how much money does a writer make?

humanflyz · Post by **humanflyz** » Tue Oct 16, 2001 8:22 pm

I am curious. I seem to have the image that writers or poets are poor. I am sure this is a misconception but I always picture a writer as someone who has a job that barely feeds him. I do not remember where I got this idea, but to this day I still conjure up a picture of a guy sitting under the lamp light folding papers into balls and throwing them in the waste basket and waits for a big break. So much money do writers make each year?

Aegis · Post by **Aegis** » Tue Oct 16, 2001 8:52 pm

As a begining writer, I can honestly say we make almost nil. I have published a few things for cash, making only about 3 cents/word. Not a hell of a lot, especially when I'm only able (Not by choice) to write about 1000 articles.

fable · Post by **fable** » Tue Oct 16, 2001 9:11 pm

Freelance writers don't make very good wages in general, particularly in a contracting market, such as the US has been in for the last year. Now, had you asked me a year ago, I would have said things were pretty fair. But since then, three of the magazines I write for have closed, including the one that paid a fair number of bills. This mirrors the way magazine trade has diminished in a number of fields.

Fiction writers do even worse, which is why most of them/us also do freelance non-fiction work. It's only staff writers who really make much of a constant wage--that, and the lucky few who become "recognized" fiction writers, and can command good contracts for series work.

I'm sure things will pick up, again. What I'm sure of, is when. Had we gotten Gore, I would have figured on two years, but with a president who's dedicated to digging us back into the huge debtor hole that Clinton got us out of, I'm not too sure.

[ 10-16-2001: Message edited by: fable ]

Sailor Saturn · Post by **Sailor Saturn** » Tue Oct 16, 2001 9:50 pm

Originally posted by fable:
Freelance writers don't make very good wages in general, particularly in a contracting market, such as the US has been in for the last year. Now, had you asked me a year ago, I would have said things were pretty fair. But since then, three of the magazines I write for have closed, including the one that paid a fair number of bills. This mirrors the way magazine trade has diminished in a number of fields.

Fiction writers do even worse, which is why most of them/us also do freelance non-fiction work. It's only staff writers who really make much of a constant wage--that, and the lucky few who become "recognized" fiction writers, and can command good contracts for series work.

I'm sure things will pick up, again. What I'm sure of, is when. Had we gotten Gore, I would have figured on two years, but with a president who's dedicated to digging us back into the huge debtor hole that Clinton got us out of, I'm not too sure.

Hmm...this is interesting to know, as my dad thinks I should become an author. I do plan to write some books(some fiction, some non-fiction), but I don't think I'm going to choose that as a career.

Weasel · Post by **Weasel** » Tue Oct 16, 2001 9:58 pm

Originally posted by fable:
, and the lucky few who become "recognized" fiction writers, and can command good contracts for series work.

King is one good example. I fear though..the internet might cut the luck few back even further.

Curdis · Post by **Curdis** » Tue Oct 16, 2001 10:14 pm

humanflyz wrote

my dad thinks I should become an author

What do you think? This is a much more important question. I have a piece of paper on my wall that says I'm a Writer from the Australian Performing Rights Association and I make sod all money. But I like to claim that I'm a professional musican and songwriter. This is what is important to me and if I get lucky its because I was in there trying. I do it because I have to and if I need a second job to pay the bills I get one.

If you want to make money there are plenty of other roads to travel. Put making money last on the list unless you want it to be first (see part above about second job). - Curdis

Aegis · Post by **Aegis** » Wed Oct 17, 2001 4:04 am

My basic plan, once out of school, is too teach, and write on the sdie. That way I have a constant paycheck, and I can still indulge my writers need to, well, write.

Minerva · Post by **Minerva** » Wed Oct 17, 2001 12:24 pm

Interesting...

I have a plan to write a biography in a few years time (if I could master Italian and Spanish for research, that is

), but I won't call myself a writer. I am a historian first and foremost, and writing/publishing will be a part of it.

