 After dicussing the SAG-AFTRA issue previously, I wanted to take the time to discuss the myths around income and earnings when it comes to authors and service providers such as cover designers and editors.
Let's start with authors. It is very easy to think that anyone who has books up for sale is making a lot of money. There are many famous writers out there such as Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, she who I refuse to name after her abhorrent behaviour and others who have made a name for themselves and had their books made into movies and TV shows. Unfortunately, that kind of fame is not easy to come by. Most indie authors are not making enough money to pay their bills. That is a simple truth. Those that are, would probably make more working a coventional job, or they need to keep their job in order to survive. Writing is not an easy job, there are no guarantees and you are self employed. On top of that, you have to pay for editors, cover designers, advertising, which leaves a lot of authors in the red when they start out and it can take years to climb out of that hole. Are there indie authors out there making six figures a year? Absolutely. But again, most authors don't see a penny of profit for a very long time. We write because we love it. Even traditional writers who get deals with top publishers are not making all that much. I believe the average amount a typical traditionally published author can hope to make during their book's run is around $5000. That's it. Hardly fame and fortune. Yes, they might get lucky and it could get optioned for a movie, but again, this is rare. When an author releases a book, they depend on sales to pay for future books and covers. That means that if they release book 1 in a series and a reader decides to wait until the full series is out to read it, then there is a possibility it will never be released in full because the sales aren't there. We live in a society where we get everything instantly now. You can download a book in seconds, you can stream an entire season of a TV show in one day, but they are relatively new things. We did once live in a world where you had to wait a year or more for the next book, or week to week for a TV show. Is there anything wrong with waiting? It builds tension, excitement and it is something to look forward to. Perhaps you disagree, I was one of those people who had no trouble waiting until Christmas Day to open presents, purely because that's when it was the most special. So if you like an author or think a book sounds interesting but it is the beginning of a series, please buy the book. It will be just as enjoyable to read even if you have to wait a little while for it. Cover designers have been suffering too lately, especially with the introduction of AI. It is now easy for people to create images using AI that they go on to add to their books. The problem is they are using stolen, copyrighted art and if and when the law changes, they could get in a lot of trouble for using them, possibly even sued by the original creators. Cover designers spend years perfecting their craft and many hours on creating designs to sell. You may think they are expensive and yes, it can be difficult to source a few hundred dollars for a cover with everything going on right now, but you are paying for the skill, the training and the time spent on it. The image you choose could increase your sales and work toward improving your author brand. Many cover designers rely solely on the income from selling covers. If you consider how many hours goes into making a cover and then how many sell, you will soon see that they are barely making a living. If for example they sell premade covers at $200 and they are able to make three covers a week given the time that goes into it. That's twelve covers for the month. If they sold them all, that is $2400. According to Google the average monthly salary in the US is over $6000. Still think they are making a lot of money? Of course that is only if they sell every cover, which rarely happens. They are relying on customers needing that particular type of cover at that time. They might sell half of the covers for the month. A mere $1200. Add to that the number of people who are turning to AI and you can see why they are scared of losing their livelihood. Likewise with editors. They spend hours and hours going through every line of a book and they are dependent on authors needing an editor at that time. An good editor is invaluable. They can't be replaced by programs that make frequent mistakes because they don't understand things like slang or dialogue. We are all struggling with the cost of living crisis, but it is important to remember that small business owners are not our enemies. Greedy corporations are. They would happily replace as many people on the planet with AI as possible, if it meant paying less money. Hoarding that wealth. For what? If there are no jobs, there's no money, no one is buying anything, the entire system collapses and they are sitting on a pile of worthless cash. At least that's how I look at it. So please consider using small businesses, local vendors and buying books from authors that you think you would enjoy when you can. We should all be supporting each other. At the very least, we should not be tearing each other down and making assumptions about income that can be damaging to those businesses.
