READ: A Writer Teaches Writing 

Most writers don't make a living. Like most performers and musicians and visual artists, the massive majority of authors have another job or two on the side. According to Writer's Digest, only 15% of working writers earn $30,000 a year or more. That 15% includes the millionaire best-selling authors like Stephen King and John Grisham. For every JK Rowling, who sold her last Harry Potter book for a reported 75 million British pounds (eight times the annual income of the Queen of England), there are a couple thousand guys like me flattening out the stats.

The average writer's annual income falls closer to $7,000. I've never tracked down the origin of that often-quoted estimate, but it sounds right. A first- time science fiction or mystery writer is considered lucky to get an advance of two to five thousand dollars. I once heard about a writer of westerns who got a $12,000 advance for six page-turners. He burned up the money working, instead, on a "legitimate" but unsuccessful novel. To meet his deadline, the guy's agent had to lock him into a motel room with a coffee pot for six weeks, cranking out one potboiler per week. In one of the westerns, a character shot dead in the first chapter, reappeared unharmed later on, and not even the editor noticed.

Every writer knows a first timer who got a $30,000 book advance right out of the gate. I know one too. At that rate, the author’s paperback had to sell 100,000 copies to break even. It didn’t. When the author pitched his next ideas, the publisher never bothered to return his calls.

Writers starve for the same reason that gamblers lose -- the numbers are against them from the start. The average book sells only a few thousand copies. We're not talking here about the elite cluster of bestsellers you read about in the NY Times. Those volumes are as rare as lottery winners. We're talking here about the average mystery, sci-fi or fantasy, the thriller, the biography, kid's book, cookbook, art book, scholarly work or "literary" fiction.

Most books come from small regional publishers. This is how it works. The author earns roughly a tenth-of what the publisher makes and the publisher takes in about half of the cover price. The book distributor gets a chunk, as much as twice the author's income. The bigger chunk goes to the book seller, minus whatever discounts the bookstore offers in order to compete with chain stores and online sales. I once wrote a small book and was paid $1,500. A single local bookstore owner sold 800 copies of that book, for an income of $8,000. Still, people thought I made a mint on that one. The publisher then reprinted it, sold lots more, and based on the contract I had signed, paid me no additional royalties. That taught me to read contracts more carefully.

A typical $20 regional history book printed in an edition of 2,000 -- if it sells completely out -- nets the author a cool $2,000. Not exactly a windfall for a year's worth of writing. The publisher, who makes the lion's share, seems like the natural enemy, but the publisher takes all the risk. He or she invests in the project and takes the hit if the book falls flat. The publisher pays for the editing and proofing, the book design and printing, the marketing and warehousing of all those copies. It's the publisher who gets kicked around by the distributors and the retailers who, in turn, are competing with the super-discount rates on Amazon.com.

So the publisher, who is struggling to survive, actually manages the writer's life. The author may get an advance that is later deducted from the income. Often the writer gets paid long after the retailer has paid the distributor who eventually pays the publisher. Publisher’s contracts often require that the author give up a host of ancillary rights -- electronic, foreign, film -- and to bend over backwards to attend book signings, interviews and lectures – unpaid, of course. Writers must sometimes pay the publisher for "extras" like book illustrations or an index.

The riskier the book business gets, the more major publishers tend to stick with their cash cows. While advances to bestselling authors have reached dramatic levels, back in small town America, many periodicals pay freelancers the same rate they paid back in the 1970s. Without increasing fees, newspapers are posting freelance work online additionally.

The solution?

I'm still working on that part, but the first step is always just to recognize the problem. Writers need to learn to talk openly about money. Here are a few suggestions for breaking the silence.

Estimate Your Value
Before starting a writing assignment, a writer should estimate how much he or she believes the work is worth. Would a professional bartender spend 40 weeks tending bar for two grand? A lawyer earns that much in two days.

Negotiate
Don’t be afraid to ask for more than you are offered. Everyone else does it, yet writers often fear they will be blackballed on future projects just for questioning the fee.

Say "No" Sometimes
If a project is simply not worth the fee offered, turn it down and find another one. If your work is good, there will be other buyers.

Stick to Your Rights
Unless the writer signs away other uses, the buyer only gets one-time North American rights for the fee paid. Don't let the publisher browbeat you into rights you are not compensated for. Don't let them reprint your stuff without additional payment. Then go out and resell the piece to another noncompeting publication. If you see a piece of yours published without your permission, inform the publisher. Copyright law is on your side.

Specialize
You can write about anything, but to build a writing reputation, get very good in a particular topic or genre. Become the guy they call for writing on this topic, then branch out after you can pay the electric bill.

Find Your Own Patrons
Who stands to benefit from your work being published? Maybe that person or company wants to support your writing. Shakespeare did it, as have many great artists. Journalists can't charge the people they are writing about, but nonfiction and other freelancers can, as long as the sponsorship is out in the open.

Talk Amongst Yourselves
Ask other writers what they earn. Get a feel for what the market is paying others.

Get That Agent
It may seem counterproductive to pay an agent 15% when you are only making 5% of the book value. The agent’s job is to make the pie bigger so that your slice Is worth more.

Market Yourself
Fewer publishers can afford to promote and "brand" their authors. Your new book gets a three-month kick-off and then it is old news.

Think Like a Publisher
What can you do to make more money for the publisher? Package your ideas in ways that are appealing to book and magazine publishers.

Try ODP
If you really want to get a book published more than you want to get paid, print one digitally on-demand. It’s cheap. Pass a few copies around, Try to get it reviewed. You’ll learn a lot.

Make a Business Plan
Professional writing is a business. You can start small and work upwards by having goals, building your reputation, and keeping lots of irons in the fire. Like stocks, some writing projects have a quick return on your investment (your time) and others return income more slowly over a long period.

Copyright © 2005 by J. Dennis Robinson. All rights reserved.