Writing books remains a tough way to make a living

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Writing books remains a precarious way to earn a living, with traditional publishing often paying only a small fraction of a book’s retail price to authors and relying on a few blockbusters to subsidize the rest. Many contributors describe shifting to self-publishing, Patreon, web serials, or audiobooks to capture higher royalties and build direct relationships with readers, though success typically still requires strong marketing skills and multiple titles. A recurring theme is that books now function as much as credibility builders or gateways to consulting and courses as standalone income sources, in a market saturated with content and competing forms of entertainment.

Economics of Traditional vs Self‑Publishing

  • Many report very low traditional royalties (single-digit percentages; “cents per copy” for some), especially after agents and publisher recoup advances.
  • Self‑publishing ebooks commonly yields 70–80% of sale price via automated platforms. A few posters cite large earnings (into millions) from niche non‑fiction, but others call these outcomes rare and request evidence.
  • Several authors with “successful” traditionally published books describe total income in the low five figures and conclude it’s not worth the time purely for money.

Value Provided by Traditional Publishers

  • Claimed benefits:
    • Professional developmental editing and copyediting (though some say quality and staffing have declined).
    • Layout, printing, physical distribution, and sales rep networks for bookstores and libraries.
    • Access to translation and audiobook production budgets.
    • Prestige/validation, media coverage, and “expert” status that can drive speaking and consulting.
  • Counterpoint: many publishers now expect authors to do most marketing themselves yet still take a large royalty cut, making trad deals look poor versus self‑pub unless prestige or ancillary benefits matter.

Self‑Publishing, Marketing, and Discovery

  • Self‑pub authors must handle or outsource editing, covers, typesetting, and marketing. Good covers and blurbs are seen as critical; cheap‑looking design is treated as a quality red flag.
  • Discovery is hard; strategies include: newsletters, ARCs and review teams, BookBub and similar promo sites, podcasts, social media, Patreon, web serial sites, and heavy spend on Amazon/Facebook ads.
  • Some argue ads are essential and reinvest ~50% of profits; others report making a living without ads but with intense audience engagement. Building a backlist of 5–10+ books is considered important.

Indirect Benefits of Writing Books

  • Many non‑fiction/technical authors say the real payoff is reputational: job opportunities, consulting, coaching, higher rates, or course sales often dwarf royalties.
  • Books serve as proof of expertise (“you literally wrote the book on X”) and a forcing function to deeply learn a topic.

Reader Behavior and Market Demand

  • Several posters say readers are price‑sensitive, especially with Kindle Unlimited and cheap ebooks; others claim story/interest matters more than a $5 difference, at least for fiction.
  • Multiple anecdotes suggest many people read 0–2 books/year; heavy readers are a minority but may read dozens. Libraries and piracy are reported to increase personal reading and sometimes drive later purchases.
  • Romance and genre fiction (including web serials and graphic novels) are portrayed as commercially strong; some dismiss large swaths as “pulp,” others defend them as valid escapist entertainment.

Inequality, Definitions, and Career Reality

  • Writing is compared to music, art, and game design: extremely hit‑driven, with a tiny minority earning well and most needing day jobs.
  • Debate over who counts as an “author” in income surveys: including everyone who uploads a book will drive median income near zero; narrowing to high earners risks tautological results.
  • Posters disagree on how much family wealth vs. day jobs subsidize early career authors, and whether US readers “hardly read” versus simply reading different things (short‑form, online).

Technology and Future Trends

  • Several expect younger authors to favor self‑publishing, Patreon, Kindle Unlimited, audiobooks, and serial platforms; hardbacks may become collector’s editions, with most consumption digital or audio.
  • Print on demand for both paperback and hardcover is mentioned as increasingly viable.
  • Some anticipate AI will soon handle much translation and audiobook narration and eventually much low‑end “pulp” writing; others note current fans still value human narrators and careful human editing.