Published doesn't mean paid
63 comments
·March 29, 2025Havoc
cardanome
This is way some countries like Germany have fixed book prices. They set a minimum price that the book needs to be sold at.
This helps authors and also prevents smaller book shops from being out competed by price.
It is a pretty great system. Sure German books tend to be significantly more expensive than the English counter part but its not like I don't have already enough books in my pile of shame. And for those tight on money there is always libraries.
spacebanana7
I don’t think that logic works well with digital goods. Because there is zero marginal cost, you always want more purchases even if the price is incredibly low.
And digital goods can be infinitely large. Conceivably the combined works of JK Rowling or Tolkien could be sold as a single unit. Therefore able to cut beneath a minimum price.
cardanome
The zero marginal cost makes fixed prices even more important.
You production cost per unit is basically the cost of creating the book. The more units you sell, the lower the production cost per unit. So bestsellers make bank and are profitable even when sold at extremely low prices.
In comparison a book with a limited niche will need to sell at a way higher price to be profitable.
People will only buy a fixed amount of books. The idea is to give books of niche audiences a fighting chance.
> Conceivably the combined works of JK Rowling or Tolkien could be sold as a single unit.
Yes there is always pitfalls and loopholes to watch out for when defining such laws. I don't really see how this adds much to the discussion, as something like that would clearly violate the spirit and intention of the law. If it is legally possible it is because the law is implemented badly. Which could be but is another discussion.
blatantly
If I did a book for money (bad idea yes!) I'd try at least to self publish and make it a premium thing with upsells. Like the Total Typescript course.
Selling 100 for $50 (no mean feat but still modest) copies would probably beat any publisher earnings!
You could also get away with less perfect grammar etc. BYO editor or just edit yourself. The goal is to teach after all.
christina97
I’m not sure what the author expected? I imagine the royalties and advance were agreed upon in advance, surely they could do the calculus then?
I think the fundamental issue is thinking that you can make a living writing a book for 2.5 years that only sells 500-2000 copies. At the upper end, if she got the full £10 per book for 2000 copies, that’s still not a livable wage…
Is the author just upset about the way the world works?
MinimalAction
It is not that they didn't know the calculus. You seem to suggest that writing altogether is economically unviable, so the author should not have chosen to do that at all.
The issue is that certain talents are not recognized at all, and if you like reading, then buy the books outright, pre-order it, ask your library to get it. Basically, an effort to reward those who show up and contribute to a profession as noble as writing.
christina97
I’m not suggesting at all that the author should not have chosen to do it. No such judgement.
I’m simply interpreting the authors tone: it sounds to me frustrated and as if she feels she’s been wronged by “the system.” Maybe I simply misinterpreted the tone!
wrs
I didn't get that impression. I think she just wants the readers to not have a misconception of how much she's getting paid for the book they're (hopefully) enjoying.
I hear a lot of similar sentiments from musicians whose fans think they're making any money by touring or streaming. And they get the same advice I'm seeing in this thread: you can't just be a musician anymore, you have to also be a social media expert, marketer, bookkeeper, recording engineer…in other words all the stuff the music label / publisher used to do so you could focus on the actual artwork.
jonas21
> if you like reading, then buy the books outright, pre-order it, ask your library to get it.
I don't think the issue is that people are reading her book without buying it or requesting it at the library. The issue is that not enough people want to read it in the first place. That's just the way things work. Far more people want to write books than can be supported by the market.
orangecat
You seem to suggest that writing altogether is economically unviable, so the author should not have chosen to do that at all.
Sort of, yes. Or at least don't do it expecting to be immediately financially successful. The same way that you shouldn't go into game development and then be outraged that you're not making as much as SAP consultants.
The issue is that certain talents are not recognized at all
It's more that there's tons of aspiring authors, and supply and demand is a thing.
tornadofart
I did not read it as being upset. Drawing the public's attention to the economics of publishing and showing how to support an author you like is OK, no?
nyeah
I'm surprised that anyone can read this coldly factual post about volunteer work that benefits society and pays next to nothing ... and then somehow come up with an antagonistic response.
YMMV. But I never read about St. Francis, say, and thought to myself "Shut up already. What ever made you think the bird gig was going to pay off?"
EDIT: "Benefits society" in the aggregate. This particular woman may write utterly worthless books that benefit nobody. I don't know.
paxys
There are an estimated 4 million books published every year. Not all of them are "volunteer work that benefits society". I'm going to go ahead and assume it's a very, very tiny minority of them. Most writers (and certainly every single one I know) have nothing to contribute to society except their own vanity.
I have nothing against creative expression, but when people start splashing a bucket of paint on a canvas and going "I'm an artist, I deserve to have a comfortable life" I can't help but roll my eyes.
nyeah
When did she say she deserved a comfortable life? She writes. She doesn't get paid. Where are these bad vibes coming from?
