Let’s be honest, if I’d wanted to make a fortune, I probably shouldn’t have become an author. Sure, there are some writers who are paid handsomely for selling many millions of books, but the vast majority of us aren’t. Aside from the issues authors face in finding an audience for their title in an increasingly crowded marketplace, the practicalities of writing a book and the odds of making money from it conspire to make being a novelist a dubious career choice.
I’m over-egging the pudding here, of course. We write because we want to tell stories, not to find fame and fortune. Though being paid equitably would be nice…
Let’s just consider the reality of producing a novel. The length of time it takes to complete a book varies wildly. For me, it can be anywhere between six months and many years. If your book is published traditionally, you may earn an advance, but there’s no guarantee that advance will earn out, and it’s not likely to be an enormous amount. If you take the independent publishing route, then the costs of production – editing, cover art, formatting, printing the damn thing etc – can quickly mount up, and don’t even get me started on marketing.
And there’s another level to the madness. You write your book, it gets published, people enjoy it. Fantastic! What happens next? If readers like your book, chances are they’ll share it. Often, that means they’ll give away their copy. That’s great: you might have just got yourself another loyal reader without having to post on social media or spend a penny on advertising. Alternatively, your book might be donated to a charity shop, and that’s great too, because other readers and the charity running the shop will benefit. But as an author (and I hate myself for saying this) it can sting. A single copy of your book, on which you might have originally earned a couple of quid, might go on to be read by many more people, and there’s every chance you won’t see another penny.
Again, I’m writing this purely from the perspective of someone who makes a living (just) from their writing. Getting your book read is more important than profiting from it. All I’m saying is it’s not the most lucrative of professions (usually).
I hope you’ll already be aware of BOOKSHOP – they’re a company that works to increase the share of the online book-selling market available to authors and independent booksellers alike. They’ve just launched BOOKLOOP, an initiative to help readers and writers alike profit from second-hand books.
With BOOKLOOP, you can scan the barcode of a book and have it instantly valued. When you’ve got enough books to total £5, you can send them back to BOOKSHOP where they’ll be resold or recycled. You’ll earn credit to spend at BOOKSHOP and, working in conjunction with ALCS*, authors will receive a royalty if books they’ve written go on to be resold. It’s a win-win-win deal – readers make money on books they’ve finished with, authors earn a further income on their work, and any books that aren’t sold are recycled.
If you’ve got a shelf full of books you’re not going to read again, why not give BOOKLOOP a go?
*authors – if you’re not already a member of ALCS.CO.UK, please consider signing up. They collect royalties from various sources around the world and work to ensure they’re paid to authors. As well as this initiative, they operate similar schemes with WORLD OF BOOKS among others, as well as collecting income from library loans, media use of written works, and many other sources. They provide a wonderful service that I recommend without hesitation.