I've been self-publishing fiction for a couple of years. Many years ago I looked down on self-published works, expecting them to be of low quality. I thought if someone self-published it was just because they weren't good enough to get a "real" publisher.<p>It is true that self-publishing has a lower barrier to entry so there's a lot of crap that gets put out. But even for _really good authors_ who take the work seriously, trad publishing makes little financial sense most of the time. To succeed in self-pub in the most competitive and lucrative genres your book has to be on-par with any traditionally published book. Expectations have risen.<p>And when you're sitting there looking at a trad deal that will make you a few cents at best from every sale and compare that to the 70-100% royalties you can get self-publishing, the trad deal begins to make much less sense. New writers sometimes think a trad deal will pay off in other ways: they won't have to worry about marketing or other business aspects of putting out a book. But that's not even the case anymore - many traditional publishers expect you to market your own work and build your own following. They won't spend marketing resources on most writers they sign.<p>Making a living as an author is hard, and making a living as a traditionally-published author is near-impossible.
One thing that I've found interesting about Iceland is that it is the country with the most authors per capita:<p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24399599" rel="nofollow">https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24399599</a><p><a href="https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/444296-most-published-writers-per-capita" rel="nofollow">https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/444296-mo...</a><p>But of course most of these authors aren't full-time authors whose income comes chiefly from their books. In fact, the Icelandic Prime Minister recently released a novel:
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/28/iceland-pm-releases-novel-reykjavik-katrin-jakobsdottir" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/28/iceland-pm-rel...</a><p>Having a small and sparse population, Icelanders seem to have a tradition of wearing multiple hats rather than sticking with one specialization. When the men's football team made their first World Cup, the head coach wasn't just a football coach, he also happened to be a dentist: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimir_Hallgrímsson" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimir_Hallgrímsson</a><p>It seems like a lot of people lament that more folks can't make it as full-time authors, but I don't really have a problem with that if the demand for their writing isn't there. But if the US were more like Iceland and typical "real" jobs paid a livable wage with reasonable hours, maybe those passionate about writing could still manage to take a shot at it without it being a big deal if their book turned out to be a commercial flop?
It's the same with most creative fields really. The vast majority of people earn very little from their work, and a few really skilled/lucky folks at the top of the field earn a fortune.<p>See also music, art, game design/development, content creation on sites like YouTube and Twitch, blogging, etc.<p>Part of this is simply due to competition; there was stacks of it before the internet got big, and there's probably a thousand times more now the internet has become normalised. The barrier to entry to writing a book or becoming a writer is extremely low in the grand scheme of things (well, if you have the determination/patience to finish), so enough people do that you're spoilt for choice there.<p>Add this to how challenging the marketing/sales side of running a business is by default, and how trying to make a sustainable income as an author or creator is basically being a sole trader/entrepreneur, and well, it's not too surprising that most people don't do particularly well from it.
For most non-fiction authors, far and away the biggest monetary benefit of writing books is indirect, e.g. reputational benefits associated with being a published author on a topic. (Going with a recognized publisher can make more sense in this case.)<p>I did make a few thousand the one time I went with a publisher. I’ve also self-published and didn’t really try to make direct income at all as I had a free downloadable ebook. The only real cut I got was when third parties bought books for me to do book signings.<p>On the other hand I’m pretty sure I’ve made tens of thousands of dollars at least in indirect professional benefits.
I suspect a younger generation of authors coming up now will almost exclusively self publish.<p>In the niches of fantasy I read there are no traditionally published authors any more, they all monetise via patreon, kindle unlimited and audible. From what I've gleaned no traditional publisher can compete with this.<p>I think probably we reach a point where hardbacks become "collectors editions" for successful works only, while paperbacks are print on demand. The vast majority of consumption will be ebook or audible.
