Can You Make A Living Writing Fiction?
I read somewhere recently that the average income of most fiction writers would fall below the minimum wage. While the famous authors continue to attract a disproportionate amount of the overall pot, most writers are not making an adequate living from their books and there are said to be many who make no money at all.
You can read about this in more detail in a Guardian newspaper article here. Apologies for my overseas readers as the figures quoted are all in UK pounds although there’s not a lot of difference between the pound and the dollar these days.
Now, I don’t make any claims to be among the highest paid authors in the land but I certainly don’t work for nothing. Much as I love writing, life is too short to be permanently broke. I confess to supplementing my writing income by using online marketing but for me there is no distinction between the two nowadays.
We ALL have to get used to the fact that unless we market our books and ourselves too, then no-one is going to get the opportunity to even see your next masterpiece.
And once you embrace that mindset shift, it’s amazing how quickly you get into branding yourself as an author and how simple it can often be to make additional income doing stuff connected to your writing.
I’ve talked about Anne R Allen’s wonderful blog before and today I just wanted to share a piece written by my new friend Elizabeth S Craig called ‘Yes, You Can Make A Living Writing Fiction.’
It’s not a fluff article and you’ll pick up solid practical steps that anyone can do to help boost their book sales and bottom line.
That’s all for today and I hope you find these two articles useful.
If you want some direct help in marketing your books or any other simple ways to supplement your income online, so giving you more time to write, then message me on my Facebook Page and I’ll get back to you.
Alex x
Coming soon – #thepiperspromise
PS: Here’s a very recent review for my latest thriller The Devil You Know from Amazon in the US:
What kept me reading was the quality of the writing, in a word: marvelous, an example of modern prose, impossibly long sentences that somehow work out, a sardonic sense of humor and a host of colorful characters that include the traditional tired detective, grumpy old boatman, a prominent local criminal and a beautiful female assassin. I am not a Scot, and I had some trouble following some of the colorful dialogue that illustrates the peculiarities of Scottish conversation. The effort was worth it. More than a story, I recommend this book to readers who appreciate good writing. I am truly impressed and hope to see more books by Alex Breck.
Have you listened to my new Podcast show Alex Breck’s Banter yet?