6stringmerc
Volunteer work? Did we read the same article? The author got income and inked a deal with a publishing house - explicitly that means doing it for the money - and the result is a whinging about how sour they feel about the whole thing. The is ain’t Anne Frank’s diary in the slightest.
nyeah
Sure, she will eventually get 3,750 GBP for a year's work. Compared to living expenses that rounds to zero, but ok its not precisely zero.
paxys
It's just wild to me that someone spent two and a half years of their life perfecting their book and then...sold away the rights for £2,500. At that point just self publish, or even put it up for free on the internet with a "donate" button next to it. Why devalue your own work to this degree?
crazygringo
Not that it changes your overall point, but they didn't. They sold away the rights before they spent the two and a half years writing their book. If they hadn't gotten the advance and therefore the ~guarantee it would get published, they might not have written it in the first place.
But they can't choose to self-publish after they finish it, because they chose to sign their contract long before that.
6stringmerc
Okay so I’m also a writer - self publishing on Medium (and earn $x.xx occasionally some months) and also a 100% independent musician and producer and songwriter. I release through DistroKid which I found here ages ago. I actually lose money by having it available to stream.
You are absolutely spot on about the tone. It’s incredibly whiny and woe-is-me and complaining about a system that, as she admits, is known to be poverty level revenue for the vast majority. The big tell is “support authors!” as if it’s some kind of requirement people do more than simply sustain an industry already on the brink. She has the gall to even get an advance, publish, and make it the audience’s guilt trip she’s gotta tell people she didn’t make squat? That’s a high horse.
I dislike the article and its perspective. It’s PETULANT. Thousands of writers simply appreciate audiences for sharing their TIME for reading a piece. This article? It’s a dressed up complaint and I’ll have none of what she’s having.
For reference, I’ve got 10k Spotify plays, worldwide, over the course of 10 years and it’s under $20 worth of revenue. When I write about this fact, I don’t complain about the income. What is my big takeaway? I’m grateful people I’ve never met and will likely never meet have found my music worth listening to and chosen to give it a little slice of their life. That’s a good perspective, a healthy one, and I’m with you on your impression.
WorkerBee28474
> Is the author just upset about the way the world works?
Yes. The author has chosen to work on something she loves, without regard to whether anyone will pay her to do it, and is complaining that no one will pay her to do it.
WorkerBee28474
The conclusion the author should have reached isn't 'authors need more support' but rather 'this is how the world tells authors it doesn't need so many books'.
tornadofart
The market isn't that good at detecting and rewarding genius work in the short term. Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe as well as Oscar Wilde died poor.
spacebanana7
In fairness Wilde’s lack of wealth was largely downstream of his (unjust) legal problems. And Poe suffered greatly from a lack of copyright protection.
They didn’t suffer from a lack of people wanting to read their works, in the way that most modern authors do.
MinimalAction
These comments where they somehow suggest more of creativity is not necessary is rather upsetting. Should they then just be doing what the world handsomely rewards, which currently seems to be optimizing ads at a big tech company.
daedrdev
There are more books published today than ever before. 96% sold less than 1000 copies when published by the big publishing houses. I feel like that is the strongest sign the market can give that there are too many authors or many of them aren't good enough.
joseda-hg
Either that, or niches are booming and are getting properly served, either by passion or profit
MinimalAction
"Good enough" by what metric? I mean all art is subjective.
I agree your argument based on supply and demand. But, my point was that the creative adventures are not rewarded well enough in our system, and somehow things that are terribly meaningless like ad-optimization attracts so much revenue that companies don't know what to do with. This imbalance is upsetting.
fph
Looks like we need to change the priorities set by the market. Targeted taxes and subsidies are the way to do it.
daedrdev
People are clearly willing to write and publish a book even with no payoff. If you had taxes and subsidies, even more authors would write to the point that most authors can't live off of writing, since clearly they are willing to write enough to flood the supply of books until most authors can't make it.
TeMPOraL
That's fair. Now if we go with this line of thinking, and push a little bit past the obvious, the seeming difference in earning potential between authors and entertainers - whether YouTube influencers, classical athletes or singers, combined with clear winner-take-all dynamics of the latter groups, is how the world tells us...
... we need more human connection.
It's not just whether or not the content is lighter, more engaging, or hyperoptimized. It's not just that. Maybe what's common between all this, and other high-engagement creations like high-outrage news reporting, is the same instinct: seeking out what's important, by proxy of what we expect others will also seek out and talk about. So, in short, seeking connection.