Worries me a bit that an established “natural selection” process pivoted towards quick turnaround. Thirty years ago publishing house would decline 99% of the manuscripts, the rest they will heavily edit, print in somewhat large numbers, and extensively promote. Today they accept more stuff, print in small 3,000–5,000 batches, then throw away forever. To me, feels like a young but promising author went from a 1% chance of getting recognized to 10% chance of getting printed and 100% chance of getting forgotten right after.
Been writing tech books now for over a decade, got about 8-10 under the belt depending on if you count 2nd and 3rd editions as new books.<p>Definitely not writing them for the money — that’s about $300 a month usually. Enough to buy a few knick knacks and some meals.<p>It’s more the notoriety of being a “subject matter expert” that counts.<p>I work full time and then put what I learn from the job into the books to share it with the world. No point hanging onto the knowledge and hoarding it all dragon-like.
For people in this thread, I strongly recommend Rob Fitzpatrick's book on how to write a book as a business, "Write Useful Books: A modern approach to designing and refining recommendable nonfiction":<p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Write-Useful-Books-recommendable-nonfiction/dp/1919621601" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Write-Useful-Books-recommendable-nonf...</a><p>Even though I'm not an author I found the advice very useful, it can trivially be applied to building and marketing any product.
It IS near-impossible. I have two books on Amazon (search "Albert Cory") which are actually <i>about our industry</i>, and I've mentioned them here many times. Fortunately I'm retired and don't need the income.<p>One data point for you: I've been taking various angles on my new book, looking for books with that feature, and then finding the agent who represented them. Sounds smart, right? Hasn't worked so far.<p>One fallout of that is, I've been checking these books out of the library (less $$$ commitment there!) and at least starting them. What dreck people read!<p>If the main character isn't solving a murder, connecting with their long-lost lover, fighting terrorists, or engaged in other TV-worthy plots, the book will never make it onto bookshelves. Since I don't have to care about people's lousy taste, I don't.<p>Lastly, the figure of $10K for an audiobook that someone mentioned is way too high, in my experience.
I have a 6 book contract with Podium, my debut was in the top 100 books of 2023 by Kirkus, and I am nowhere near quitting my day job.<p>I've paid attention to the publishing industry for years. Like all of the arts, it's oversaturated and there's a lot of churn.<p>IMO, writers who earn a full-time living as authors fall into three basic categories. They either a) established themselves as blockbuster bestsellers with the Big Five before Amazon democratized the marketplace, circa 2010 and earlier, b) they established themselves as blockbuster bestsellers as early adopters of the Amazon Kindle marketplace, circa 2011 to 2016, or c) they own an advertising agency, are married to someone who owns an advertising agency, they are slick marketing gurus, or they are major social media influencers.<p>There are exceptions. I see interesting innovations in the web serial space, where I play around. I sell advance chapters on Patreon. Some authors do earn a full-time living that way.<p>But in general, yes, it is very tough to be a professional author or an artist or a musician or an indie game developer these days. Everyone wants to be one.<p>I also see cynical authors and artists using AI to 100x their content production so they can nickel and dime their way into top seller spots. The algorithms boost anyone whose works consistently sell and bury everyone else.
Authors apparently earn cents of royalties for every physical book purchased. That seems crazy.<p>I wouldn't mind paying $5 more for a book if >90% of it went to the author.
It's a lot like picking a career as an artist, a musician, or an athlete. A very small percentage makes a lucrative living, and the rest wander in the desert.<p>> unconscionable contracts<p>Self-publishing has never been an easier option than today.<p>> book bans<p>As far as I can tell, these are only for R rated books in schools and libraries. Isn't it the same as R movies? Nobody thinks of R movies as being banned.<p>> action to build a system that properly values the essential contributions of writers<p>They're valued by the free market, i.e. people freely paying what they believe the book is worth to them. I'm curious how the Guild expects to change this. Have government regulations that mandate payment per word? Government subsidy?
Creating is a tough way to make a living. Writing books, writing short stories, music, apps, videos, and the list goes on and on.<p>And while it's never been easier to create - the tools are plentiful and their prices falling - there's never been more noise to claw through and standout from. Add in shorter and shorter attention spans and more creators produce more quantity because they feel they have no choice.<p>On the other hand, look at an artist like Banksy. Enigmatic and drops are randon. When Banksy drops people take notice. Aside from a eye / mind for quality and creativity, I think there might be a lesson in the somewhere.
