For example, many authors with devoted followings have chosen to join networks like Patreon, where their fans can pay them directly to continue releasing their work.Įxamples of platforms that pay creators include: Recently, though, many have begun to publish their average author salary to give those aspiring to join their ranks a real sense of the financial possibilities within the profession.Īn author salary is the total earnings in any given year, while book earnings are only one component of an overall author salary.Īn author might still work a day job or do freelance work while they establish their reputation to supplement their income. A self-published author might have more freedom in developing their completion timelines, but this also means that they are responsible for keeping themselves accountable to their creative and financial goals.Īuthors, like many other professionals, often choose to keep their financial information private. This applies to both self-published and traditionally published authors. That’s why it is important for authors to continually work on completing their projects and sharing them with the world. The term ‘income’ is often used interchangeably with ‘salary’, both in this post and in the world-at-large.īecause authors are usually self-employed and organize their work by book project, an author salary can vary substantially from year-to-year.Ī year in which an author writes two books will likely mean a higher author salary than a year when they don’t write any. In an effort to make the topic of an author salary less obscure, we will take a closer look at the income of several writers in this report, and will continue updating this list. But before we dive into the average author salary, let's take a closer look at what an author salary is and what it encompasses.Īn author salary is the total amount of money that an author makes in any given year. With so many factors to consider when calculating an author salary, it’s important to determine how, and why, the publishing world has such a variance in author income levels. Some authors make millions, and others don’t make a penny. While there isn’t a baseline number to report on how much authors actually make, it’s important to realize that author salary has a very wide range. No matter what your opinion is on the subject, you’re curious… Some writers are of the mind that money should not be a measurement of success in writing at all and refuse to share insights, while others advocate for sharing book earning statements in order to embrace the realities and raise awareness of the average author salary.Īnd sharing how much money a writer makes is taboo for some simply because they are shy about how little, or how much, they actually make from their books. The wide variance in how much individual authors actually earn from their book sales is also caused by obscurity around the subject of financial earnings, which is not very transparent. Those are common questions (and good ones to ask if you're thinking about becoming an author), but the reality is…ĭetermining how much money you’ll make when you become an author is complex because no two authors are the same, and several factors affect how much you earn from your writing career. Is an author salary enough to get by in 2023? Do you need another gig? Are you getting paid enough for your work? How much do authors make anyway?

If you are an author, or are considering becoming an author, your probably wondering about the average author salary.

Average podcaster salary