Extract from Chapter 2: Are they likely to get it?

From time to time, various authors’ groups carry out surveys of their members’ earnings. Successive surveys by the Society of Authors show that there is always a big gap between the ‘golden nucleus of high earners’ and the majority of authors. Most authors receive ‘little more than a token income from their work.’

The UK Society of Authors survey published in June 2000 showed that 75% of its 7,000 members earned less than the national average wage.

A similar enquiry into writers’ incomes was carried out in the USA by the Authors Guild. The Guild’s conclusion was that ‘most book authors can’t begin to make ends meet from their writing alone.’

A quarter of the writers who responded to the Guild survey reported that they earned sums which can only be described as small change. Not surprisingly, only 5% of the respondents were able to write full-time; the rest depended on other jobs, such as teaching or journalism.

Not even winning a prestigious literary prize does much for your income. The Authors Guild found that 40% of award winners still earned less than a living wage.

Other reports also confirm that a high literary reputation does not generate sales. For example, The Prince by Richard Koster was acclaimed by Life magazine as ‘perhaps the most extraordinary first novel ever written by an American.’ It sold only 3,000 copies, and 900 of those were bought by the author.

The Hollywood Writers Guild once asked for details of its members’ income and found that two thirds of them were making less than $1,000 a year. In fact, the top five executives in Hollywood earned more, in total, than the whole 9,000 members of the Writers Guild put together.  Still feel like writing for the movies?


Next extract.