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Tough question, and one with many possible answers. Some writers (sadly, a very few) earn a good living from writing alone. However, to assume that all writers can make a decent living from writing is to assume that all actors are rich, based on a handful of Hollywood stars. We all know that most actors are “resting” ninety percent of the time, or taking unpaid acting jobs, or otherwise earning money doing something completely different (teaching; waiting at tables; helping out with stage lighting).

What many people don’t realize is that writers are in much the same boat.

In the UK, the “average” writer (if there can be said to be such a thing) earns about £5000 a year from writing alone. Of course, some earn much more than that; others, much less. There are many variables; and, as the following article points out, just because a writer is well-known and critically well-received, it does not therefore follow that he or she will be equally well-paid – or in some cases, paid at all.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/02/bestseller-novel-to-bust-author-life

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/writer_salary.htm

Most writers, like actors, supplement their writing income with teaching, running masterclasses, secondary jobs and so on – a sensible course of action, if writing alone doesn’t pay the rent. Artists do not – should not -expect to be subsidized. However, where people make money from artists’ work, then those artists should be expected to benefit. For too long now, writers have accepted to attend festivals, to do readings, signings and workshops for free (sometimes without even being paid travel expenses), simply because they feel that they have no choice in the matter.

I say they do, and this is why.

People are seldom grateful for unpaid work.

Everybody likes getting free stuff, but when it comes to allocating value, we generally assume that what comes free isn’t worth much. That’s why marketing people love to tell us the cost of their freebies: Buy this magazine, and get a free bottle of nail polish, worth 7.99! But how much is an author worth, if alltheir appearances are unpaid? Answer: a big fat nothing.

It isn’t the job of an author to subsidize festivals and book events.

Yes, festivals are an important part of the world of literature; valuable to readers and writers alike. And yes, some festivals do find it hard to make a reasonable profit. The ones that do well have sponsors to help keep them running. Some benefit from Lottery funding, or offer free advertising to local businesses in return for sponsorship. Some festivals charge high prices for tickets to author events – and of course, the public tends to assume that a cut will go to the author. In most cases, however, it doesn’t. Most festivals do not pay a fee (except for Hay-on-Wye, which pays exorbitant fees to a handful of celebrities, and to no-one else); and a growing number don’t even pay their contributors’ travel expenses. I’ve recently heard of a few UK festivals that actually charge authors for the right to attend, on the assumption that we should be grateful for any exposure we can get…

Take a moment, if you will, to apply this to any other service.

In my local restaurant, having finished a meal, I call the head waiter over and say: “Now if you’ll just slip me a tenner, I’ll tear up this bill and go right out and tell all my friends what a great place you have here. It’ll be worth it for all the goodwill.”

Really?

No. I don’t think so, either.

Of course, there are instances when we choose to work for free, such as, in the case of a charity. However, where working free is the norm, we end up devaluing our own work, and that of the whole profession. Working for free costs us time, effort and expertise; things that others get paid for. We would not expect a teacher, a lawyer, a  plumber, a chef, to regularly give their services for free. Their time and expertise is considered worth paying for. So is ours.

Festivals never question the fact that they have to pay for room hire; catering; advertising; transport; photography; insurance; sound and lighting. All these things cost money. Everything has to be paid for, in fact, except the people whom the audiences are coming to hear – that is, the authors themselves.

But… I hear some people saying: Aren’t these authors getting free publicity that will help them sell their book?

Excellent question. Well, yes… and no. For a start, there’s no such thing as free publicity. Someone, somewhere, always ends up paying for it. By working for free, we’re basically accepting to do another person’s job (in this case, a publicist’s) as well as our own. And in the case of festivals who don’t even offer expenses, we’re effectively paying for the right to do that extra work for free, too.

As for book sales, just take a moment to work out how many sales you’d need to make in order to pay your expenses. On average, your travel costs would be between £60-100, travelling second class by train. Let’s forget about meals, taxis, sundries (or indeed, the overnight stay that some festivals entail) . So. Let’s call it £80.

Right. The following article gives you some idea of how much in royalties you’d expect to earn from the sale of your book. Have a good look. It’s worth reading.

http://blog.celandor.co.uk/?p=75

However; for simplicity’s sake, let’s call it 10% of a full net price of £8.00 for a paperback. (That’s very generous, actually.) For the moment let’s forget about the percentage that would have to go to the tax-man, to your agent, and so on. Let’s call it 80p. Kerrrr-ching.

That means, that to break even, you’d have to sell 100 copies or more of your book at your festival event. Yes, some writers can do that. But it’s a big assumption. On a good day, you can reasonably expect about one in ten festival-goers to buy a copy of your book after a reading; that means selling at least 1000 tickets, just to break even.

Seriously, how often does that happen?

And that’s why authors are worth more than this. That’s why they shouldn’t work for free. It’s wrong; it’s unfair; and even if we could all afford it (I can; I’m one of the lucky ones who doesn’t have to worry too much about breaking even); if we don’t respect ourselves and value the work we do, then how the hell can we expect to receive respect from anyone else?