New Guild Survey Reveals Majority of Authors Earn Below Poverty Line
Rachel Deahl | September 11, 2015
Mary Rasenberger, executive director at the Guild, acknowledged that the findings paint a grim picture. “When it comes to income there is no good news to report,” she said.
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Not surprisingly, most aspiring authors in the sample reported no annual income from their writing. About 19% of self-published authors in the sample also reported no annual income from their writing, compared to 6% of traditionally published authors and only 3% of hybrid authors. While most of the survey respondents clustered at the lower end of the income distribution, some authors did report earning $200,000 or more from their writing, the highest income choice on the survey: less than one percent (0.6%) of self-published authors, 4.5% of traditionally published authors, and 6.7% of hybrid authors who reported on their income. (In the chart, I have collapsed the top categories to $100,000 or more for better visibility. These aggregated category represents 1.8% of self-published authors, 8.8% of traditionally published authors, and 13.2% of hybrid authors.) Source: http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/self-publishing-debate-part3/ |
<more at http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/68008-new-guild-survey-reveals-majority-of-authors-earn-below-poverty-line.html; related links: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/sep/15/income-for-us-authors-falls-below-federal-poverty-line-survey (Income for US authors falls below federal poverty line – survey. Authors Guild says median income for members has fallen 24% in five years, with piracy, Amazon and publishing economies contributing to slump in earnings. September 15, 2015) and http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/08/authors-incomes-collapse-alcs-survey (Authors' incomes collapse to 'abject' levels. ALCS survey finds median annual earnings for professional writers have fallen to £11,000, 29% down since 2005. July 8, 2014)>
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