The short answer is absolutely. But there's also a lot of nuance that goes into a question so broad. So today, we're going to look at some numbers and see where the publishing industry lands.
In media, there is often a pretty picture painted of authors. These people are famous, renowned, and earning a significant living from their New York loft. Is it possible? Definitely. Is it common? Not so much.
Visibility plays a key role in the image of "successful" authors, just like anything on social media. People who are perceived as successful are going to get more air time. Things tied together with a neat bow are going to attract more customers. But the percentage of those who earn a living as an author (only making money from their books) is statistically low.
That doesn't mean it's impossible.
Friends of mine have gotten six-figure deals for debut books that sold traditionally at auction. Others are making a few thousand dollars a month off of self-published e-books alone.
Note: Even with a large advance on a traditional publishing deal, you're not guaranteed that money up front. Publishing is slow. Advances are typically paid out quarterly in parts, with some authors not seeing anything for up to a year after an announced book deal.
Let's take a quick look at royalties and earning potential. While trad publishing may give decent advances, those advances cut into early-earnings of royalties. Essentially, you have to pay the publisher back your advance with your first royalties until you break-even (or "earn out"). Meaning if your publisher gives you a $5,000 advance and you make 5% in royalties on each book you sell at $20, you'd need to sell 5,000 books to start seeing those royalties return to you. If you don't earn-out, you don't see royalties from those books.
Not to mention, traditional publishing advances and royalty percentages seem to be decreasing with big publishing houses. (Average royalties look like 5%-25% depending on the sell-ability of the book and the medium of sale. E-books and audiobooks typically receive higher royalty rates than paperbacks. Debut advances usually fall within $1,000-10,000.)
But there's still good news! Traditional publishing is so competitive because publishers don't offer deals without anticipating they can out-sell whatever advance they offer you. The advance is like a minimum-selling prediction. So you will probably see royalties. It's just important to keep in mind that sometimes publishers are wrong or the markets change or the skies fall, and things might not work out the way everyone wanted. (But you still get to keep your advance regardless.)
Now let's compare those royalties to self-publishing, where you may not get an advance, but you're earning anywhere from 40-70% royalties on each book published. The more books you put out, the more likely you are to gain traction on previously published books, earning you more over time.
You're also able to control your publishing rate and how much you're putting into the book prior to publication. (Because, yes, unfortunately self-publishing does mean paying for everything up front. The more you're able to save, the more you're going to make off your books mathematically--so long as they sell.) In addition, indie pub books are becoming more popular in the main market. They're accessible and the quality is comparable to big houses.
So, what do the "normal" numbers look like? (For the purposes of this post, I'll be referencing this Author's Guild survey from the beginning of this year. Info to know: this survey was open to the public internationally online. Though the survey was from the UK, the majority of data points came from the U.S. The dollar has been converted to USD for ease of comprehension between multiple currency rates. Though the survey was focused on indie authors, it compares data sets from traditionally published authors to get a feel for how the market is developing over time.)
The Author's Guild survey found that:
The average income from indie authors with a minimum of one published book and who spent a minimum of 50% of their working time on writing or self-publishing was $12,755 USD in 2022. (Almost a 50% increase from 2021.)
Self-published authors were seeing an increase in book-related earnings year after year, where traditionally published authors were seeing a decrease.
The highest earning genres were romance, fantasy, and crime/thriller.
Neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ self-pub authors earned more than their traditionally published counterparts, but Black authors and disabled authors were still the miniority earners in both publishing streams.
Cisgender women earned significantly more than men, almost reversing the pay-gap in traditional markets.
These findings create an interesting image in relation to the publishing market. In general, there's good news for many authors considering self-publishing! It's more accessible than ever and seems to be on an upward trend.
However, the same rules that apply in many creative industries still apply here. The big-winners take the trophies, and the rest get an average of a nearly unlivable wage from books alone. And it still needs a lot of work in supporting and uplifting marginalized voices.
Publishing can be such a rewarding field, but it's no walk in the park. It's often best to have multiple streams of income to cushion the book income. (Though that's not always necessary.)
Though there's a lot of information to wade through about making money as an author, I hope this helped to answer some questions. I've attached the articles and surveys I've referenced below.
Happy writing,
Erin
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