Is it true that writing as a job is a one-way ticket to the poorhouse? How much do published authors make, anyway?Okay, assume I'm an average chicklit writer (this ensures my books actually sell) and I release a book every three years, and each book sells 10k physical copies and 20k digital copies. How much money would I make?What if I take writing seriously™ and I only sell like 2k copies of my magnum opus? I make at least $20k, right?
>>24740972>chicklitSee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=mZ9DOLw-BtQYou don’t even have to listen to her. The first five minutes are her shilling her patreon. That’s all you need to know.Here’s another take from a different perspective:https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=7eyDhdjHsWg
>>24740972For most authors, book sales are a small portion of your earnings and in the short term you can only count on what ever your advance is. I have made $10k in a year just in stupid little interviews, readings at book stores, a few short stories and other random little nickle and dime sort of things, add onto that an advance for your next novel and royalties from previous novels and it starts adding up. Throw in the occasional grant and you are doing pretty well. I mostly live off of my writing and live comfortably enough, I moved somewhere with a cheap cost of living so I don't have to worry about making 6 figures a year just to get by and 30k is plenty, 20k perfectly doable, and 10k manageable. I know nothing about chicklit or what they make.
>>24740972>one book every three yearsNot enough to stay relevant. You should be releasing three per year AT MINIMUM. The truly successful ones have dozens already out. You're not even going to get noticed at your pace.
I self-published on Amazon. I haven't made back my costs yet. I work a regular 10-7 sales job and still don't have enough for rent.
>>24740972Pro tip from a published author: live somewhere cheap, preferably in the country and get a steady but undemanding job.
>>24741420YOu mean they pay you to do the interviews?
You’re aiming for a highly competitive genre that is more contingent on marketing skills and social media manipulation than the actual quality of the writing. So unless you already have an online following that is geared toward that sort of thing, you’ll probably sink, not swim. You will probably spend an inordinate amount of time and money designing a suitable cover, and even then you probably won’t sell enough books to cover those costs.>but AI covers thoPeople can sniff that out instantly. And no one wants to take aesthetic social media photos with an AI cover book.
>>24741449>You will probably spend an inordinate amount of time and money designing a suitable cover, and even then you probably won’t sell enough books to cover those costs.Literally me >>24741423
>>24741443Sure, even many who do not offer money for interviews will pay if you just ask, might only get $25 or $50 but that is decent pay for a 15 or 20 minute interview and it all adds up. Even the free interviews get you something, good chunk of my sales happen the week after I do an interview.
>>24741488Where do you do interviews at and how do you set them up?
>>24741449Wht are some good resources for designing book covers?
>>24741560My agent sets them up with college/public radio, those free arts and entertainment papers most every city has, occasionally public/public access tv, etc, pretty much what ever my agents thinks is good for the city in question. Majority of these are just advertising for my doing a reading at some bookstore and have little to do with literature because I am nowhere near big enough for anyone to care about what I have to say about literature. The interviews with the arts and entertainment papers generally are more lit but still fluff, the rest tend to be a few questions that are only meant to reinforce that I am indeed an author with a new book and then they ask me about what I am going to do in their city during my stay, the weather, etc, banter ensues. Its fun. I don't think I have ever been interviewed by someone who has actually read anything I ever wrote, just the few page summary my agent sends them with a free copy of my book. The summary really just being thinly veiled questions and answers so the interviewer can sound like they actually read it on the slim chance they are actually going to ask me questions about my writing.>our next guest is Anon, he has just released his new novel My Diary, Desu. >so Anon, you are an author?>that is correct.>and you wrote My Diary, Desu?>I did.>its a great book>thank you.>and you will be doing a reading at BookStore tonight>I will>I get my haircut across the street from there>is this a subtle hint about my hair?>(laughs), not at all, I quite like you haircut.>thank you>5 minutes later>I would like to thank Anon for his time and his great novel, My Diary, Desu, he will being doing a reading at BookStore tonight, you should go.
>>24741719Do they ask you personal questions? Like embarassing stuff? That's what makes me nervous.
