The golden dream of writing a bestselling novel that sells millions of copies, or a screenplay that lands with a multi-million payday, hangs in front of most writers when they first begin to put pen to paper. At least the honest ones.
As they tap away at the keyboard, they dream big, and why shouldn’t they? It is human nature to dream of becoming financially-free, of buying that glorious house or vacation home in the Caribbean and taking care of family, friends and parents that have supported the fledgling writer through all the first draft nightmares and daily worries that being a writer brings.
HARSH REALITIES
But the dream is one that
can quickly become a nightmare. Dreams are one thing, but the realistic
expectations can be soul shattering for those who think writing is a quick dash
to financial freedom. It is one thing to read reports of J.K. Rowling’s $92
million pretax earnings or James Patterson and his $70 million profits in 2019
(Forbes), but consider that Stephen King’s earnings dropped by $10 million
while other big-hitters such as John Grisham or Dan Brown didn’t even make the
list.
Unfortunately, the top 5%
of authors represent about 70-80% of the revenue which can be a disheartening
fact for new writers.
And even if you are lucky
enough to get a publishing deal, chances are there won’t be any advance paid to
you. Instead you will rely solely on the royalties paid yearly by the
publishing company, and that might mean a long wait till payday. Most
traditional publishers pay their authors between 7% and 10% for paperback and
hardback sales, 25% for digital, usually based on Net Sales (the amount
wholesalers and retailers pay the publisher). In recent years there have been a slew of indie publishers cropping up, offering high royalties (around the 50% mark), but expecting you to do 80% of what you'd expect a publisher to be doing for such a high cut of your money. For that, you could become an independent
author, choosing to publish directly with Amazon and receive higher royalties,
usually somewhere between 35% and 70% (less delivery and tax costs). A lot
higher, right, but you as the author are wholly responsible for the editing, layout,
formatting, cover design and all the many other minutia that goes into getting
a book into print, all of which come with a cost of both time and money.
And you still need to
make a living, to pay rent and put food on the table.
So how can you survive
while still chasing your dream of being a published author or produced screenwriter?
SUBMITTING TO
PUBLICATIONS
There are many online and
physical magazines that are accepting submissions for pieces of writing, either
short stories up to seven thousand words or poems. Apex Magazine and Dark
Magazine are two such magazines. These are fantastic opportunities to stretch
your writing in new directions, trying different genres and styles of writing.
These publications can
pay between £30 to £450 for a short story dependent on length but be expected
to wait some time to hear back. Three to six weeks is the standard for most
online publications, with some suggesting four to six months before you hear
back. Most magazines will pay you only once a piece is finished to their
satisfaction so factor in that time for editing, and you are looking at about
seven months from writing the piece to getting paid – and that is only if the
first place you submit to accepts your work.
EDITORIAL SERVICES
Editorial services can
include copy-editing, line editing, structural analysis and many other different
facets that bring a manuscript from its rough draft to final, polished piece.
A quick glance on Fiver (I don't recommend this) and you can see the numerous people offering this service, and the, sometimes
ludicrous, amounts they charge. From £50 for a line edit, right through to
£5’000+ for a complete 12-page structural report on your manuscript including
suggested edits, there is something for everyone’s budget. But are you getting
what you pay for? What sort of experience does this person have in editing, and
why should you trust them with your, as yet, unpublished work?
These are questions you
should ask about yourself before thinking about offering editorial services. Do
you also have the required skill and time to work on someone else’s manuscript?
Editing at a professional level is strenuous, detailed work which demands a
high degree of concentration and grasp of language.
For someone just starting
out on the writers’ path, this is the option I would least recommend.
THE HATED 9-5 JOB
By far the most popular,
widely used option to ensure an income is to find a regular job, the dreaded,
and hated 9-5. Whether it’s stacking shelves, selling dishwashers,
Encyclopedia Britannica’s or even small plastic goblins (all jobs I have done
while writing stories, screenplays and novels), the knowledge that at the end
of the week or month there will be money to pay the rent, heat the flat and
feed the cat takes a huge weight off your shoulders.
There are a couple of
connected downsides to having a regular job while writing. Most obvious is the
time away from your writing desk. Most full-time jobs are around the 40-hour
mark each week, not including time to travel to your place of work and back.
This leads into the
second slight downside – you have to be organised. You need to have set
schedules for your work, what you are going to write and when, plus deadlines
to ensure you finish, all at the same time as going to your day or night job as
well as maintaining your home.
STAY ON TARGET
Whatever you choose to
write, the best way to ensure some form of income is having multiple pieces of
writing all at various stages. Being realistic with what
you want to achieve, and the realities of is everyday life key to this. Don’t
expect your first ever novel to become an instant bestseller; neither should
you expect the first magazine article you submit to get published.
Find
work you enjoy and which won’t suck your soul from you while you pursue your
writing dream. Pay your bills with this steady income, be organised and get up
early to write and one day, if you're lucky, you’ll become an overnight success thirty years in
the making.
Possibly.
