Do you make any money off your novels?

Sam Rivers said:

I had always pictured novel writers as making a lot of money so it was shocking when Larry McMurtry said in his literary work that he never made much money off of his books, even Lonesome Dove. He made most of his money off of the screen plays.

My sister has had 17 christian books published. Most were novels, but a couple were nonfiction. She has made a little bit over the years, but not enough to bring in any real income.

My brother-in-law has written 3 very good westerns. Since he had them published himself, according to my sister, they actually cost them money. He told me that he gets a small amount from them from time to time, but will never break even.

I guess there are some of the more famous writers that make a actual living out of writing novels, but there are probably not a lot of them.

So if you are a novel writer, have you made any money off of your novels?

Click to expand...

Hey Sam, good question. Before I got into self-publishing on Kindle, I did quite a bit of research. Most authors--the vast majority, do not make much money, if any. When they make some money, they end up putting it back into promotion. The average royalty for a paperback author is 7 percent. Hardback can range from 10 to 15, but most authors don't make it to hardback. Some, the Stephen Kings and the like, are rumored to get 25 percent for hardback and even more for e-books.

Amazon and Apple have made it possible (RIGHT NOW) for authors to make as much as 70 percent of a book priced between $2.99 and $9.99. That is why you see a lot of pricing there--and why you see a lot of authors putting their backlist in ebook form (backlist is books that are out of print. If the author holds the rights, they can republish however they please. If the publisher holds the rights, the author might get 25 percent of list price.)

Books in the .99 to 2.89 range earn an author 35 percent in ebook form from Amazon and Apple. Barnes and Noble has different terms, not quite as good at the A's.

Thus you're seeing a lot of authors give it a try--because if an author can make 2 dollars from most ebooks sold, they are actually making more than a traditionally published author was making from a paperback. A living Well...you still have to sell a lot of books to make a living at it. But. It's more likely at this time and place than it has been for a long while.

Thanks for asking. It's a great question!

As others have pointed out, writing is not a great way to make money. At least, not for the past thirty or forty years. Those who do make money are either lucky, or they are very good business people who hustle to not only write more, but to take every advantage to sell subsidiary rights for a small amount here and a small amount there. Even under the old system, writers could make a good living, but not by just writing and leaving things to an agent to take care of.

Now with indie publishing, we still have to be great business people, and work really really hard at the business side... but since you get more of the take per sale, you can actually make a living even at the lower levels.

Me? I'm not making a living yet (no where near it) but I'm doing better than I ever have in 30 years of writing.

Camille

Lots of writers are making lots of money.

Even more writers are making even less money.

Almost all writers who publish-whether traditional or indie-are making some money.

The best way not to make make money writing fiction is not to publish.

Read this article by Dean Wesley Smith: "Killing the Sacred Cows of Fiction: Can't Make Money in Fiction"

http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=607

David