I knew writing wouldn’t make me rich. Unless you’re JK Rowling or Stephen King, chances are if you want to write, you have to have a full-time job to pay the bills, a spouse or significant other who is willing to support you, or a trust fund. I have a full-time job (poodles have expectations and I like having a roof over my head and have grown accustomed to eating on a regular basis). So, writing is (for most of us) a side gig. That doesn’t mean that we don’t take it seriously, it simply means, that we have a limited window of time in which to do it. Therefore, most writers don’t do this for the money. Don’t get me wrong, writers like (and deserve) to be paid for their toil, especially since we have to carve out time in an already busy day to make time to write. Trust me when I tell you, if someone became a writer purely for the money, they would soon quit. You could probably make more flipping burgers at your local fast food restaurant than you can writing, especially if you’re traditionally published. How is that, you ask? Let’s do a little math (not my strong point, so thankfully, the numbers are small).
You see your favorite author’s books on Amazon for $15 and eBooks for $9.99. Surely that means a writer is making a ton of money, right? WRONG! First, traditionally published authors don’t set the price for their books. Their publishers do that. Second, traditionally published authors get a percent of the price of the book which depends on their contract. That percent can vary but usually starts around 8% per book on paperbacks. On that $15 Trade paperback book, the author would get $1.20 for each book sold. The percentages are usually higher for eBooks (25%-40%). So, on that $9.99 eBook, an author can make about $2.50. Still, not bad, right? However, if the author has an agent, the agent gets 15% (I don’t even want to think about the amount the government gets). For kicks and giggles, let’s say you go all out and sales are great. That doesn’t mean our author will get all of the money she’s earned. if she’s traditionally published, her publisher will (most likely) hold back some of the royalties for returns. Yes, you read that right. People return books. I’ve never done it, but apparently, there are people out there who do. Honestly, most of the returns come from bookstores. If an author’s book doesn’t sell quickly, bookstores will pack them up and ship them back so fast, the ink may not even have dried on the pages. This is one reason authors push hard for pre-orders and really work to get the word out about new releases. If they can sell books early, bookstores may be inclined to keep them and maybe even order more.
Still, subtract the agent commission and the returns and even though it may not be a huge amount of money, at least it’s something, right? However, here’s the hard part and this absolutely burns my butt. There are book thieves out there. They’re called pirates and they get a copy of a book and upload it to the Internet so others can download it for free, essentially robbing our little underpaid author. It’s a sad situation. Please, please, PLEASE don’t download books from these sites. Don’t have $15 for a trade paperback or $9.99 for the eBook? There’s another path to getting books that doesn’t involve theft. If you can’t afford to buy a book, try the local library. Can’t find the book you want at the library? ASK for it. If you ask, most libraries will order it. Authors LOVE libraries. Libraries order lots of copies of books and make them available for free. No local library near your house? Check out your favorite author’s website/newsletter/Facebook or social media. Often, authors giveaway their books every month (TIP: Don’t write and ask for a free book. Sign up for the author’s newsletter). Sometimes publishers host Goodreads giveaways and give away free copies of new releases, all in the hopes that you’ll leave a positive review. If your author participates in a Facebook party, they almost always giveaway books, so check out their Events. There are even times when publishers make books available for free in the hope readers will check out a new author or a new series (and leave a review). If you’re fortunate enough to snag a free book, please leave a review (it’s the polite thing to do).
As an author, I’d like to ask a special favor. If you see an author’s book on a pirated site, please report it. Unsure if the site is legit? Kensington offers a service where you can report the site. If it’s legit, they’ll tell you. If not, they will get the site closed. It doesn’t matter if the book was published by Kensington or not. Simply click the, REPORT PIRACY, link at the bottom of their website.