Romance writer Brenda Hiatt updated her “Show Me the Money” spreadsheet about a month ago: http://brendahiatt.com/id2.html. As many of you probably know, Brenda’s been collecting data on what romance authors make for over a decade now. She gets her information from volunteers who provide their earnings figures anonymously (she deletes the e-mails after she inputs the data into the spreadsheet). She also gives a workshop on this topic each year at the Romance Writers of America (RWA) national conference.
I’m not generally a numbers person, but I can get my geek on when it comes to statistics. A few bits of random earnings trivia that caught my eye from Brenda’s latest Show Me the Money post:
- The Wild Rose Press constantly shows up in the first sales column of RWA’s monthly magazine, Romance Writers Report, so many authors are getting a start there. However, the figures TWRP authors reported to Hiatt are absolutely dismal. The median earn-out was $65. With numbers like that, it’s understandable that some writers might decide self-publishing was a better option.
- Authors at erotic publisher Ravenous Romance, which in my experience doesn’t tend to get good word-of-mouth among authors, reported a much higher median earn-out of $500. Unusually for the digitally published world, Ravenous authors also reported receiving a small advance.
- Authors at Cerridwen, the sister publication of erotic romance powerhouse Ellora’s Cave, also reported dismal numbers. The median earn-out was $100.
- Speaking of Ellora’s Cave, the median earn-out authors reported for novellas ($2100) was nearly the same as for longer works ($2300).
- Harlequin Historicals authors reported earning significantly less for their books than authors of almost all Harlquin’s series/category lines.
Brenda doesn’t include a publisher unless she has at least three responses for books from that publisher, so a number of newer e-publishers aren’t on her list yet – Carina, Decadent, and Turquoise Morning, for instance.
Carina author Amy Atwell, founder of the GIAM writing community, has a project underway to collect data specifically about e-publishing. Through May 1. she’s gathering info on the various digital publishers' contract terms and what authors are earning on their individual books. For more information about this project and how to participate, go to: http://bit.ly/fmgbNi.
I’m not generally a numbers person, but I can get my geek on when it comes to statistics. A few bits of random earnings trivia that caught my eye from Brenda’s latest Show Me the Money post:
- The Wild Rose Press constantly shows up in the first sales column of RWA’s monthly magazine, Romance Writers Report, so many authors are getting a start there. However, the figures TWRP authors reported to Hiatt are absolutely dismal. The median earn-out was $65. With numbers like that, it’s understandable that some writers might decide self-publishing was a better option.
- Authors at erotic publisher Ravenous Romance, which in my experience doesn’t tend to get good word-of-mouth among authors, reported a much higher median earn-out of $500. Unusually for the digitally published world, Ravenous authors also reported receiving a small advance.
- Authors at Cerridwen, the sister publication of erotic romance powerhouse Ellora’s Cave, also reported dismal numbers. The median earn-out was $100.
- Speaking of Ellora’s Cave, the median earn-out authors reported for novellas ($2100) was nearly the same as for longer works ($2300).
- Harlequin Historicals authors reported earning significantly less for their books than authors of almost all Harlquin’s series/category lines.
Brenda doesn’t include a publisher unless she has at least three responses for books from that publisher, so a number of newer e-publishers aren’t on her list yet – Carina, Decadent, and Turquoise Morning, for instance.
Carina author Amy Atwell, founder of the GIAM writing community, has a project underway to collect data specifically about e-publishing. Through May 1. she’s gathering info on the various digital publishers' contract terms and what authors are earning on their individual books. For more information about this project and how to participate, go to: http://bit.ly/fmgbNi.
7 comments:
Informative post, Gail. Thanks for gathering all of that info.
Numbers *are* important. If we want to make a living. Just because we create doesn't mean we want to do it for free. Loving what you do is wonderful and paying bills with what you love to do is even better. :)
I haven't seen this before (and I feel stupid asking this) but am I the only one who doesn't quite get it? Is average earn-out the average across a single book for its entire lifetime? And if so, why is average usually so close to median? Seems like those really well known/successful authors would really swing the average way way up above the median. Or am I not getting this...
I'm assuming these are for one book, right? Because as any multi published writer can tell you, the numbers get better as you build a back list, learn how to promote, ect.
My income in 2009 was in the single digits. Not kidding there. I had one full length book and one short steamy romance and no social networking under my belt. 2010 was MUCH better, with three new releases and multiple social networking accounts. ;-)
Amber - Thanks for stopping by!
Yes, Amber & Jenn, my understanding is that the average and median earn-out numbers are for a single book over its lifetime. And I'm guessing the "really well known/successful authors" like, say, Nora Roberts, don't have time to send Brenda their numbers. These are self-reported numbers, so they're not all-inclusive and may not always be totally accurate. However, what Brenda gives us is still more info than we get from the publishers!
Hi, Gail. I was really interested in seeing these numbers on her site too, and e-mailed her with my numbers. My series is pubbed with The Wild Rose Press, and I'm happy to report I've made MUCH, MUCH better money than what's posted here. Mind you, I've now got all five books of the series published, and I'd still love to see my sales improve.
It's tough when a publisher can't do much to help market their authors. I'm hoping to see good numbers from Carina, as I've got three books coming out with them. Since two of those are erotic romance novellas with a lower price point, I expect those sales will be better than that of my single title. Will keep you posted.
What an informative post!!! Thanks, Gail!
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