Just a quickie - but another article from Guardian online regarding the lack of financial reward for bringing out a book.
It is safe to say that most first-time authors will be lucky to make £5,000 from their first book (and considering most newbie authors will receive an advance of £10-£12 grand for a two booker deal - then they probably won’t see any of that royalty cheque anyway). This is the way of things, I guess. The author will then have to build upon their first book, creating a necessary fanbase upon which to build popularity and, more importantly in the eyes of the Publisher, sales.
There is no denying that great writing will shine amongst the dross. But it takes more than great writing to earn a living - it takes the tenacity of the writer too. And probably luck for a reader to stumble upon such a gem.
Luckily the web, with its many reviewer sites, is re-dressing the balance of marketing hype and push that Publishers can exert on a favoured new release. But it’s still all too easy for a first-timer author to get lost on the bookshelves and be obscured by the next months new releases before getting their toe-hold on that oh-so slippery ladder!
Perhaps all authors should self-publish.
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