0 Comments
 1) Tell us about your book It’s Dragon Wrath, book 1 in the Other Series. I know I should not say this, but come on. This book is one of the favorites that I wrote. There’s just something about the people in it, so much passion and feelings and hardship, I can’t help but loving them. And of course, I have a major crush on every male in there. 2)What themes does your book explore? Mainly justice. Shifters are kept as second-class citizens, are forbitten to go to school after 12 grade, marry a Pure (non-shifter), can’t own property. They can’t be imprisoned for only existing, but they can’t achieve much either. So, it’s about them, starting to fight to access that, and being able to build the life they want, not only the crumbles of what they allow them to get. 3) Tell us something unusual about your main character? Ronan is a dragon, so there’s that for unusual. He’s also a very high-end civil right lawyer. He couldn’t have gone to college, let alone passing the bar. He managed to get where he is by hiding, which means a steely self-control, a good dose of paranoia, and more than a dash of denying his needs as an Other. Of course his carefully built world crushes down, but you have to read the story to know the details. 4) Is this a standalone book or a series? It’s a series. The prequel of it, Swan Fury, is about the couple that started this revolution and it’s available only if you sign up to my newsletter. 5) What is next for you? I just started the first book of a contemporary suspense Series, Heartstrings and Shadow, that follows the lives and tribulations of a country band. Then I have the Angels novella that will start another series of Archangels or angels (I haven’t decided yet) but I want MC, leather, and tattoos, and I’m absolutely excited for that. I’ll stop here because I have plans all the way to 2026 and I feel like it would be too much.  About The Author
Viv writes contemporary suspense as MacKade, and paranormal and fantasy romance as V.V. Strange. She was born in the Italian countryside in the Langhe region, where the wine is good and Nutella flows, carried by her family's hazelnut farm. She got out of Law School alive and with an MD in comparative law. Never a lawyer, she will always be a scholar of the law. She and her husband moved to Norwich, UK, after University. She would spend 6 amazing years there, and it’s where she started dreaming of writing stories for a living. Florida is when things started getting serious. Kids, a house, and books started to add, and she made it to Amazon's 100 paid books list twice. In her words, “I write contemporary suspense because I love the adventure, the danger, the mystery of it, and I love to see the leading couple getting out of trouble (that I put them into. Sorry, not sorry). And I write paranormal/fantasy because I love the possibilities. Also, writing new worlds is a fantastic thing to do. Besides all that, I write because I need it.” So, why would you read whatever she writes? Because her female leads are never stupid. Might be confused or scared, but never stupid, never needy. And her male leads are good guys. Might be broken and lost, maybe even rude, but they are good.  Unless you have been living under a rock, you have no doubt heard about the SAG-AFTRA strike, but what is it all about?
Currently members of the Writer's Guild of America are on strike for being underpaid by major production companies that are pulling in millions every year thanks to their hard work. They attempted to negotiate for better pay but when a deal couldn't be met, they went on strike. They were later joined by the Screen Actors Guild in a show of support and to try and negotiate for residual payments from streaming sites. During this time, actors and writers will not work or cross the picket lines to promote any current movies as a show of solidarity. Another major issue they are fighting against is the use of AI in both writing and when it comes to background actors. The people in charge of the production companies want to replace writers with AI and use AI software to capture the image of an actor that they can then use forever, while the actor only recieves a one off payment of just a few hundred dollars. Many actors get their start in the industry as background actors, so this will push them out of the industry. Despite public opinion, most writers and a lot of actors do not receive millions for their work. While there are A listers who may get paid more, that is not consistent with every movie, and their co-stars are paid much less. For example, in 1994, Jim Carrey was an A list actor and he received $7 million dollars for his role in Dumb & Dumber. His co-star Jeff Daniels received only $50,000. They are both the stars of the film and it would be impossible to make the film without both of them, yet the studios clearly view things differently. Admittedly, $50,000 might be more than some of us see in a year, but when you consider that they are relying on a movie being popular to get more work, which they can't know in advance, and the time between filming and the movie coming out, which can be years at times, then that $50,000 probably won't last very long. Regardless if you think actors are overpaid or not, they have done the work and they deserve to be compensated. How many of them have starred in your favorite shows or movies? Writers recieve much less for their work and are seriously undervalued. Many are not hitting the threshold to receive health insurance. So until an agreement is reached, they will continue to strike and shows and movies will be delayed. When you consider that the money they are asking for is less than 1% of the studio's profit, you can see how greed is driving the studio execs' decision. Hopefully, a fair agreement can be made and they can return to work soon.  1) Tell us about your book My book, Elfhame Academy, is about an elf slayer named Cassie who attends the supernatural university and she’s trying to figure out who is behind a string of recent murders on the Academy’s island. As well as figuring out her forbidden relationship with her magus (who is like a watcher). Think Buffy but with elves. 2) What themes does your book explore? My book explores the themes of forbidden romance and trying to find your place in the world. 3) Tell us something unusual about your main character? She has a baby dragon as a sidekick who likes stealing steaks and diamonds. 4) Is this a standalone book or a series? She has a baby dragon as a sidekick who likes stealing steaks and diamonds. 5) What is next for you? I’m going to be writing book 3 of the Elfhame Academy trilogy and then wove got a couple of epic fantasy series that I want to finish and one that I want to start writing.  Tiffany Shand is a writing mentor, professionally trained copy editor and copy writer who has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. Born in East Anglia, Tiffany still lives in the area, constantly guarding her work space from the two cats which she shares her home with.
She began using her pets as a writing inspiration when she was a child, before moving on to write her first novel after successful completion of a creative writing course. Nowadays, Tiffany writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance, as well as nonfiction books for other writers, all available through Amazon and on her own website. Tiffany’s favourite quote is ‘writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go’ and it is armed with this that she hopes to be able to help, inspire and mentor many more aspiring authors. When she has time to unwind, Tiffany enjoys photography, reading and watching endless box sets. She also loves to get out and visit the vast number of castles and historic houses that England has to offer. You can contact Tiffany Shand, or just see what she is writing about at: |
Monthly Newsletter
Categories
About the Author:S. K. Gregory is an author, editor and blogger. She currently resides in Northern Ireland. “Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.” 
Archives
February 2025
Categories |
||||||||||||||||||
RSS Feed
© 2024 S.K. Gregory
Proudly powered by Weebly