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Wed Oct 17, 2001 12:27 pm

Well my brother is attempting to become a novelist, he has an agent and is just looking for a puclisher now, he has written 4 novels of over 80'000 words

Aegis · Post by **Aegis** » Wed Oct 17, 2001 3:32 pm

@Sleep: I wish your brother luck. by the way, when he's poor and starving, be a nce brother.

humanflyz · Post by **humanflyz** » Wed Oct 17, 2001 5:14 pm

It looks like getting a break in the writing business is hard. My teacher, who is a writer, wrote two books and never sold any copies. In fact, only he and the Library of Congress have the copies. Poor teacher. Oh well, I guess writing shouldn't be that hard if you have a decent job and have time to write in your free time.

VoodooDali · Post by **VoodooDali** » Sun Oct 21, 2001 3:09 pm

I'm a writer--working on my second novel. Made almost no money at it. I have friends who are working writers and making money, but they have had to switch genres. One of them has written and published over 35 sci-fi novels, but he is now writing mysteries. The other wrote excellent horror--one of the founders of splatterpunk--but also switched to mysteries. There's a lot more money in mysteries, and the writer is not relegated to bookshelf space in the back of a store somewhere. They also write for the comics on the side. My new novel is about a gamer.

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Oct 21, 2001 4:27 pm

You're right, @VD, there's definitely more money these days in mystery writing--that, and romances, if you can stomach it. Hell, Joanna Lindsey has been writing essentially one novel over and over nearly a hundred times. My wife's a fan.

VoodooDali · Post by **VoodooDali** » Sun Oct 21, 2001 4:55 pm

Sure is, but I can't really seem to stick to one genre. Two of my current heroes, Jonathan Carroll and Graham Joyce, cross genres all the time and drive their publishing companies nuts because they don't know where to put their books in the bookstore. Graham Joyce seems to be stuck in the horror section these days, though a hardcore horror fan would probably be disappointed with him. Jonathan Carroll is published by TOR, and they mainly publish fantasy, but they are smart and are also marketing him to the mainstream audience now. Somewhere I have a letter Gardner Dozois (Azimov's magazine editor) wrote me about one of my short stories--he liked it, but felt it was not marketable to his audience because it was too literary. The literary magazines told me my writing was too genre! Oh well. I write what intrigues me, and just get bored when writing what intrigues others (i.e., writing for an audience.)

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Oct 21, 2001 5:29 pm

I used to get told I was too literary all the time. It seems that any sense of style at all, plus the use of a single four syllable word or a semi-colon, ranks these days as "literary." Stick it out. Not all of the editors can be that idiotic, not all at the same time, at any rate. They have take turns getting lobotomies as their brains grow back.

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Sun Oct 21, 2001 7:32 pm

@VoodooD and Fable: It seems I no longer need to ask myself why so little contemporary "literature" has a high quility style and language

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Mon Oct 22, 2001 5:05 am

Originally posted by Aegis:
@Sleep: I wish your brother luck. by the way, when he's poor and starving, be a nice brother.

LOL

I will try, however if he becomes rich i bet you he doesn't give me a penny

@Fable, so if i just add a ; for the sake of it; does that make me literary?

Mr Sleep · Post by **Mr Sleep** » Mon Oct 22, 2001 5:24 am

Apparently Thrillers are the genre to write if you wish to make money. Look at Dean Koontz, who has sold over 200 million novels, he must have made a great deal of money over that time.

fable · Post by **fable** » Mon Oct 22, 2001 5:26 am

Originally posted by Mr Sleep:
Apparently Thrillers are the genre to write if you wish to make money. Look at Dean Koontz, who has sold over 200 million novels, he must have made a great deal of money over that time.

Dean Koontz is a friend of a friend. He starved for more than a decade writing all sorts of fiction. Thrillers didn't take off for him. They only made money after he'd been working them for close to another decade.

Shadow Sandrock · Post by **Shadow Sandrock** » Mon Oct 22, 2001 5:28 am

Writing is something that is usually better off as more of a "side job"...