How much do authors make

Make sure you have a manuscript if it's fiction or a proposal if it's non-fiction that feels ready to share. The goal is to make them feel like you are hard-working and that the book, and the author, has potential. Then the publisher comes in. They make sure that your book can be the best it can be. Great, you have a book! What does this mean for your career and your earnings? Unfortunately, one book isn't going to ricochet you into wealth.

That doesn't sound too bad right? The beginning steps of publishing a book are similar, regardless of how you choose to publish it. You want to ensure your work is in the best place it can be, a rough draft won't do. There's the option to get an editor , which will place your work above others. Then you have to consider the option of an e-book vs an actual print. Much of the work of getting a novel off the ground is investing money first, hopefully, get a profit back.

There are many benefits to consider when self-publishing. For starters, you'll have complete creative freedom. Publishing houses often bring in a group of creative experts to look over your novel. This might be great for some but for those who want to keep a lot of the creative decisions, it might be difficult to deal with.

There's also the guarantee of publishing. With publishing houses, it might take a while for the book to actually hit the shelves. Self-publishing is completely up to you, you decide when it's published and are responsible for making it happen. By cutting out the middleman you also get a greater portion of royalties. The trouble with family is that they sometimes sugar-coat their feedback. I only mention this because authors need to consider dynamics with their families and friends if they go that route.

Nonetheless, I revise according to their comments, and then I line edit from the last sentence of the manuscript all the way back to the beginning. For whatever reason, going in the order opposite to how I wrote it allows me to catch more errors.

After that, I send it to my proofreader. Because I write science fiction, my manuscripts run a little longer than most. While I pay for proofreading, I do not pay for editing…. In my case, I had to decide between using the money for a book cover and formatting or an editor. Still, I recognize that my time is better spent writing. Happy writing, Just An Indie! The results are what they are for this particular survey. Obviously some paid less than that, unless they lied, but what purpose would that serve?

Moving on. These are different things with different price points that reflect the time and work that goes into each process. While the authors were given several price points to choose from, this survey does not reflect the range of editing types, which is problematic. It has nothing to do with being honest or not, but it has everything to do with the categories the respondents had to choose from.

In this instance, this survey only presents part of the picture. Some have tried to say that editors have a role and I agree with a few caveats. Editors make far more than the average author these days Average being those who make considerably less than even 50k a year. Thanks for that!!! I was sitting here reading all the editors comments.

I worked with an editor who complained constantly about all the work he had to do for the little amount he was making. I paid a lot more to him than I ever made on my first novel.. I would love to spend more money on editing. And my dream is to reach a level of success that would allow me to pay editors what they are worth. In the end, readers decide what they are and are not willing to pay for.

If they can get by with a mix of beta reads and an inexpensive copyedit or proofread, awesome. If someone can do their own cover and it look professional, awesome. Developmental edits are more expensive. That is what editors are reporting. Please understand that a heavy copyedit of an 80,—word manuscript can take ninety to a hundred hours.

I favor authors who know what a good editor can do. I am aware that some professional editors will allow themselves to be exploited this way—mostly because most editors are women and we as a rule have not been taught how to advocate for ourselves.

As an aside, I did give birth twice. Neither time was I paid for my time conceiving, gestating, or giving birth to either child. I still have no problem with the fact that the obstetricians were paid gobs and gobs of money to deliver my children. It does no one any favors — not writers, copy editors, or the reading audience — to create expectations that editors will work for the laughably low pay that you claim they will.

I have no idea how you came to such a conclusion, or who you interviewed, but please visit the Editorial Freelancers Association website at the-efa.

I would think that the editing quote is because most of these authors are probably only getting proofreading done. Editing takes years of experience and professional development.

The rates we charge should be commensurate with our professionalism. I am an English professor, and I know better. They are very specialized and different endeavors. Even in academic writing, the conventions for each discipline chemical engineering, medieval studies, etc. The same goes for fiction: genre expectations are different.

