Can you make money writing? Easily! And whole millions! This is proved by the annual ranking of the richest book authors on the planet, compiled by Forbes. How much do writers earn? And why are there no Russian names on the Forbes list? About this in the material of the studio "BOOK".
Compose and grow rich: how much book writers earn
Every year, the American Forbes magazine calculates how much book writers earn and compiles a hit parade of the richest writers in the world. In 2017, Harry Potter's mother JK Rowling turned out to be its leader. From June 2016 to June 2017, she put $95 million in her wallet.
A little behind the British novelist is the American James Patterson. The writer of adult detectives and teen stories made $87 million richer this year. In third place by a giant margin is Jeff Kinney, creator of the popular children's series Diary of a Wimpy Kid. His account for 12 months was replenished with "only" $ 21 million.
The remaining places in the top ten were distributed as follows (the amounts are indicated in millions of dollars):
- Dan Brown (responsible for the Professor Langdon conspiracy novels received $20);
- Stephen King (king of horrors made $15 rich);
- John Grisham (author of numerous detective stories sold for $14);
- Nora Roberts (detective novelist's profit increased by $14);
- Paula Hawkins (creator of the bestselling The Girl on the Train earned $13);
- E.L. James (writer of the Fifty Shades of Gray trilogy got $11.50);
- Daniela Steele (the queen of women's prose was able to add $11 to her account).
How about us? How much do writers earn in Russia
It is easy to see that there is not a single Russian author on the Forbes list. And this trend has continued for decades. Is it really impossible for us to get rich by doing writing? According to experts, it is theoretically possible! However, the main problem lies in the circulation - too small, when compared with Western ones. Even the cost of book production plays a smaller role in how much writers earn.
Daria Dontsova, Dina Rubina, Boris Akunin - these and some other domestic writers have very good sales. Thus, the total circulation of Dontsova's heritage is approximately 200 million copies. But Rowling's novels sell 400 million copies, only the Bible has more. At the same time, the circulation with which a book is issued in the Russian Federation today is an average of 4.5 thousand copies.
Another aspect of the difference in the incomes of Russian and foreign prose writers is related to the language barrier. Many foreign authors get rich quicker in part because they write in English. After all, this language is spoken by a much larger number of people than Russian. Meanwhile, not all of our novelists are being translated. Lucky in this sense, Dina Rubina, Lyudmila Ulitskaya and Dmitry Glukhovsky. However, in comparison with the international circulation of the same Rowling, this is minuscule.
Another important point is the size of the fees. If you have just come into literature, the fee is usually only 25 thousand rubles. And the creator with the name is quite ready to pay a whole million. So, how much book writers earn depends largely on the length of service in the literary field.
And finally, the price of book production. How can a modern writer make money if the cost of printed and electronic literature in Russia has hardly changed lately?! In Europe and the United States, books are much more expensive, which is reflected in the authors' profits, calculated from the final sales. But if now the price of literature in the Russian Federation increases, the number of readers and circulation will be significantly reduced.
How to make money as a modern writer? Do not rely only on your gift!
Given the above, how can a writer make money in Russia? Almost everyone has to look for additional income. Even established novelists are forced to write scripts for serials and television films, engage in journalistic or entrepreneurial activities, and teach. Well, if you can sell the rights to the book abroad. But still, how much writers in Russia earn is very small compared to Western countries.
Most domestic prose writers, including nominees and winners of prestigious awards, earn about 80,000–100,000 rubles as a writer. in year. Only commercial authors specializing in science fiction, detective stories and romance novels can live on income from creativity. For example, Daria Dontsova's fee for one work often reaches $140,000. Alexandra Marinina receives an average of $100–150,000, Boris Akunin $25–30,000, and Tatiana Ustinova $25,000.
However, in the West, not every writer, even the most famous and beloved, is a millionaire. Writing a good piece is not everything. For example, "Harry Potter" is not just a great story about growing up, magic and the struggle between Good and Evil, but also a successful marketing project that brings huge profits. Considerable funds have been invested in its promotion, and Russian publishing houses simply do not have money for such PR campaigns.
And Rowling herself gets rich not only on writing. The lion's share of her income comes from selling the rights to the film adaptation of Potteriana. And in 2016, the personal funds of the writer grew in connection with the film adaptation of the book Fantastic Beasts and the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. In addition, the novelist receives a certain amount from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter amusement park.
So, in order to make money on your work and enter the Top 10 from Forbes, a creator from any state will have to try hard. Not only talent, hard work and perseverance will lead to success, but also competent marketing and a fair amount of luck.
Based on the material of "Rossiyskaya Gazeta"
P.S. In two years, we have written dozens of articles on how to take the first steps in writing. Read them on our blog. And already now you can choose a reader or announcer for the future audio version of your book.
