Writers' Income

There are several writers' blogs that I read regularly, Canadian science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer's being one of them. Years and years ago, I used to know the standard royalty rates for most major US publishers. I've fallen a little out of touch with that, but after reading a recent post at Sawyer's blog, I've found that they really haven't changed all that much. Here's what he revealed:

1. Hardcover novels: first 5,000 copies, 10% royalty; next 5,000 copies, 12.5% royalty; 15% royalty thereafter.
   
2. Trade paperback (these are larger than the perennially popular mass-market paperbacks): 7.5% royalty.
   
3. Mass-Market paperbacks (for new authors): first 100,000 copies, 6% royalty; 8% royalty thereafter.
   
4. Mass-Market paperbacks (for established authors): first 100,000 copies, 8% royalty; 10% royalty thereafter.

These percentages, Sawyer notes, are based on the publisher's list price of the book. Thus, author Stephenie Meyer, being an established writer, earns $2.60 for each copy of her novel The Host for the first 5,000 copies sold, and $3.25 per copy for the next 5,000 copies sold, and $3.89 for every copy sold after that. This is true (except in certain cases) even when a company such as Amazon sells her novel at $16.49 (a 37% discount).

So that you can do the math on the rest of it, an average price for a trade paperback is in the range of $13.95 to $14.95, and almost all mass-market paperbacks are priced at $7.99 (all these prices being in US Dollars).

Says Sawyer regarding advances for first novels, "First novels from major publisher normally have advances against royalties of $2,500 to $7,500, although there are exceptions; advances go up for later novels, if sales warrant." He continues, "A great many genre-fiction writers stall for their whole careers at a per-book advance level of around $20,000, though; few authors are getting $50,000 or more per book in genre fiction."

Taking this further, based on the figures noted above, a $25.99 novel will earn the novelist $13,000 for the first 5,000 copies, and $16,250 for the next 5,000 copies, for a total earnings of $29,250 for the first 10,000 copies sold. As an "advance" is against royalties, this means that the writer's book will have to sell 961 copies for the publisher to recoup a $2,500 advance, or sell 2,884 copies for the publisher to recoup a $7,500 advance. Not until those thresholds are reached will the novelist earn any more money from his book. The fact that most books, especially first novels, don't earn back their advance should give you an idea of just how few copies a first novel is most likely to sell. It also tells you just how many copies are sold by writers such as Stephen King or John Grisham for them to be able to command seven-figure advances.

Regarding annual earnings, Sawyer wrote . . .

SF author Mike Resnick did a rough-and-ready back-of-an-enveloped calculation some years ago that suggested that of the 1,2000 or so active members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, maybe 100 make $100,000 or more per year. Change that figure to $500,000 or more, and it's probably 25 members.

(But even $100,000 isn't as good as it sounds -- you have to buy your own office equipment, pay your own health and other insurances, get no pension, etc. etc.; a standard yardstick is that you need to make twice as much if you're self-employed as you do as an employee to enjoy the same standard of living and level of security.)

As I recall, professional agent Donald Maas painted a slightly rosier picture of novelists' annual earnings in his 1996 book, The Career Novelist. Said Maas:

First, let's define "rich." I am not talking about obtaining advances in six, seven or eight figures. That is nice, to be sure, but it can be a one-time event. Rather, I am talking about an annual writing income that is in six figures or more.

Why not seven? Sadly, few novelists ever reach that lofty plateau, although some do. The 1995 Forbes top-forty list of the highest-paid entertainers includes four novelists: Stephen King, Michael Crichton, John Grisham, Tom Clancy. (King's estimated annual earnings are $22 million; Clancy's a measly $15 million, poor guy). An income of seven figures happens to a lot of best-sellers one time, but relatively few stay at that level for years.

A sizable group of novelists, though, make it to and stay at a six-figure annual income. (...)

Who achieves this ideal? (...)

(...) genre writers. This point is even more interesting when you realize that none of these authors has ever crossed genres or written a mainstream novel. Genre readers are like gold.

I'm not sure how true that remains today, almost ten years after Maas wrote it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it still holds true. Obviously, writing novels is not the path to riches, especially when the average income for writers hasn't really increased over the past 20 years or so. According to this article, the League of Utah Writers conducted a survey of 234 writers back in 2004. To quote this article:

The writers who participated in the survey wrote in the following [categories]¹: Magazine and newspaper articles (33%), Editing and consulting (11%), Novels and books (32%), Short stories (6%), and Other (18%).

"The average income from writing received over the past 12 months for all writer members who actually reported any writing-related income [is] $5,213.28 ," LUW reported.

In the same vein, if a writer pens short stories, especially if one is a writer of horror, fantasy, or science fiction, the rate of pay isn't much better than it was back in the 1940s or 1950s. Generally speaking, short story writers are still getting paid the same 5¢ per word they were back then.

So, anyone thinking that writing is a quick way to get rich will be sorely disappointed. With these sorts of figures, you had better love writing, or you had better go find a better way to spend your time.
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¹ The author used the word "genre" here, and I take issue with that use of the word, especially in light of my use of it earlier in this blog post. Mystery fiction (whether short stories or novels) is a genre. Legal thriller is a genre. Horror, fantasy, science fiction are all genres. But . . . magazine and newspaper articles is a category, as is novels and books, short stories, etc.