When I tell people I make a living as a writer, I often get one of two responses: either they assume I’m a struggling artist barely making rent, or they picture me sitting alone in a cabin somewhere, crafting the next great American novel.
The reality? I run a six-figure creative business that includes everything from traditionally published books to online courses. And I’m not alone. While the “starving artist” and “reclusive novelist” stereotypes persist, thousands of writers – myself included and soon to be you too! – are building sustainable careers through multiple creative income streams.
As I share in my new book, The Writer’s Career Guide: How to Build a Sustainable Creative Life on Your Terms, there are two persistent myths that keep many writers from achieving their financial potential. Let’s debunk them both so you can start building your own sustainable writing career.
Want to make money as a writer? Grab a copy of The Writer’s Career Guide: How to Build a Sustainable Creative Life Your Way – where I share my 20+ years of experience in building a thriving writing career that aligns with my values while making me money.
1. The starving, tortured artist myth.
Yes, you absolutely can make money as a writer, no matter what your high school guidance counselor or parents might have said. I know plenty of people who are creative beings making significant amounts of money in their careers.
There are megastar authors like Stephen King, James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Rebecca Yarros, and Sarah J. Maas that have made multiple millions of dollars from their books. Shonda Rhimes, Chuck Lorre, and Ryan Murphy are all reportedly worth over $100 million from television writing. Danielle Steel has a mansion I visit every time I’m in San Francisco to remind me that wealth as a writer is possible!
Even more importantly and impressively, there are also so many people – like me! and soon you too! – who make a more modest yet still abundant amount of money as a writer. I know plenty of people who make six figures as creatives and live wonderful lives where they’re able to pay their bills, have a little extra for retirement, trips, and emergency funds, and support causes they care about.
It absolutely IS possible to make a living as a writer. So, ditch that starving, tortured artist cliché and get ready to thrive.
2. The Great American Novelist myth.
The second myth I want to debunk is that you’re going to make a living as a writer by sitting alone, contemplating life, until you finally publish your one Great American Novel – or insert whatever country you live in – publishing it to much acclaim and then getting rich from the royalties.
The truth is traditional publishing just doesn’t pay that much. Here are some examples of the percentage you can get from a traditional book deal:
- eBooks: 10-20% of $2-6
- Hardcovers: 5-10% of $20-30
- Paperback: 6-8% of $10-16
- Audiobook: 30-50% of what the publisher gets (so 3-10% of the sale) of $15-30
The rule of thumb for traditional publishing is to assume you make about $0.50-1.50 per book sold, depending on the format and price. And don’t forget that you have to give 15% of that to your agent.
But what about the glorious six-figure advance you see people online getting?
Advances are paid in three installments – sometimes four or five these days, especially with six-figure ones –which are traditionally spread out along these lines:
- Installment 1 when you sign the contract.
- Installment 2 when the books content is finalized.
- Installment 3 on the day of publication.
- Installment 4 is six months after publication (not standard but increasingly common).
- Installment 5 is one-year after publication (rare but happens a lot in bigger deals).
Most six-figure advances I hear of these days do the four-payment structure, so let’s break down what that looks like if you signed a $100,000 contract in January 2025 and follow the general timeline I see for myself, my colleagues, and my clients to get their installments:
- January 2025 – sign contract, get first installment of $25,000, pay agent 15%, net $21,250
- September 2025 – final edits approved, get second installment, net $21,250
- April 2026 – book comes out, get third installment, net $21,250
- October 2026 – final payment of $21,250
So even with a six-figure contract – a rarity these days and usually reserved for two-book deals, which would spread payments out even more – you’re making about $42,500 a year before taxes (around $34,000 after).
That’s livable in some areas but in my home of San Diego it would put you close to the poverty line. It’s definitely not enough to pay for insurance, retirement, gluten-free bread (that stuff is expensive!), a new computer when yours craps out, etc.
But won’t you make even more from royalties?
Advances are an advance on your royalties, so you don’t get another penny until you “earn out” – which means you’ve sold enough copies that your royalty percentage would pay out more than your advance was. If you have a $100,000 advance, you have to sell about 100,000 copies before you see another dime.
To put that into perspective:
- The average book sells less than 1,000 copies in its lifetime.
- Most of my traditionally published friends have sold around 3,000-30,000 copies total of their books over several years.
- Out of all my friends and colleagues in traditional publishing, I personally know only about three people who have sold more than 100,000 copies of their book in a year.
- Most of my friends get $5,000-10,000 book deals and don’t sell out their advances enough to get royalties until years into their careers – if ever.
I just threw a lot of math at you, but here’s the takeaway amid the numbers: Traditional publishing is most likely not going to pay your bills, especially in the beginning.
Release the vision of you being the next Hemingway (who btw used cocaine to write as much as he did and had patrons keeping him afloat) and start thinking of your career outside of or adjacent to traditional publishing.
Instead of Defeating You, Let This Empower You
When I first ran the numbers of traditional publishing, I was disheartened. Not only were they impossibly low for the cost of living in California, where my whole family had been for five generations and where I called home, but the few traditionally published author success stories out there were almost exclusively straight, white, thin, normative people. I felt like this dream was impossible.
And to be honest, the dream of making it big just through traditional publishing might be impossible for most of us – especially if we come from a community or have an identity that traditional publishers have historically undervalued.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t make significant money as a writer!
- I have a friend who self-publishes her fantasy novels and makes $10,000+ a month.
- Multiple colleagues run highly successful ghostwriting, editing, and publishing consulting companies.
- For the past four years, I’ve made six-figures running School for Writers®.
- I have friends who get paid very well to write copy for advertisers and marketing agencies.
- A friend of a friend makes bank coming in to add “pop” to the dialogue in Marvel movie scripts.
- Many of my traditionally published fiction friends sell swag, bonus content, and even retreats centered around their books.
Instead of looking at the numbers of traditional publishing and giving up, let this free you to think about other ways you can make money as a writer – ways that are more empowering and more profitable than just traditional publishing.
To learn all about how to do that, grab a copy of my new book The Writer’s Career Guide: How to Build a Sustainable Creative Life on Your Terms.
How does all of this sit with you? Does it burst your myth bubble or is it information you already knew? Does it empower you or scare you? Or somewhere in the middle?
Let me know in the comments.
And be sure to check out my next post on harnessing your own unique creative rhythm.