Editing is about so much more than grammar or spelling. In fact, good writing is sometimes about breaking some rules while following others — Russell Hoban, anyone? I suspect the rates reflected here refer to proofreading — and proofreading for something on the shorter side of the spectrum. Good editing requires much more than reading and adding a few corrections to a manuscript. I think editors have elevated what they offer almost to some kind of sacred rite.

I mean seriously. They are WELL edited. A good editor, especially a good developmental editor, helps a writer improve his or her craft. You can compare a novel by F.

Scott Fitzgerald to one by a moderately successful genre writer and find that both are relatively error-free when it comes to spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

You may also find that one writer has achieved a level of expression and depth and eloquence that the other has not. They can help develop strengths in a writer the same way a trainer or coach develops strengths in an athlete. So, yeah. Traditional publishers are only concerned with maximum profit and saving costs as much as possible. They would not pay expensive editors if they were not necessary or they believed they could produce good books without them.

All authors, no matter how famous and how experienced, work with a structural and line editor at these houses. I doubt it, but the question is too broad as is and captured all the varying forms of editing within one response as if they were all equal in time and attention.

I feel a more specific definition around the types of editing services being paid for, and at what price, will bring a better understanding of what the responding authors are actually doing in their process from first draft to published.

I also feel that for the next survey this should be broken out into several questions and not just one. The varying editing forms need to be specified and the price for each type of editing accounted for in turn. I think something that also is missing in the survey is if authors, after publishing their work and seeing a profit, go back and have the book professionally edited at some later point. They release a book, check the interest level in it, then determine if a more thorough edit is justified.

In other words, they have friends, family, beta readers, and an inexpensive editor go through their work, then publish. I pay USD for copy editing on a K book. My editor takes a week to work on the manuscript and does an excellent job. In my opinion, the survey accurately reflects the amount many writers are paying for copy editing. The question was how much do you pay for an edit? Authors are getting their books edited for that price as evidenced by the survey and the comments here from other authors.

So they find alternate ways to bring their books up to a standard of quality that their readers are happy with. The myopic navel gazing here is extraordinary.

Most indies swap for content edits plot inconsistencies, characterization, etc. I agree a good editor is important. However, the fact is that the market a. Which is why indies can afford to skimp on things like developmental and copy edits while even borrowing money to get a good cover. The one essential editor most indies agree on is the proof-reader and you can find low-cost proofreaders everywhere these days.

The editing costs are spot on. The people in my circle mostly earn over k, several over k and a few over 7 figures. On books that are highly rated and hitting lists. The editing is mostly proof-reading. These are editors that worked for Big 5 houses. I do read fast. Thing is, as editors you can be outraged by these prices, but they are realistic for what most indie authors are paying. The market dictates pricing.

It normally takes at least a week if not longer. A professional editor has many things to consider when working on a manuscript and it has absolutely nothing to do with how fast a reader you are.

That is when you read the book and then give suggestions on how to make it better, expand this area, more conflict, this confused me, that kind of thing. Very different from a line or proof edit. A developmental edit involves detailed comments in the margins about specific passages, not just an editorial letter summarizing the issues.

No, it includes detailed comments…but on story, not on grammar. I also love doing it. Yes, on story, not grammar. Also keep in mind that professional editors have more than one client. A project that only takes two or three days might not get back to the writer for a few weeks if there are other projects in the queue. Where necessary for narrative clarity and quality, move paragraphs or sections from one place to another.

Establish or maintain a consistent tone, style, and authorial voice or level of formality appropriate for the intended audience and medium.

Flag sentences or paragraphs that require further development by author for effective narrative quality and flow. Reorder sentences within a paragraph where necessary to ensure that the paragraph has a clear and coherent focus.

Adjust the length and structure of paragraphs to ensure variety or consistency, as appropriate to the audience and medium. Ensure that transitions between sentences and between paragraphs are smooth and support the coherent development of the text as a whole.

Does not include research or writing original material. Render jargon into plain language while leaving terms of art intact. Eliminate wordiness. Ensure consistency of spelling and punctuation. Ensure references are formatted pursuant to the Chicago Manual of Style 16th Edition. Some elements may be formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style 17th Edition, forthcoming in September , if known. Notice that these are consistent requirements across genre.

