The magical 1000

I don’t usually talk sale figures, for one reason. What amounts to a large figure for one person will seem paltry to another. I sell much less than some writers and more than others do. There are many reasons for this. Some writers are household names and on the bestseller lists. However, once you get into this writing business you soon discover that there are thousands of authors out there making a decent living that you will never hear the name of in commercial circles. Being in print versus ebook can make a difference, but I’ll cover that as a separate issue. Some of my fellow writers have been writing far longer than I have, and published some time ago. They’ve built their fan base and they are more established. Then there are new writers coming along, in the position I was once in, receiving their first statement and dancing from one foot to the other wondering if the figure they sold in their first month was good or not. Mine was, thank goodness.

Readers often think writers and publishers are making a fortune. They can, but it doesn’t hold true for everyone, and it takes time for both writer and publisher. My main publisher is by industry standards still in their infancy. For such a young company, they are doing well. They are expanding. They are ploughing money back into the business. This involves getting a proper legal and financial service in place, as well as hiring cover artists, editors, proofreaders, all of which costs. The sad fact is that writers AND publishers are often people who have either a full-time or part-time day job. They complement their income from writing. They do not always earn their sole living from it. Many people are amazed to hear this but it’s true. Check out my article “Another One Bites the Dust” regarding small press and you’ll begin to understand the plight of the publishing industry.

I’m pleased to announce that Snow Angel passed the “more than 1000 copies sold” mark this month. Some of you will be gasping in shock. Alas, some of that shock will be of the ‘wow’ variety and some will be thinking, “Is that all?”

The sad truth is that some ebooks never sell 1000 copies. Hell, some print books never sell 1000 copies! In fact, a writer friend has just told me that judging by the figures they print in Private Eye, that’s every bit as good as many print novels. That magical “1000” used to be the number that would make an agent sit up and take notice. Now that figure is closer to 5000. Some ebooks never sell more than 200. So, is it possible to make a living from writing? Of course it is, but like anything it takes time and a huge amount of effort, so for those readers or the unscrupulous who think that stealing from writers in the form of piracy is “okay” because they obviously make so much money, think again. Most only supplement their incomes and when you work out the pay per hours put in, the figure seems paltry, indeed. The fact is that half of what a writer is paid comes in the form of hearing from their readers, knowing they brightened someone’s day and that those same readers will be able to dip into that work whenever they want to in the years to come.