Anecdotally I have found the amount of books I read has skyrocketed since I got a library card. I used to hesitate at book stores trying to decide if a book was worth $30 and the space on my (already full) book shelf. Now, if I hear about a book that's even remotely interesting, I check it out from the library almost impulsively. If I don't like it, I don't finish it. If I really like it, I buy a copy. The checkout deadlines also provide a nice motivation for me to finish a book.<p>I went from reading less than 5-10 books a year best to reading 40 books in 2023. And the more I read, the more I want to read.<p>I am spoiled, living in NYC, as the NYPL and Brooklyn PL between them have a pretty extensive catalog, and it's rare that they don't have a book I want, even recently published books. There's often a wait list though. It's also easy to get a lot of reading done during my commute on public transit. We still don't get cell service on the MTA between stations, so books are the best form of entertainment.<p>Of course, I suppose if everyone used the library exclusively, writers would make very little money. But I like to think it works out. I bought more books last year than I did before using the library, and attended a few book talks & signings at my local book store.
I'm in the process of releasing my first book, with O'Reilly, this year (<a href="https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/unifying-business-data/9781098144999/" rel="nofollow">https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/unifying-business-...</a>). I didn't do it for the money (but for the recognition), but I'm very interested to know how it will economically fare.
>Lawmakers, publishers, and the public must recognize authors as professionals deserving fair pay and dignity. We urge collective action to build a system that properly values the essential contributions of writers to society. The Authors Guild will continue this fight until the stark income disparities revealed in our survey are remedied by overdue reforms<p>Do these people really think they can come up with an actual solution to these problems?
Incidentally I have, sitting next to me, a freelance publishing contracts manager who works contract rights for Hachette and other big players.<p>Anyway, the problem in the industry, from my point of view (very opinionated):<p>- The market has-not-priced-in-demographics! Still! Blinkered to the aging readership.<p>- False expectation of revival or sustaining market size.<p>- Often the wrong channel/medium. Much non-fiction & fiction simply doesn't need or benefit from traditional publishing houses.<p>- Industry is still in the process of acknowledging (or is hiding the fact) that brands are so dependant on celebrity names. Celebrity authors are bolstering statistics and making it look more lucrative to the average Joe than it really is.<p>- Clinging on to old worldviews on IP, to the detriment of innovation.<p>- Very much haven't got their head around LLM / prior art changes that are forcing us to be less litigious in the coming years.<p>My associate is more conservative than me, and is also far more knowledgeable than me of course.<p>I also note the consolidation of publishers was at full throttle this past decade.
> By far the largest percentage of respondents, 79%, were white, followed by 8% Black, 4% Hispanic, 2% AAPI, and 2% Native American. Twelve percent identified as LGBTQIA+ and 11% identified as disabled, meeting the ADA’s definition. The survey did find that diversity efforts were beginning to bear fruit—Black, AAPI, and Hispanic authorship has increased the most since 2019, and LGBTQIA+ and nonbinary authors were also above average among new authors. Sixty-one percent of respondents were women, 34% men, and 5% nonbinary.<p>What diversity efforts did they do?<p>>The median book-related income for survey respondents in 2022 was up 9% from 2018, adjusted for inflation, with all the increase coming from full-time authors, whose income was up 20%, compared to a 4% decline for part-time authors.<p>Whatever was to increase income worked. The books they talk about are mostly what I'd consider trash I wouldn't read: generic romance novels and fan fiction with changed names. Low ceiling.
