Are there any known numbers (e.g. in the U.S.) how many contemporary writers make a living from selling their books (and related income streams)? A few hundred sought after talents sounds quite impressive, actually. Unless the overall number is hundreds of thousands.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is a sub-division of the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. labor market had 143,200 writers and authors as of May 2021: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/writers-and-authors.htm#tab-6
And, the median annual wage was $69,510. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $38,500, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $133,580: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/writers-and-authors.htm#tab-5
The drawback of using that data is that it doesnât necessarily split out those authors earning just royalties from their work versus writers who are employed at companies for specialized tasks like technical writing or medical writing.
Based anecdotally on the job postings Iâve seen and the freelance positions Iâve worked, the higher salaries being reported are either those bestsellers or the corporate employees.
If you pare out that data and look at a survey like the one done by the Authors Guild, the numbers are abysmal: https://www.authorsguild.org/industry-advocacy/authors-guild-survey-shows-drastic-42-percent-decline-in-authors-earnings-in-last-decade/
They asked 5,067 authors who identified themselves as full-time book authors about their income. That group earned a median income of $20,300, well below the federal poverty line for a family of three or more.
And, self-published writers reported book-related income almost double since 2013, but they were still making income levels remain 58 percent lower than traditionally published authors.
2 Likes
There are several million titles published annually. The number of authors is smaller â many authors (especially successful ones) have multiple titles â but definitely in the hundreds of thousands.
1 Like
James Patterson and his writing partners alone account for 15 or so books a yearâŠ
1 Like
What today is being called anti-racism. It is not just enough to be ânot racistâ â neutrality only allows the system of racism to perpetuate itself. It takes active steps to actively and continually combat racism.
The struggle is realâŠ
3 Likes
From what I read about him, he often works with a partner. He comes up with the plots and he lets the partner do the hard work of hammering out the sentences.
I look forward to when I can do that!
1 Like