Performing those tasks as a trained professional editor can goes at the pace of 5—8 pages an hour. The second pass can be more like 10 pages an hour. Anyone who says they can do all that in three days is lying. So naturally someone can claim to be able to do tasks like this in less time than it would take to actually read the book. This is one way an editor can give themselves an edge and even charge a premium for a rush project.

So if we have twenty projects in the queue, we should be able to rip through all of them within a few weeks? You want a tight book, whatever that is for your genre, without distracting errors, plot holes, or WTF moments. My developmental editor for Montlake was a very well respected acquisitions editor at a major romance house.

Generally it takes her a week. I used her for one indie book to see. I know how to write my main genre, and I use alpha readers as I go that serve the purpose of a developmental editor for me—they are critical readers who think about the story. Mainly they focus on character development and how a character is coming across, which is what my readers care about as well.

For the record I am publishing my 23rd book. My background is in legal and educational publishing—first the copyediting and then the marketing sides. I can assure folks that there are indeed many indie authors putting out well constructed, clean books. My Montlake books, which go through three rounds of developmental editing, a copyedit, and a proofread, are ranked about the same as my indie books: for books written in the past few years, everything has a 4.

I have thousands of reviews on Amazon. Karen — you just made my day!!! What a great parallel! I will NEVER again be able to think of book-writing as anything other than a laborious gestational journey. BUT, I think editors might have to go through a lot more mire than an obstetrician!! I know I started out doing K-ish fantasy novels and am now more typically in the 75K range. This is her day job. I am happy to pay her a rate at which she can make a decent living.

Many of us have beta readers who chime in on some of the big-picture things. I also have fans who typo hunt for me for free copies. Your comment is a direct reflection on the differences between writers and what the editing needs might be. Someone learning the ropes probably would. Such writers only need basic proof reading not even true line edits. Others have superb marketing skills and write for profit only.

Some get a boost from a traditional publishing house that provides all the skilled professional services. They pay nothing for editing. Others pay premium prices for multi-level editing.

I make five figures a month. I had a developmental edit once. These days my developmental edit is called a plot. Which addresses each character arc, stages of intimacy, sub plot arcs, etc before I even start writing. My editing process it to run it through two different spell checker, send it to alpha readers, send it to good proofreader for two passes, send it to beta readers and then to the ARC team. I hate that price point. It devalues the work.

Then just look at their agency profiles and Manuscript Wish Lists. As you research, keep track of popular elements you could potentially include in your next book. Finally, pay attention to who is actually talking about books like yours! You might find your target audience is slightly different than you anticipated and need to adjust your proto-persona. Without exception, the highest-earning authors in publishing work with both pro editors and cover designers.

This post on cover design will take you through design essentials and help you narrow down the most important visual elements for your cover.

Look for a cover designer who has experience in your genre and whose style you genuinely adore. Not sure what sort of editing your book requires? This post on the different types of editing might help.

These guides to writing series and writing trilogies will be immensely helpful as you proceed. For fictional series, consider the following:. For a holistic approach to author earnings, one cannot overlook the importance of income sources other than book sales!

Many established authors offer coaching services to new authors, assisting them with things like project plans, feedback on their writing, and navigating the confusing world of publishing. While one-on-one coaching and consulting sessions are great, you might be better off hosting courses and seminars that multiple people can take at once. Learn more about how you can become an editor and how you can become a ghostwriter over on our freelancer blog!

The one thing all high-earning authors have in common is that they hustle. You'll make money as an author, not from the sales of your book , but from the relationships you create with your books. Even Grisham, King, and Rowling make more money from TV and film adaptations of their books than the actual sales of their books.

Producers pay them a lot of money for the opportunity to capitalize on the relationships they've forged with their readers, and to give their fans a deeper experience with the stories they've come to know and love. This holds the key to how "lesser" authors like you and me can make money with books, too: Use your book to create relationships with readers. Let your book be your ambassador so others get to know, like, and trust you.

Your book will open doors and grease the wheels. A good example is my book, Engagement from Scratch!