I wonder if this will get better as the book market seems to get increasingly fragmented (Booktok, Bookshop.org, the resurgence of bookstores in the U.S. and UK, etc.) and as there is more competition in other mediums like with Spotify now competing with Audible. But it does seem like writing is an extremely hits based business -- some books/authors that publishers sign are absolute home runs and make 99% of the money out of any given cohort of books and the rest likely don't return the cost of the advance and investment from the publisher's side of things. Maybe technology will also increase the potential for author earnings here, if today you have to hire someone to record an audiobook or do a translation, maybe that gets automated away in a few years and you can more easily publish in every format and language potentially reaching a larger audience.
The largest demographic of readers, who have the ability to make or break a book is middle class white women. If you can convince them to read your book, you have made it.
I get that this is the authors guild and activism and lobbying is literally their job, but statements like "survey finds that median book and writing-related income for authors in 2022 was below the poverty level" are meaningless.<p>What makes one an "author" exactly? Publishing a book? I can do that in 5 minutes online with 3 clicks. Does that mean I qualify for the survey? Well, I made $0 from my writing last year, so I guess that means I'm being exploited and the government isn't properly valuing the essential contribution I make to society. I'll expect my weekly check in the mail.<p>It's like saying the average software developer makes below-poverty wages from their work...if you consider everyone in the world with an idea for an app in their head to be a software developer.
Not in response to the article but the general vibes in the comments.<p>Writing a published book and having it out there is a thought that really resonates me. I wonder what I'd write if I had more time to myself, a clear mind, and /if I was a radically different person who wanted to do it/.<p>The thought of having written something, put it out there, and to have someone enjoy it is lovely – I'd be happy writing schlock if it came straight from my heart. But in terms of being the sort of person to sit down every day, concentrate, and slave away at it... That isn't me. Props to people who manage to put anything on a single page, let alone finish a whole book.
Pulp will be almost completely replaced by AI, no doubt, within the next couple years. I don't see how anyone could possibly consider that a viable career path anymore. The people who consume it couldn't care less or notice, and they'll have it tailored precisely to their own tastes based on advertising data collection. It was never about quality, just sheer quantity of the same thing over and over again (but <i>slightly</i> different), which LLMs are phenomenal at. Same goes for pop music and mainstream cinema on a slightly further timescale.
The only easy way to make a living is to sell.<p>Intelectual work like writing, researching, teaching, etc. despite being important, don't have intrinsic appeal such that people naturally and voluntarily put money on it. We are not built like that.<p>This is where institutions like universities, governments, etc. come in.
I've published traditionally and it was a great experience. The publisher (O'Reilly) was great to work with, and the editors made a tremendous, positive difference in the finished work. That was many years ago.<p>Since, I've moved to fiction and self publishing, and that's been hard, but rewarding. It's hard and expensive to build a following on your own with just books and ads.<p>Now I have moved to web serials and subscriptions. I'm convinced this is the best time to be a writer. The hardest part, finding an audience, is as easy as sticking to a publishing schedule and engaging with readers.
A few weeks back one of the VCs now attached to newline co attempted to sell me on becoming dev author through their program.<p>I of course pointed out that as I market upfront I am getting paid via my substack so essentially I solved the problems his startup is still trying to solve.<p>And of course he ghosted me.
I’ve written a book, edited the hell out of it, gotten feedback from friends, etc (I think it’s pretty good!)
and have tried reaching out to literary agents (this is what the trad route recommends). So far about 0/20. Any tips here? I’m located in NYC fwiw.
As someone who was considering creating a graphic novel this year, I'm glad to see I'm in one of the most lucrative categories. Especially since I have no desire to write pulp romance novels.
Tangential, but do any authors apply the same techniques promoted by software developers for honing their craft? e.g. instead of trying to write the next great American novel you focus on writing a lot of short stories and then analyze them for market fit and expand on the ones that have legs?
Another reason for this is the sheer amount of rubbish literature that is being printed, specially in the category of "Young Adult". There are endless streams of psychopath male leads and damsel in distress characters, with predictable story lines and pretentious dialogues.
Being an author is tough, but it's not all bad news. I've made over $2mil over the past 5 years with a self-published book. Certainly not a typical result, but I want to give the authors here some hope.