Talking about money and income can be construed as tacky or at the very least, awkward. Because of this, it’s difficult for a new author to figure out how much money they can expect to make when they sell a book. The subject came up on an authors’ loop I subscribe to. Several authors commented that income from a book can vary tremendously, depending on the genre you write in, where you are in your career, how much promotion you do, and all sorts of other factors. Based on the discussion, one of the authors on the loop–paranormal mystery writer Kerry Blaisdell–decided to put together an anonymous survey to come up with at least a range of income an author could expect.
Kerry recently published the results of the survey and the average income per book per year was $1,378, with a lifetime income per book of $3,138, based on 60 responses. That doesn’t sound terrible, but she did a graph showing responses and from that it’s clear that a couple of outlier authors with very high incomes pushed up the average quite a bit. Without their numbers, the average income is closer to $250 per book per year. The survey included small press, self-published and Kindle Unlimited authors. The numbers for each category weren’t that different, except for the few authors who were making many times more than the average. For most authors, we’re talking hundreds of dollars per book, rather than thousands.
I found this information both reassuring and depressing. On one hand, it makes me feel better about the modest royalty payments I’ve received from the three small presses I’ve been associated with over the past eight years. But then I think about when I was first published in the 1990’s and all the authors I knew were getting advances of $4,000 or more for their first few books and earning significantly more than that from royalties, and I feel very discouraged.
Of course, comparing the writing incomes of the ‘90’s to current ones is comparing apples and oranges. Back then, in my genre, historical romance, there were about twenty-five titles released in any given month and most of them went out of print a few months later. Now any book I publish is competing with every historical romance ever published digitally, which means thousands of books, if not tens of thousands. Nothing ever goes out of print, so the competition just gets tougher and tougher every year.
Of course, there are lots of reasons this income survey could be inaccurate. Many of the authors responding have been published by the same small press. It’s possible authors at other small presses might report higher incomes. I’ve heard of many self-published authors who do very well, so maybe the self-published authors who participated don’t represent the average. Also, because of the way the survey was set up, these authors may actually be getting quite a bit more royalties than they report, but they are investing that money in promotion. (The survey asks about income, meaning profit after expenses.)
Unfortunately, I fear the survey is more accurate than I’d like it to be, and it reveals a stark reality: A lot of us are earning pennies per hour based on the time involved in writing a book. This dynamic didn’t happen all at once. In 2011, I started self-publishing my backlist and a couple of new titles. In the beginning, I did fairly well, making a few thousand dollars a year. But about 2015, my royalties began to decline. Other authors I’ve spoken to say the same thing. The more books that are out there, the more difficult it is to make a reasonable income.
I’ve kept writing, trying different small publishers, telling myself that my lack of sales was my own fault, as I do very little promotion beyond the first month a book comes out. Discovering that my pathetic sales numbers are not an anomaly forces me to readjust my expectations for my writing career even more than I already have. I always tell myself that when I retire and have time to promote, there’s hope my sales might improve. But by the time that happens, there will be even more books out there, so my uphill struggle will be even steeper.
And yet, as I start final revisions on my latest book (AKA The Book From Hell), new story ideas are already floating around in my head. I realize I can’t quite imagine quitting writing completely. It isn’t the hope of someday catching on and making real money that drives me, but something else. A creative urge. A need to imagine worlds I can escape into when real life gets too depressing and stressful, or simply too humdrum. It’s the old line relating writing to addiction: you’d quit if you could.
I’m interested in other authors’ thoughts on this difficult subject. Do you think the results of this survey are realistic? And if so, why do you keep writing?
P.S. The survey is ongoing, so if you are interested in participating or seeing the latest results. The survey itself is here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1nZUTOFqHCGPvz_AlPzM0Rv4J2vZGTf5Lb2p2E5OHrbE/viewform
The results page is here:
https://kerryblaisdell.com/anonymous-indie-small-press-income-survey-results/
Mary,
As usual, interesting. This is like teaching. You’d better love it, because they don’t pay you or praise you.
That is often true. It’s important to find what motivates you and keeps you going…besides money. Thanks for reading, Paulla.
Neat article! I just want to chime in here and point out that nobody has to be defined by “average” if they want more. Forget about the numbers for a moment. Achieving success as a writer works just like achieving success in any other field.
First, define what “success” looks like for you personally. I have some writer friends who define success as finishing their first book. I have others who define success as hitting #1 on the USA Today list. It’s all up to you. You define it based on what you want for yourself.
Second, identify people who are already have that exact level of success you want. Study what they do. Learn everything you can. Ask yourself: What do I need to KNOW in order to be where they are? And what do I need to DO to get there?
Finally, go learn and do those things. And keep learning and doing until you get where you want to be.
That’s it. It’s not easy, but it is simple. And it can be tremendously empowering. Hope that helps!
Good advice of finding what success means to you. My goals have certainly changed over the years. Thanks for reading my post, Laurence.
Great article! I do think it is best to be realistic about what books will likely earn – and be pleasantly surprised should they do better!
Thanks really my goal, to give people a realistic baseline. Thanks, Randi.
I like Laurence’s attitude. Define what success means to you. It is a luxury not everybody has. Some need to make money from their writing or spend much less time doing it, and much of that “hobby” time, so real living-wage money can be made elsewhere. Those of us who aren’t forced to live on author income may be lucky but we also can grow lazy because of it.
Your comment about growing lazy is interesting to me. I think that is true in that we become less driven to succeed. And I suppose you are right. It is a luxury to be able to write with no expectations of making very much money. When I started writing and we were poor and I had young children and a lot of responsibilities, I was fortunate enough to be published and make some money and that made me feel much better about all the time I spent writing. Now I have the luxury as you say, to write for my own satisfaction and joy. Thanks for your comment.
Things haven’t really changed from the last survey I read years ago. And a glutted market doesn’t help. And publishers not helping their authors WHO NEED HELP doesn’t help.
I’ve been writing since I was six years old and I’m 60. Retired. I’m seriously considering going into “hobby status” if my WIP and the one making the rounds don’t take. I’ve been Indie published since 2001. If nothing moves in the next year or so, I’ll most likely pull the plug. I won’t forever stop writing, but I’ll most likely stop seeking to be published, stop going to events, and better enjoy life in retirement that yields more tangible and immediate results. Well, yields *anything*.
Sometimes you just have to pay attention to what Life is showing you, and what it’s showing me is that readers really don’t seem to like what I’m writing–and that’s fine! That being the case, I need to move on to other endeavors I enjoy and stop subjecting my wife to my time at the keyboard; it’s no fun for her, and I’m just not getting anywhere. It would be bittersweet, sure, but I honestly would have no regrets! I’ve done my best! 🙂
But…I’m NOT quite there, yet. Been giving it a lot of thought, especially at tax time. I don’t need the tax grief. We’ll see how this year goes….
Thanks for sharing that bit of info, and I wish you well!
I have certainly been in that place as well. And for the same reasons. I feel like my readers are out there, but in this incredibly crowded market, it’s really difficult to reach them. Thanks for your honesty, F.P.
Great post, Mary! I admire and appreciate the honesty.
I think the more writers know, the more they can make informed decisions. It’s important to be realistic, even as you follow your dreams. Cheers!