RSS
Home
A bestselling author's royalty check
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Last week, Io9.com reported about author Lynn Viehl, a New York Times bestselling spec-fic novelist, who recently revealed details about her latest royalty check, and exactly how much money she's rolling in.
In short: none. Viehl was in the top 20 on the NYT's mass market paperback list for her novel, Twilight Fall. She got a $50,000 advance for the book, and this might seem like a lot at first glance. But then you have to factor in taxes, her agent's cut, etc., and she's getting about half that. As she puts it:
My income per book always reminds me of how tough it is to make at living at this gig, especially for writers who only produce one book per year. If I did the same, and my one book performed as well as TF, and my family of four were solely dependent on my income, my net would be only around $2500.00 over the income level considered to be the US poverty threshold (based on 2008 figures.) Yep, we'd almost qualify for foodstamps.
So if you are an aspiring author and are dreaming of the mansions and fancy cars you'll be getting once your bestseller hits the shelves, consider this a reality check. Viehl is an enormously prolific author, putting out at least two books a year in various genres. Can one make a living by writing alone? Of course, but it can be a struggle, and most writers have alternate sources of income. For another example, take a look at science fiction author Tobias Buckell, who wrote a recent article about the perils of budgeting as a freelancer. He provides great advice for planning for your economic future as a writer, whether full or part-time.
Related Articles:
Comments
Single, married or something in between? Find what you need for Valentine's Day.
