A question for published authors...

I'm not published; but I believe the average wage of a writer is below minimum wage. In a perfect world I would love to be a full time writer; realistically I'll probably be doing academic work too.

In general terms -- no. The only writers I come across who don't have a day job, generally have a husband who supports them and covers them under his work insurance, etc.

Oh, a few writers do manage it. Piers Anthony. Bob Mayers. Those are the only two I've met who've made the claim.

Marie

I'm not a published writer, but through my work in bookstores I met a handful of regional and local published authors and they all had day jobs. One woman had a three book deal with one of the major paperback publishers of historical romance and her pay per book was appalling low.


John Lescroart, interviewed on Barnes and Nobel's website:

"One of the most productive times in my early writing life was while I had a full-time job as a word processor in a law firm and also worked part-time at night, often working until 11:00 p.m. How did I do any writing, you might ask? Well, I did it between 6:00 and 8:00 in the morning, four pages a day, and published five books in six years. But because a) I was making some money doing 'regular' work and didn't have to be scrounging for coin and b) I was panic-stricken at the little time that was left in the day to write, I wound up becoming more efficient."

It can be done, but with rare exception it's not easy or quick, unless you're a household name or a celeb. I've been on my own for about 20 years, fueled by the luck and fortune that the first book I wrote did quite well and some demand for my services followed. So no, you don't have to be a Top Ten author or write a blockbuster, but you consistently need good ideas and be writing for an audience that's needy, large, identifiable, and easy for the publisher to reach. And you probably will have to produce new material, and get it published, every year or two. The key is to write books that stay in print for a few years and then go to backlist.

It helps if you have an agent who's looking out for your career. Beyond your own works, the agent can be on the lookout for work you can handle. If you're lucky to accomplish all the foregoing it's likely that you'll develop other, related streams of revenue (e.g., school visits, talks, tutoring).

I should add that I write nonfiction books and imagine that makes it somewhat easier than for those who write fiction----I think.

I am trying to find this out myself.

I have hopes of trying to go full-time in a year or two, but part of my plans for this include scaling back my lifestyle considerably, moving to a less expensive city, etc.

I'm retired now but I had a full time job in the first couple of years of being published. I keep strict records of the expenses of marketing my books and when you take into account the phone calls, trips to book-signing locations, cost of eating out etc., it rips huge chunks out of the royalty cheques and profit when I sell my own books. (Ten weeks in England and a future trip to USA/Canada don't help either!) So, even though my sales are increasing, I've still a long way to go before I'm making significant money from my books.

Uncle Jim does it . .. .

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6710

Yes, it's possible. I'm not a block-buster type author, but I've been making a living at this for a bit over twenty years now (house, car, kids through college....).

I am nowhere near the bestseller lists, but my fiction income last year exceeded (barely) the fairly nice salary from my government job.

This is the first year I've done so well, and I'm not holding my breath for a repeat in 2009, but it tells me that yes, it's possible. Mostly, this came from having a good agent. I wrote one book last year, but my agent continues to sell my work in a number of different countries, and that income adds up. Foreign sales can be a very valuable source of income.

That said, I'm not about to quit my day job. I've got two young kids and a wife starting grad. school. Most importantly, I'm diabetic and we've got a few other health issues in the family, and writing income doesn't provide any sort of health benefits in the U.S.

But if my wife finishes school and finds a better job than mine, look out!

My friend Sue Ann Jaffarian makes a living writing mysteries - she was finally able to ditch the daytime job.

Took a look at her website--I'm ordering one of her books from Amazon--they sound smart and funny, a combo I like!

The secret is to sell a minimum of one novel per year. Two is better.

Pale Moon Rider said:

kate,
I went over to Sue Ann's site for a look and read excerpts from her books. This part from The Curse of the Holy Pail made me laugh out loud:

"I felt incredibly overdressed and silly. Obviously, I had no idea what to wear when meeting a dead man in a shabby part of town."

Click to expand...

LOL! That would make me want to read more.

I've been at this since the late 80s and still have a day job.

My best friend who writes a lot more books (3-5 a year) and gets paid way more than I for her work, ALSO has a day job.

Yes, you can get to a place where you can support yourself with your writing, but you won't have health insurance and all those other handy, necessary perks. A regular paycheck every week keeps you fed and the roof from leaking.

My friend has had cancer and cannot get health insurance--not without paying a bomb for it--because of the pre-existing condition. Her spouse also needs specific health care. They're not old wrecks and falling apart, they're just average people who have to pay attention to things.

For myself--my day job is self-employment for small time internet sales, and business has fallen off.

I've got no insurance at all except for the house and car. If I get sick...it would be BAD.

Get a day job to bring in the cash and perks. Writing is a risky, uncertain business and doesn't pay well.

And yes, back in the day I thought all I had to do was sell ONE book and I'd be set for life. I'd heard all about those lovely, life-changing 6-figure deals.

My advance worked out to about 1100.00.

Show Me The Money--have a cold dash of reality for earnings in one of the more steady, high-paying genres.

My agent says only look at the lowest figures on that page. The high numbers reflect special circs.