Work examples
Prose| "Novella". Fragment
Prose| IN AND. Nemtsev "Perovsky"
business book| "Be obsessed or be like everyone else"
Fairy tale| "The Uninvited Guest" (Russian fairy tale)
Fairy tale| "Tumbling" (Scythian fairy tale)
Christian literature| "Spiritual Consolation"
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Earnings for a writer is a complex and opaque indicator. Earnings can vary from 30,000 rubles a year to tens of millions of dollars a month. The spread is quite large and it is far from being measured by the talent of the writer. It used to be easier in the USSR - I wrote a book, got access to the feeder and live the rest of my life. Now everything is much more complicated. Today we will find out how much modern writers earn.
For the third year in a row, in the list compiled by the influential Forbes magazine, the leader is James Patterson. The American pensioner earned $94 million in a year. He published 14 new books. Widely known are his bestsellers about psychologist Alex Cross, novels about detective Michael Bennett and a dozen books from the Women's Homicide Club series.
horror legend, Stephen King, of course, lagged behind his colleague, but also earned decently. Agree, 39 million green dollars a year is a very decent amount. On such an income, you can live long and well, even during periods of creative stagnation.
Another American Literary Star Janet Ivanovich earned $33 million last year. The working field for Janet is detective novels about a former lingerie saleswoman, Stephanie Plum, who changes her fortunes and becomes a bounty hunter.
You say this is abroad, what to compare? But let's admit that their expenses are not the same as ours, not to mention requests. True, ours are far behind their Western colleagues, but this does not prevent them from earning decent sums from their work.
Example, Daria Dontsova already tired of everyone, but I will repeat. In 2011 alone, Dontsova, according to the Russian Book Chamber, published books with a circulation of over two million copies. It is not known for certain how much she receives from the sale of each book, but even the minimum option of $ 1 is already more than $ 2 million a year. With the fertility of the author, the amount of earnings is decent.
Boris Akunin according to one data, he lags behind his colleagues in the shop. His circulation in 2011 was about 500,000 copies, but according to others he is the richest Russian writer. Even Forbes appreciated it. After all, do not forget that selling books is only the tip of the financial iceberg of a true professional writer.
But what about our fantasies? Now one of the most popular genres of literature brings decent money to its masters.
Sergey Lukyanenko launches circulations easily and naturally from 200 thousand pieces. By analogy, you can estimate how much it turns out in monetary terms. It is quite possible to live and even well.
I also want to point out that selling books is not everything. There are sales of film rights to books, script writing, advertising in the book and in life, passive income from publicity. Any professional writer will find a way to make money for their liking.
These are masters and professionals. How much do newbies get? If a novice author manages to persuade a publishing house to put his work into circulation, and it will be released in the amount of 3000 - 5000 books, then this will bring him an average of 30 thousand rubles. Agree, mere pennies compared to labor costs. Here the question arises, why all this? It is necessary to throw everything to hell and go to a hated job!
And then you have to think, why are you writing? If it's a hobby, then that's one thing. An income of 30 thousand rubles a year from a hobby is also not bad. Well, if you decide to do writing work, then to hell with everything! Take it and do it! Write every day, a lot and for a long time. Only in this way will you fill your hand and create a sufficient number of books to make yourself known.
It's good if you don't have family and obligations, then the whole world is at your feet. It would be a sin not to try to become a writer and make yourself known to the whole world, but what about a family office plankton with a set of decent devices, issued on credit? In this case, you should prepare for the transition.
The transition to a writing career must begin early. You have to write your first book first. Tips can be found on our website. Next, close all debts. The transition must take place on a sound financial footing. After that, we find an additional, preferably the most passive source of income, you can read about it here. Then, when your passive income begins to bear the first fruits, and you learn how to cover the minimum needs, quit. Now is your time to become a professional writer. Take care of it. Write every day and sell. Sell yourself, creativity, experience is what will help you get the real life of a writer.
Today we learned that a writer's earnings are directly dependent on desire and experience. Mind your own business, and your business will always make you RICH.
What do you think about the income of the writer? Please leave comments below.
Many people dream of publishing their book and making money from it. Today I will tell you about my experience of cooperation with the Ridero publishing service.
On the publication of my first collection, I earned a little more than 10,000 rubles in three months.
I will share my story, give advice on how to prepare for publication and what mistakes to avoid.
About Ridero
When signing an electronic contract with this service, you must clearly understand some things:
- All work on the preparation of the book from and to is your task. Ridero does not position itself as a publishing house.
– In order to make money, you must not only write the book itself, but also be seriously puzzled by its future promotion, that is, have a clear plan - how you are going to sell it.
I seem to have figured it out myself. But I expected that there would be some independent sales. Just because I'm great and wrote a book ... But no.
