MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - How many authors can the consumers sustain?

BearMountainBooks · 03-07-2012, 01:37 PM

Since only about 5 percent (this is a way old stat from probably 15 years ago) make an actual living writing fiction, I'd guess the number is pretty dang small. Probably around 500. (I'm pulling the 500 out of my hat. The 5 percent came from an article I read a long time ago. They threw out women writers who had a husband providing the bulk of income and health insurance.)

There's not a lot of money in writing. You have to move a lot of books CONSTANTLY to provide a steady income.

03-07-2012, 01:37 PM	#53
BearMountainBooks Maria Schneider Posts: 3,746 Karma: 26439330 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Near Austin, Texas Device: 3g Kindle Keyboard	Since only about 5 percent (this is a way old stat from probably 15 years ago) make an actual living writing fiction, I'd guess the number is pretty dang small. Probably around 500. (I'm pulling the 500 out of my hat. The 5 percent came from an article I read a long time ago. They threw out women writers who had a husband providing the bulk of income and health insurance.) There's not a lot of money in writing. You have to move a lot of books CONSTANTLY to provide a steady income.