Quote:
Originally Posted by crossi
A full time writer who doesn't write books that a LOT of people want to buy shouldn't be shocked even if they made nothing. Just because you write something doesn't mean you are entitled to be able to make a living from it. Now if a lot of people bought the books and because of bad contract terms the publisher made a lot of money but you only got a pittance, now that would be shocking. I mean shocking that your agent let you sign something with such bad terms. Fire the agent.
Blaming bookstores and libraries for allowing potential customers to read your books is just wrongheaded. I've found a lot of new favorite authors whose books became autobuys by reading my first book by that author in a library or bookstore. I browse the stores a lot picking up things that look interesting and sometimes if the author is good I get hooked and pulled into the book. After reading that book I'm likely to search out other titles by that author and often buy a bunch all at once to take home. Of course if the book was only so-so probably not, so that book was a lost sale. Solution: write better books.
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This is what annoys me about many so-called literary authors making a living off government grants. What normally happens is a quite incestuous group is appointed to administer government art funds which they distribute within that like-minded group. Some of the supported authors may be successful, but it seems that most of them suffer from the problem that no one wants to read their work. This is not, of course, limited only to literature.
IMHO no author is entitled to a living. If you want to write, you should not expect to make a living at it unless you are not only writing what enough people want to read but are also able to actually attract those readers. The vast majority of authors who publish, either themselves or through a traditional publisher, are never going to make a living at it. Many of these don't mind and are happy just to write. Some will give up. But no one is entitled to expect to be able to do it full time at the expense of the taxpayer. You are not owed a living. You should only get my money if I read your Book. I don't want to subsidise the writing of pretentious rubbish which no one wants to read.