13/02/2021
Is it true that there's little to no money in writing fiction?
Writing fiction pays nothing. Publishing fiction is compensated, however, in direct proportion to the paying readership and the financial arrangements between writers and publishers or disseminators of their work. A bad deal means somebody is making more money from the fiction than the writer. A good deal with a respectable publisher means that the writer will receive what has come to be regarded as a fair portion of earnings, based on the writer's contribution to the sales of the book.
The writer, of course, created 100% of the story and the language in which it was told. But the publisher took a large financial risk in printing it on paper, putting decorated covers on it, and marketing and shipping it to bookstores. Any writer who has self-published knows that this is an extremely valuable service.
The publisher, print or ebook, also usually offers editing and proofreading services, which, when done well, help the writer communicate more effectively with the readers.
Above all, the publisher contributes its own reputation, certifying that this book met their standards of acceptable quality. Self-publishing by definition suggests that all the reputable publishers declined to offer that seal of approval.
Amazon, which has no standards, substitutes, in its ebook originals, the ratings of readers, so the more pleasurable or valuable books can create a groundswell of support. Thus, with a minuscule investment of time and money by Amazon, they can keep large profits for themselves while giving authors a higher percentage of the purchase price for each copy sold, and if, by their own efforts, Amazon authors can up the visibility, readership, and Likes for their own titles, they will be rewarded.
I have known authors whose initial success self-publishing on Amazon allowed them to quit their day jobs and live from writing alone. Some, eschewing the uncertainty and oscillations of a sales-based income, have gone back to a day job and treated ebook sales as a happy supplement. Others used Amazon sales as a jumping-off point for publication of later books, with print publishers paying advances (based on proven past sales) of much more than the $3000 to $5000 starting advances newcomers are likely to be offered,
Fabulous financial earnings do occur. Any book that sits on the bestseller lists for a year has paid off the author’s mortgage and, if applicable, that of the author's parents and children. If the book is in the top 5 for a year, the author may buy a small island in Belize or Tahiti.
But most of us get by with a very hand to mouth existence. It can take years for your books to earn out their advances and start paying you royalties every six months; some of your early work may never earn out. Your books may never hit a major bestseller list. If you're lucky, word of mouth will keep at least one of your books in print for many years, providing you with a steady, modest income.
But then your work may fall out of vogue, and a wise writer will see the downward trend in sales and prepare to return to the salaried workforce. It is always a possibility. And if you don't keep publishing new work, sales of your backlist will languish or simply fade away completely. Dying is also a bad career move. Even if there's a brief flurry of sales while your body settles in to its new resting place, don't count on your spouse or children being able to live on your continuing royalties.
If you have phenomenal success and invest your money wisely, you can retire and live on interest and earnings, writing when and whatever you please. Otherwise, you can only count on selling what your publisher and your public expect from you. True artistic independence is an elusive thing. To obtain it, you must learn to live on far less than you make and have solid savings and investments.
How many writers can expect to live from their writing? None. Many can hope, and many succeed in making a little money. Only a small percentage break through to anything approaching a steady middle class income. And that’s if you're writing in fluent English. Other languages have markedly smaller audiences, and only a few break out in English translation.
The prospects for a writer are not as bleak as those for, say, a college athlete. The total number of NBA or NFL players is known and finite, and careers range from short to already over. Writers, however, can succeed without having to wait for a current writer to die or retire. If more good books appear in one year than another, they can all succeed quite handsomely. Readers simply buy more books when there are more good books to buy. Harry Potter sales didn't cause any other author to lose a single sale. So writers can have some hope of finding a large audience no matter how many other books do well at the same time
