid, in a sense. It depends on which subgroup you wish to focus on.
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Reblogged this on Where Genres Collide Traci Kenworth YA Author & Book Blogger and commented:
This is great news, Nicholas!
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Very interesting, Nicholas. I agree that writing is something you have to keep working at and is unlikely to make money until you are more established.
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That’s very true, Roberta!
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Pingback: Week In Review – Joan Hall
It’s a tough business. You’ve either got to love it or don’t do it. While it would be awesome to make some decent money writing, the odds are against it. Thanks, Nicholas!
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Couldn’t agree more, Jan! It’s a tough job and you got to love it to persevere.
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Reblogged this on Kim's Musings.
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