Now, I’m going to dump some cold water on those of you who think success or best-seller status automatically equal big dollar signs. I have been prolific over the last fifteen years, and have been lucky enough to keep my work in print to the extent that I receive royalty checks for various works each and every month. I’ve also had books turned into film, adapted for comics, and more. I’ve been on CNN, Howard Stern, a documentary on the History Channel, and a trivia question answer on an ABC game show. My readers include rock stars, movie stars, stand-up comedians, professional athletes, a few politicians, a few more porno actresses, and even a daytime soap opera diva. I am one of the most popular horror writers of my generation. I say that not brag or sound arrogant, but to set the stage for what I am about to tell you. I am one of the most popular horror writers of my generation— —and on average, I make between $30,000 and $40,000 per year. Sometimes it’s a little bit more. Sometimes, it’s less. That’s an average.

From here: http://www.briankeene.com/?p=13466

Discuss.

Always striking to see the reality in cold print.

The think that always strikes me about that kind of writer isn't, exactly, how un-amazing the income is - though it sure is un-amazing - but how bloomin' hard you have to work to keep that kind of production up, plus all the associated admin of being freelance, endlessly hustling for work AND for media exposure AND doing your own accounts...

Scary. Shudder. Scarier than his books probably. And yes, wot Emma said, how bloody hard you have to work for that amount... I've just been asked by a group of teens how much a writer makes. I might show them this, give it a big build up and ask them to guess what the figure's going to be...

When I was doing my M.Phil we had a session with a well-established, critically acclaimed writer who had at that stage published about four books – novels and short stories. She told us how much she had made from book sales in the past year.

£400.

Cue collective intake of breath from the whole class. I'm sure we would have guessed ten times that amount, at least.

The thing is, you don't want it to put potential writers off, do you? I mean, it'd be nice to think that it wouldn't, and that anyone who is desperate to write will do so anyway, but in this X Factory world, it's hard for young people in particular to conceive of this kind of hourly rate isn't it? So what's the way forward- stress the joy and diversity of the kinds of things the writer quoted mentions, the life experiences he's had, the people he's met, etc etc...? Would you rather earn a fortune doing a job you might- might- despise and be bored by, or earn considerably less and have fantastic fun? I can imagine this debate among the 14 year olds I was working with yesterday...'How much?!' Mind you, at the moment they'd take anything that looked as if it had future I think...

debate among the 14 year olds

I imagine, to that age group, a 30000 salary sounds like a _lot_. It is only when you start thinking about mortgages and taxes and bringing up a family (or a horse ) that money becomes an issue.
G

I think I've mentioned this before but a few years back Mary Hoffman conducted a survey of earnings amongst members of the Scattered Authors' Society - about 250 published children's authors. I was at the gathering when she read out the results and a rather downbeat atmosphere it was they produced. I don't remember the exact figures but there were only two members who'd each earned about 60K in the previous year; after that the figures dropped dramatically with the vast majority not earning anywhere near the national average wage; many earning next to nothing. Mary released the figures to the press the same day as the new Harry Potter book came out, no doubt trying to stem the most often asked question of children's authors on school visits: "Do you make as much as J K Rowling?"

Against this, when I did a workshop in Oregon, Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch assured us that a lot more authors than is imagined make a very good living from writing. I suspect they were referring to authors who write and publish a lot of mainly commercial fiction, but I wouldn't doubt their sources.

All in all, it's perhaps surprising that such little hard evidence seems to be available. Or maybe not!

debate among the 14 year olds I imagine, to that age group, a 30000 salary sounds like a _lot_.

I think you can only convey it by saying, "That's £19-25,000 a year - which is about as much as a ... whatever, earns."

Alternatively, you hold up a copy of one of your books, and say, "This costs £7.99 - how much do you think I make for each copy if you buy it at full price in a bookshop... and for £5.27 on Amazon?"

I don't think it will put the teenagers off. If you love to write, you will write. But it might make them think about how they are going to fund their writing. Get a well paid, stressful/ high responsibility job, retire early and write then? Get a less well paid job that is low stress/ responsibility, and write in every second you have off? Go on the dole? Move to Denmark?
I think it's a little counter-productve that all the funding and energy goes into encouraging young people into the arts. What are they supposed to do once they're there? There are only so many workshops a school can buy...

That's a bit of a blow. Does that mean I should think again about the beach house in the Bahamas? And there was me thinking that at last I'd found a way of making money by doing what I actually liked doing. Typical. Life is so cruel.

I should think again about the beach house in the Bahamas?

Have you considered Bognor?

With regards to the effect this news will have on teenagers -I'm not worrying! I think most novelists write there first paying books when they are all 'grown up' and earning a living doing something else already anyway.

I remember hearing the guy who wrote the James Herriot books once say that his books had not earned him much money - however once they ended up on TV, the money started to roll in. I think anyone motivated by money will alway have this dream senario to keep them writing.

Nick

I can well believe that's true of Herriot. It's the sheer number of books that addes up to an income - although, see abaove, even then it's not huge.

Those of us who are bad at finding a way to write the same sort of book and in large numbers will just have to settle for renting a hut on Margate beach...

Have you considered Bognor?

Hmmm, tempting. I'm sure the Bahamas would be too hot anyway, too much sun, too many white sandy beaches, who really wants that kind of stuff anyway? *sob*

That whole quote reads like hokum to me.

One of the most popular horror writers of his generation? - maybe, but only if he was popular say in the 1950's and is just about struggling to stay in print now, I suppose that would make sense.

If you're one of the most popular horror writers of your generation (now) then you're Stephen King or Neil Gaiman and you are not poor. Very , very far from it. Even mid-ranking, prolific genre writers do well financially.

Perhaps what this guy means is that he was one of the most popular horror writers of his generation and he just didn't look after the pennies very well...

Just one view...