The numbers of my fee grew only after some kind of activity - posts, articles, advertising. So take it right away: you will sell. Ridero will only provide a platform.
“Accept the idea that no matter how talented an author you are, no one will buy books by an unknown writer”
A miracle can happen, but you should not count on it.
The best thing you can do is to make a business plan, considering the costs you allow for the publication and advertising of the book, as well as the chances of payback.
All this is necessary in order to avoid unjustified expectations and disappointment with all the flight of creativity.
I did not order additional services from Ridero: proofreader, cover design. I was looking for all the specialists on the side.
It saved me money, but not time. The technical support service always responded quickly, by e-mail. They also consulted over the phone with no problems.
What should be done before publishing a book?
I initially made a plan of my goals and expenses. They included:
Book edition: cover design and photo, proofreading services (3000 rubles for everything).
Emphasis on free promotion methods: mass media and contacting acquaintances with a request to post a text about the book on their pages on social networks.
My main mistake was that, having thought carefully about everything related to the publication of the book, I did not take enough care of its advertising.
Meanwhile, I am sure that the right approach could increase my fee several times over.
The main omission, in my opinion, is that I set myself a low sales target. I think, well, I will sell 150 books, and that will be good for the first time.
When I saw that the statistics were approaching the desired indicator, I somehow lost my enthusiasm. Like, well, anyway, I'm finishing. Burnt out.
Set the right price: the publishing service works in such a way that you decide how much your book can be bought for.
My book costs 120 rubles, and when buying from the Ridero website, I get a little more than 70 rubles from each book sold.
As for the other partner resources: LitRes, MyBook, OZON, Amazon, Bookmate, Google play, you will receive less when selling there.
With all the desire to make money, do not forget that the high price will repel the reader. Before choosing the cost of a book, I looked at the approximate prices on all resources in my genre, compared the cost of books by famous authors and debutants.
Now that I'm not planning on posting any more PR articles and posts, I think it's time to make it free. So that she starts working for the name, for the future.
How to promote your book?
Friends
Put embarrassment aside. Ask friends and acquaintances to write posts about you. It helped me a lot in the beginning.
I asked to post my cover with a brief information and a link to everyone and everywhere.
“Someone wakes up famous, but the author of samizdat has to fight his way, that's a fact”
For some reason, many are embarrassed to contact journalists. And absolutely in vain. The worst thing that can happen to you is that you will be ignored and nothing will change.
At the same time, the news about the release of the book can "shoot" and bring you sales.
There were several stories about my book on regional TV and dozens of articles.
All this thanks to the information chain. Find a journalist who will write about you in a local publication. Then another. The third one will find you.
How I did it:
- Compiled a short press release (the news about the release of the book with the most interesting facts about it) and sent it by e-mail to the media that they have on their website;
- I found journalists on Vkontakte - through the publics of their publications and wrote short messages, they say, are you interested in such news, here is the release, and here I am, ready to answer all questions;
- Later, the idea came to me that you can raffle free copies in the media, but I myself have not tried this item yet;
You can not only publish posts about the release of your book, but also tips, stories about your publishing experience, and also give away free copies.
The last method worked great on my Instagram.
Bloggers
In my non-professional opinion, it is paid advertising that works much better in blogs than in the media.
It's also usually cheaper. There are a lot of literary publics and popular people who write book reviews.
I asked for prices and chose one - for testing. Now I understand that I underestimated this method of promotion.
While vacationing in Egypt, I thought, why not systematize the information on a blog site on some particular childhood problem, and publish my own book? The blog would play a significant role in this.
And yesterday I met with a representative of a small publishing house that publishes both its own books on the marine theme and books by other authors.
I was just very surprised and shocked by what I heard. I offer you, dear readers, exclusive information, so to speak :).
1. Contact a major publisher.
As a rule, these are very large publishing houses such as AST, Peter and many others.
What is needed for this? To contact the publisher, a fully written manuscript is required, which may not be fully edited in terms of errors. Without a fully prepared manuscript, no publisher will even talk to a novice author. You will also need a synopsis. A synopsis is the content and a short description of the book, usually on one A4 sheet. The largest is two sheets, but only for very serious publications.
Everything, on this preparatory work ends. Next, we send the finished manuscript and synopsis to all major publishers. You need to be prepared that a large number of publishers will refuse you. And we are waiting for feedback.
Why should aspiring writers work with a publishing house?
- The publisher covers the cost of layout and printing of the book from its own funds - the author only needs to provide the text of the book
- The publisher advertises books at its own expense.
- The publisher independently distributes books through its networks
As you can see, everything turns out great.
However, let's move on to the next exciting moment - about the earnings of the authors (we will return to the second version of the publication of the book a little later).