Just random musings, no real conclusion here.
richardatlarge
first suggestion: don’t take 2.5 years to write a book
second suggestion: don’t go with a traditional publisher if you’re not getting a hefty advance- a small advance means no publicity, and the royalty rates are too dismal to do your own advertising
go indie: with 70 percent royalties on ebooks you can make more than this author in a week
trad publishing is a club: don’t expect to make money when you join an elite(ist) club
TimorousBestie
Assuming the seventy percent figure is KDP, there are so many restrictions on that tier an author rarely gets anywhere close to that rate.
And charging 2.99 for an eBook is a death knell in some genres, it’ll cut sales by an order of magnitude.
richardatlarge
sorry, you don’t know what you’re talking about. as a KDP user, I see every day that it’s 70 percent, so $3.50 for a $5.00 retail price. at a minimum you’re not being clear.
TimorousBestie
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G200634500 lays out the restrictions and costs associated with the 70% tier.
Anyway, KDP is hardly “going indie.” It’s just boring old self-publishing with externalized capital expenditures.
arjunaaqa
Modern authors should publish on their own websites,
And spend 6-12 months time before launch in marketing and talking on social media.
We need more empowered authors.
Miraste
Modern authors may be forced to spend too much time in the sludge pits of social media for any hope of financial success, but we don't need to pretend that's being "empowered."
Also, publishing on your own website and nowhere else will not work. Such is the modern age of platforms.
cardanome
Yeah but it sucks that these days more and more professions require that you market yourself.
It would be great if people could just write and live from that.
tornadofart
I genuinely hate that. DoNt oNlY bE a dEvELoPER bUT AlsO a TeChniCAl WriTeR aND bUiLD yOuR pErSoNaL bRAnd ... uh no sorry I have a life
daedrdev
There are just so many books published today that there is no guarantee of any amount of readership by just releasing a book.
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MinimalAction
This post evoked a sense of sadness within me, though I can’t quite pinpoint the reason behind it. In the era where influencers without much depth to their content get to reap the monetary benefits, while those who genuinely showcase their creativity in rather holistic ways are left unrewarded. This trend has been around perhaps for longer than I imagine, but to put it in words made me realize this intensely.
I will do my part and ask my library too.
bombcar
If it makes you feel better the economics of “influencers” is way, way, way worse. This lady at least got some money! The average “influencer” just gets nothing.
MinimalAction
That does make me feel better. It is also the barrier of entry into the field that is low in being an influencer, perhaps. But, I am suspicious that an average writer earns better than an average influencer.
daedrdev
35% of books published are profitable
96% of books sold less than 1,000 copies in 2020
50% sold less than a dozen copies in 2020
This is the state of the industry, publishers publish many books gambling for the hits the make up the vast majority of their revenue.
It is a very cold industry with many authors failing to get readers interested. They best measure of schuss is to have a preexisting readership or be popular elsewhere, and even then that's by no means a guarantee of a books success. And this data is from before AI. The 35% probably undersells it because books like hers probably received no marketing.
rahimnathwani
35% of books published are profitable
xrd
I wrote a book for O'Reilly. I got the same advance, $2500. I got paid the same royalty rate, 10%.
It wasn't worth it at all financially. I bet I made $6000-$7000 in total. Of course, that's not why I did it.
But, in a new consulting role there is a kid who is early twenties. It came up that I wrote a book and I told him the book and the publisher and he said "other than the car parts company I don't know O'Reilly." I was pretty shocked by that. He's a computer science graduate. That generation doesn't read tech books at all apparently.
It used to be that this was another item on my resume to stand out. It feels like that is totally devalued. And basically everything else on my resume now that Claude has infinitely more knowledge about everything. It's so depressing.
101008
We grew up in the 80s or 90s that meant get published means money, being on TV meant being famous, the elite were separated from the public. Internet democratriced all of that. Now we are all mixed. You can be famous on the internet, be someone on Twitter, and at the same time need a regular job.
decimalenough
This has always been the case. What's new is that LLMs let people churn out books in seconds, meaning that for e-books in particular, formerly (possibly) lucrative topics like niche erotica are about to get competed down to zero.
nyeah
If you read the OP and felt angry or offended, can you quote a key sentence that seemed to be a problem?
crazygringo
I don't think it's any "key sentence". I think it's simply summarized by the first sentence of the current top comment by christina97:
> I’m not sure what the author expected?
It's less about being angry or offended, and more like, why is this being posted? It's not news. It's how publishing works.
The same dynamics play out in everything from YouTube to onlyfans. A very small group make tons of money and are very visible and the other 99% make no money but nobody notices them. And that’s slanted perception pulls in more people driving up supply
But yeah books seem particularly brutal. The vast majority of my books were acquired at just over a dollar. Amazon daily sales and lots of patience. Even the big names have discounts that deep. I’m glad to have them but that is pretty brutal economics