>>24740972cute poss
>>24741719neat, thanks>>24741579I would suggest paying someone
For a career, my father wrote pop-psy crossed with self-help. The pay was workable, but not good, I think. (I was young and have never been interested in either his writing or finances, but I still think this could be a useful perspective.) He had had a TV-series or two (of his own) and began appearing in the news for "analysis" and on celeb shows and such. After that took off, it was decent, or probably actually good. Real-wage-tier, but relied a fair amount on his HR wife for their upper-middle-class living and lifestyle. He wrote some fiction. It flopped, as I understand it. Was nada. He then got to partner with a true best-selling slop author, and that collab brought in real money. Beyond "made it", like. He continued writing fiction, and as I understand it, that's basically back at semi-flopping whatever, though with near-guaranteed publishing deals.What I'm saying is: You can write in a genre and style optimized for sales and public appeal. You can build a personality and become a third-tier national celebrity, of the kind that's invited to highly watched TV programs. You can become a known personality with an ouvre. You'll still scrape the gutters for entry-level cash without some connection to fix it for you. And he was lucky, real lucky, to even get to that entry-level point, even as the networker he was. Extremely lucky. And, well, I don't want to talk ill of family or risk exposing me/him or anything, but he has what might be called professional assets and strengths, both inherent and acquired that you don't and (hopefully) won't have.I don't know about the numbers you give. But you'll fail, almost assuredly. The only route is the cliche one -- write if you want. If you get lucky and you can, then sure, exploit your writing for profit, but assume that's not happening.
>>24743787I was going to write more about the early period but chose not to for brevity (and interest), but I see that makes the story sound hopeful. So I'll only add that the first decade+ (maybe two decades) was a complete grind for him, an absolute hustle, taking every related gig, which estranged him from all family. And that was with another job, which now that I think about it he told me was what actually brought in the money. So disregard the workable/good wages I mentioned, that was for other stuff. Writing is FUCKED as work, don't do it. Or I don't know your life, maybe you inherited a renovated farm and you can live off of a dozen furry erotica patrons.
>>24741420Honestly why not just get a part time job at this point? You'll probably make more and you'll still have plenty of time to write.
>>24741719So if you travel to do these, wouldn't that cost more than what you earn for one?
>>24743805I"m just going to kms
>>24743805Nobody will hire me
One of the authors I follow on Xitter has tens of thousands of followers and the top awards in her genre. She *bragged* about making $20k from her work one year. So bear that in mind.
$1-2 in royalties per sale is pretty standard. On Amazon maybe a bit more, but they take out a decent slice these days.
>>24744089I think Amazon takes like 65% of your profits (if you're exclusive to them) if yo don't, they take 80% or something like that.
>>24740972I write literary fiction in a small european country, I'm 33 and I published two novels - first was well received and second won a national award. Both got significant recognition by critics and one was praised by one of the best living writers I know. In terms of money, none of this mattered in the slightest. Cultural work of any kind is awarded with the financial equivalent of candies - when it is at all. Advancement on writing contracts will pay one/two rents at best. Cultural articles (reviews, discussions, etc.) are paid below 100 euros. Public readings, presentations, participation to events is all not paid and unless you publish with one of the big three publishing houses, you may have to pay for transport and accomodation. The only people who have access to cultural work and can continue doing past their 30s all belong to the same social class, which has made cultural discourse stale and redundant: sentimental stories of people going to each other's houses, people on holidays, people with dubious jobs etc. not a hint of poverty, precariousness and the current state of the world if not for vague themes (ecology, war) of which these people read only in newspapers, and about which they write to calm their anxiety. They almost all know each other, go to dinner or on holiday at each other's houses, assign awards to each other by being jurors in this or that committee, etc. "Making it" in the cultural field doesn't mean to be a good author, but to use your book as a boardspring to get a job somewhere else: in radio, television, in some newspaper, in one or more publishing houses, etc.Millennials especially at the moment are having this weird experience where they publish one or two novels and then disappear entirely from the scene because they cannnot stay afloat financially. Thank god for social security and unemployment checks or I'd be on the street already.
>>24740972There's a massive supply of writers and the demand is slim, do the math.
>>24744096>I write literary fiction in a small european country, I'm 33 and I published two novels - first was well received and second won a national award. Both got significant recognition by critics and one was praised by one of the best living writers I know.Congratulations anon. How did you do it
>>24743021Not really, most of these interviews are pretty much what I outlined above, banter. A tiny fraction of a percent of the audience cares and they just care in that general way of, oh I like that book store, maybe I will go to that reading, and that one person who has actually read something I wrote and while not exactly a fan it is a chance for them to go ask that question that has been nagging them about what they read. So for most of these interviews my job is to be entertaining the general audience. Those free arts and entertainment papers are really the only time there is any real discussion on literature but it is not exactly hard hitting stuff. I just am not big enough yet. >>24743805Not everyone is broke and living month to month. I did my time, saved everything I could and arranged my life so I don't have to work. >>24743833I am not traveling across the country to do a $25 interview, majority of these are part of a tour after new book and even then it is not like I am going nation wide. Generally I will have a few interviews in any given city and make a bunch of sales at the reading. My publisher also pitches in on costs and their being an imprint of one of the major publishers they get to exploit various deals they have with hotels for cheap rates. >>24744096Things sound tough for the aspiring writer where you are, way more difficult than in the US despite not have much in the way of social security or unemployment (at least when it comes to the aspiring novelist). Keep at it.