How much do writers earn?
I will only talk about beginning writers.
The book market is very overheated. Even 10 years ago, there was such a situation that there were no books on the shelves, and people literally had to stand in lines at night to get some desired books. The Russian nation was VERY reading. Now, any reader can find anything, even for the most sophisticated taste - just go to any store! However… people stopped reading. At all. AND 90% of published books are now simply impossible to sell. And if niche products are still somehow selling, then fiction is simply going through the worst of its times, and in the future this trend will not change for the better. 
A large number of aspiring writers are ready to work absolutely no fee with the release of the first books, if only their book was published!
Publishing houses - both large and small private ones - increasingly have to refuse novice authors to publish a book, since their books practically do not sell!
Why do publishers often turn down new writers?
First of all, consider the example of a refusal from the words of the owner of a private book publishing house who gave me advice.
A large number of authors are elderly people who feel that their life is about to end. They want to leave their mark on the earth. Indeed, from the circulation of any published book, several copies automatically fall into history. So, one copy of the book is automatically sent to the leading libraries of the world, and the name of the author is somehow entered into the history of mankind.
Many authors of this type write biographies or stories about the war. Among their work come across very good works. However, no one knows these people... And, consequently, their books simply will not be sold. At all.
But ... The calculation in this case is simple. Even if a publishing house earns, let's say, $500-800 from the release of such books, then ... These books will lie in warehouses for several years, taking up a considerable amount of space. A storage place is money, and not small. As a result, for several years of storing books at home, the publishing house will be at a serious loss.
It is for this reason, which is not noticeable at first glance, that publishing houses are forced to refuse young authors who even if the author offers to pay publication of the book.
How to make a name for yourself?
Publishing houses give preference to novice authors who have plans to release a whole series of books. It should immediately be noted that the manuscripts of the first books should already be ready and immediately provided to the publisher.
If the author plans to publish his books on his own, then he also needs to have some entrepreneurial skills: layout, design, cover creation and many, many other stages, including advertising and selling the book, he will have to go through on his own. On the other hand, the author receives absolutely all the income from the sale of books, and if the author has a name, this is quite interesting.
Selling books online.
Are books sold online? My consultant runs a fairly well-known online store with about 12-15 thousand visitors daily. Moreover, his company employs an SEO specialist who has been promoting the site on the Internet for several years, both through Direct and media advertising, and through search engines.
According to the owner of this book publishing house, through their online bookstore, a volume of books is sold per day comparable to the sale of any of the stores in the center of Moscow, that is, in fact, this is another point of sale. This is just a ridiculous amount compared to the total number of sales of books by the publisher throughout Moscow.
A novice author, even having a name on the Internet, has very little chance of releasing his book without the help of a publisher: most users will not buy a book, but wait for its release in electronic form, which, as you know, can be easily downloaded without spending a dime.
These are the sad prospects for a novice author when publishing a book.
After the conversation, of course, I crossed out writing and publishing a book from my immediate life plans.
Many people have a talent for writing interesting articles, but they do not use it. Sometimes the writer wakes up in each of us and we want to express our thoughts on paper. Most often it remains only in the head, but if your texts start to generate income, you will definitely do this more often.
Internet writing is an online job that many have turned into a side job. With any knowledge or just a good imagination, you can make money selling articles for websites. This is an interesting work that does not require any contributions and serious knowledge, you can put up the first text for sale today.
How to make money as a writer on the Internet?
Copywriting exchanges were created especially for authors. They are visited by thousands of potential buyers who are looking for useful materials to fill their resources. With the help of exchanges, you can not only put up finished articles for sale, but also take orders.
Info business for a writer
Does it make sense to trade for little things and sell small texts when you can build a full-fledged business on e-books. To start such a business, you need a plan of action. There is a useful article on Next Invest with, use ready-made instructions.
It is not difficult to find special programs for creating e-books on the Internet. One of the most popular is Book Designer, even a beginner will understand how to use it, so you can concentrate on the content.
Nobody buys stupid junk, people need to be given something useful and interesting. Look at what is trending now, what problems people have and so on. Coming up with a good idea is not so easy, and you need to take into account the stock of your knowledge.
As for the implementation, it is not necessary to create your own website for this. There are special systems where you can put up an e-book for sale. On Glopart, they accept various kinds of information products for free, and partners are engaged in their sale (you will pay them a percentage of the sale):
This is the statistics of all added books on Plati.ru. A wide range for the buyer and a lot of competitors for the seller. With the help of these services, you can see what the authors write about, what sells better and what price to set for your product.
Making money as an Internet writer is a great option to turn your knowledge into money. The niche is open to everyone, some people have built successful careers in copywriting and infobusiness. Do not sit idle, start writing books or articles, money is not superfluous.
