doodleauthors00WHAT THE SURVEYS FOUND
Most authors write for love and earn elsewhere.
Since 2006 a series of UK surveys has asked authors what they earn. The latest, run in 2022 by the University of Glasgow for the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society, found typical earnings from writing at their lowest in the series.
Compare the figures01Principles
02THE SHORT ANSWER
Figures are medians: half earn more, half less.
All are from self-reported UK surveys.
EARNINGS
Authors who spend at least half their working time writing had median earnings of £7,000 from self-employed writing in the 2022 survey.
Compare the figuresOTHER WORK
Only 19% of these authors earned all their income from writing in 2022, down from 40% in 2006. Many rely on other jobs or their household.
See the numbersCONTRACTS
47% of authors surveyed had never received an advance from a publisher, and most had not managed to change a contract clause in the past year.
Questions to ask03COMPARE THE FIGURES
Pick a group to see the typical (median) figure the UK surveys found. The bar shows how it compares with the others here.
Medians from the ALCS-funded authors' earnings surveys. Earlier years are shown in 2022 money where the researchers adjusted them for inflation.
04TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
One figure on writing as a whole income,
one on how unevenly the money is shared.
19%
Authors earning all their income from writing
Among authors who mainly write, the share earning all their income from writing fell from 40% in 2006 to 28% in 2018 and 19% in 2022.
WRITING ONLY · ALCS 2022
≈ 47%
Share of total income earned by the top 10%
The researchers found the top 10% of authors earn about 47% of the total income of the population, a winner-takes-all pattern seen across cultural markets.
INEQUALITY · ALCS 2022
The 2022 survey was sent to 58,260 ALCS members and drew 2,759 responses. Figures are self-reported and cover the tax years 2019/20 and 2020/21.
05FOUR THINGS THE SURVEYS FLAG
The researchers found many authors under-use rights that could shape what they earn later. These are the areas they highlighted, not legal advice.
Nearly half of authors surveyed had never received one, so many books are written without upfront payment.
A buy-out pays once, with no later royalties. 38% of authors who mainly write signed one in 2022, up from 31% in 2018.
These include the right to be named as the author. Authors estimated they waive them in about 43% of their contracts.
It can return rights to the author later. Almost 30% of authors who mainly write did not know whether they had ever signed one.
06WHO EARNS LESS
The 2022 survey found that women, black and mixed-race authors, and the very young and very old all earned less than their counterparts. The gender pay gap among respondents widened to 41.4%, from 33% in 2016/17.
Many authors are supported by other members of their household. For authors who mainly write, median household income was £45,000, while their own total individual income was £21,479.
07Questions
In the 2022 survey, authors who spend at least half their working time writing had median self-employed writing earnings of £7,000 a year. Half earned more and half earned less.
Yes, in this survey series. Adjusted for inflation, the median for authors who mainly write fell from £17,608 in 2006 to £12,455 in 2014, £11,329 in 2018 and £7,000 in 2022.
A separate 2023 global survey of indie authors found a median revenue of US$12,749 in 2022, against US$8,600 for authors with publishers. It measured revenue, which is not the same as profit.
In the 2022 UK survey, 47% of authors said they had never received an advance from a publisher.
They were funded by the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society and run in 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2022. The 2018 and 2022 rounds were led by CREATe at the University of Glasgow.
08Sources
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