Guild officials use the survey data to highlight some very real issues facing writers
Catching up with PW's Andrew Albanese
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This week, the Authors Guild released results of a survey that showed that author incomes have fallen a hefty 42% since 2009. Guild officials say the survey is the “largest [ever] of writing-related earnings” and that it reveals “a crisis of epic proportions” for American authors.
“Median income for U.S. authors who responded to the survey is now $6,080, which is not a livable wage by any stretch,” reports Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer. “But then again, when have writers ever had a livable wage just from writing?”
“In an accompanying press release, Guild officials use the survey data to highlight some very real issues facing writers—most prominently, Amazon’s growing power over both traditional and self-publishing, and the downward pressure on book and e-book royalties in the digital age,” Albanese tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally.
Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.
No doubt this is happening. We could feel this in India too. Big online platforms have already disrupted the publishing eco-system. Protecting the copyright law is the most important task before the global publishing industry. Moreover, we all have to innovate to monetize our content with in the digital environment but outside the big online platforms.