From: charless@sco.COM (charles stross)
Subject: Re: sci-fi novelists
Organization: The Somewhat Contagious Operation, Inc.
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1992 10:16:52 GMT


My perspective on earning a living as a writer is UK-based. See below.

In article <70924@apple.Apple.COM> chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) writes:
>hypes@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com (Gary Hypes) writes:
>
>>From acquaintances with guys
>>who have written stuff professionally, I can tell you that all but about
>>10% of the biggest and best names in SF still hold down other jobs to
>>keep money coming in.
>
>The best numbers we have are this: there are approximately 1200 members in
>the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. That's not all of the
>people who write SF/F, but it's a reasonable percentage. Best guess is that
>maybe 100 of them can support themselves writing SF/F full time. Maybe
>200-250 can support themselves writing full-time by doing other stuff as
>well. Note that those numbers also include a lot of folks with a second
>spousal income, which definitely helps (having a spouse that works also
>generally gets the writer into a health plan, which is an exceptionally
>non-trivial benefit).

It depends on the `other stuff'.

If you can get a column or two in a monthly news-stand magazine, it 
really helps. Typical magazine rates (mass-market, not SF) are in the
range #100-300 per thousand words (that's $200-600), so for about 
2-3000 words/month as a pundit you can get a basic wage. This is how a
number of UK-based writers make ends meet. Another option is to 
get work as a publisher's reader, reading manuscripts and reporting
on them. (Before this makes sense as a way of supplementing your
living, it helps to have a critical track record and the ability to
speed-read. It ain't highly paid.) Then there's technical writing and
contract work, both of which are fairly congenial to a `real' 
(albeit low-paid) vocation as an SF writer.

Hint: don't rely on a spousal income. Firstly, several years of 
watching you struggle and constantly rely on them for support
may put a strain on their tolerance, and secondly, the average
marriage lasts about 12 years, but the average writing career
lasts considerably longer. It's always best to plan on the most
pessimistic basis -- otherwise you run the risk of being badly
disappointed.

>>That's not to discourage you from writing SF; by all means, do it and
>>enjoy it, and here's to your success! But when you add the word
>>"career", it suggests you're entertaining notions of making a living at
>>it, and that is tough to do. 
>
>But it IS doable. You have to be good, you have to be persistent, you have
>to understand the business aspects of writing and you need some luck, but it
>can be done. 
>
>To make a living at it, you also need consistency and a long-term
>committment. My best estimate is that I wouldn't be able to consider living
>on my writing until I have five books (minimum) on the market. If they do
>the typical "six weeks and out of sight", then it'll never happen. They need
>to sell well enough to earn out and start feeding royalty income.

This matches the UK situation. I've discussed this in detail with
various other writers. Storm Constantine estimated that she wasn't 
able to go full-time until she had five books in print; that was
two years ago, since which time she's made the big break. Ditto Ian
Watson, who had about four in print (but was quite prolific).

>An average first novel these days gets about a $3000 advance. The numbers I
>did for SFWA a while back surveying advances showed that an 'average' writer
>could expect to get about $35K in advances for the first five books, or an
>average of about $7K per book. Since it takes about a year to do a book,
>you're looking at a writing income (unsupplemented) of $7,000 a year,
>heavily skewed against you while just starting out. 

This is pretty bad, and getting worse. The midlist is collapsing. In
1988 a paperback first novel in the UK would sell 15,000 copies; this is
now down to 5000 on average. However, it _is_ possible to break this
cycle. Simon Ings' first novel has already sold well over the average,
and it's still possible for a first novel to hit 15,000. I think the
statistics are just being dragged down by the strategy the big publishers
have adopted of shotgunning the market with sub-standard commodity in the 
hope that something will make the big breakthrough.

If you plan to make a living as an SF writer, you had better adopt
a business-like attitude and plan to get out of the midlist and 
get some decent promotion and sales as fast as possible. Times is tough.

>(now, to some degree this is an oversimplification, since multi-book
>contracts and other stuff confuse the issue, but as to raw numbers and cash
>flow issues, it's a good overview. I also doesn't count royalty income, but
>since you won't see royalty income on book 1 until year three unless you're
>exceptionally lucky, and probably not then either, I won't worry about
>that).

Correct. First novels often don't even earn out their initial advance.
The way I heard it, publishers pushing a new writer expect to make a
loss on book one, break even on book two, and maybe cover the cumulative
loss with the profits from book three. If you're not profitable by book
four, you're in trouble.

>Now, if you can also sell short stuff on a regular basis, that helps. You
>might add $1500 or $2000 a year to your income that way. Then there's the
>car wash, or if you get really desperate, People magazine.
>
>>Financially, it is a tough business... 
>
>Yup. But that's no reason to not try. Just don't quit the day job. 
>
>And do it with your eyes open.

I can't emphasize how strongly I agree with that advice. If you want
to go full time, IMHO this is what you need to do:

1.	Spousal income or not, you need a full year's post-tax
	salary in the bank (or equivalent). Remember, writers
	are paid in arrears.

2.	You need books in print. Two or three minimum (see below),
	five or six for preference. Hopefully they'll be paying you
	royalties by this time.

3.	You need at least a two book contract up-front. (This is
	a matter of opinion ... if you're confident enough to go
	full time and just start selling, that's your risk. Contracts
	are safer.)

4.	It helps to get that extra #1000-2000 a year from short 
	fiction. It helps even more to have a relationship with
	an editor/packager doing shared universe stuff, who has
	a regular requirement for short fiction; don't knock it,
	it's lucrative. 

5.	A reputation for delivering on time and behaving
	professionally helps with (4) and (3) above.

6.	A magazine column helps. Book reviews, unless they're in a
	big newspaper, pay less than features in newsstand 
	magazines. Computer magazines in particular are often
	desperate to get feature writers who know what they're
	talking about, and pay good money to freelancers.

7.	With all the above, you MIGHT be able to make it. But
	be prepared to go back to the day job if you make it 
	through the first year and your savings are shrinking
	at an alarming rate. You want to begin looking for work
	_before_ things go critical; if you leave it too late
	you're in trouble.

(Bearing all this in mind, I _hope_ to be in a position to
consider going full-time in a year or two. But then, all the people
I know say I need my head examining. :)

>-- 
>Chuq "IMHO" Von Rospach, ESD Support & Training (DAL/AUX) =+= Member, SFWA
>  chuq@apple.com | GEnie: MAC.BIGOT | ALink:CHUQ =+= Editor, OtherRealms
>	A real SF writur with stories in ALTERNATE KENNEDYS and THE 
>	  FURTHER ADVENTURES OF BATMAN, in better bookstores now!
>
>          Painted emblems of a race, all accurst in days of yore,
>       Each from his accustomed place steps into the world once more.

Charlie Stross ... something to do with SCO UNIX documentation ...
A real SF writur with stories in THERE WON'T BE WAR, VILLAINS,
THE WEERDE, NEW WORLDS, INTERZONE, FARPOINT, a couple of novels 
due out in the next year, and a column in a computer magazine.
(Sorry, couldn't resist! <splat> ow!!)

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