Thread: You'll see many headlines this week about declining author incomes b/c there's a new study out from the US-based Authors Guild. I have great respect for the Guild, which does essential work on behalf authors. However, I have continuing skepticism about all such studies.
These studies are based on a self-selecting sample. Surveyed authors may not be representative of the population of books recently published. That doesn’t mean the study is devoid of value, but the data isn’t verifiable. I'm not convinced incomes are on the decline on the whole.
As you consider the results of any such study, remember it is always done to support arguments and legislation for protecting authors in some way, sometimes through stronger copyright legislation or to point a finger of blame at Amazon and/or big publishers.
In this case, the Authors Guild wants to see some important things happen, like increased royalties on ebooks + deeply discounted books, and the ability for authors to negotiate collectively w/Amazon, Google, Facebook. I hope these things do happen and we can balance the scales.
However, I believe that a select few authors have ever earned a reasonable full-time living from publisher advances and/or book sales. I don't believe in the good ol' days. The history of authors' earnings is one that's beleaguered and fraught with anxiety.
That said, it's not that literature can't pay; it's that most writers aren't willing to make the compromises required to make a living from it.
No writer—at least those who desire a living wage—is exempt from figuring out a biz model (usually comprised of multiple streams of income) & adapting to changing market conditions. Few can live by book sales alone. // Older post here discusses further: janefriedman.com/author-income-…
