I'm a bestselling novelist

[carruthersjames]

AMA!

How bestselling?

How many novels have you written?

Fiction or non-fiction?

How much do you earn?

average earnings per book and per annum?

thanks.

I'm in a position where I might give up work and care for my mother full time. I'm slightly unsure whether it's worth the stress of trying to finish my half done novel - I've had two agents express an interest.

but it does seem like quite a task, hence why I'm asking! Obvs could do with extra cash.

How bestselling?

Always in the Sunday times top ten** or twenty

How many novels have you written?

Five

*Fiction or non fiction?
*
Fiction

Do you have a publisher, or do you self-publish?

That was quite a short opening paragraph.

Did you enjoy English lessons at school?

Literary fiction? Genre?

Whose novels do you most admire?

*How much do you earn?
*
It varies HUGELY. Advances and royalties in the UK but the biggest variance is foreign - sometimes a big market buys your novel, sometimes not. Lots of small foreign deals like Bulgaria, France, Croatia can add up. It's perfectly possibly to earn very well as a
traditionally published author with good (but not million copy) sales

I am traditionally published by one of the big four.

I did enjoy english! But mostly I enjoyed reading commercial fiction.

Did you have another job / career before you got into this?

If yes how did you make the transition, was it hard not to earn for a while?

Do you have to do a lot of publicity? I have an AMA on here about my non-fiction writing but I've been wondering whether to make the leap (or do both). Would you have got your contract if you hadn't wanted to do any publicity? How much say do you have in what you do, and have you had to do features etc based on personal issues rather than the book itself?

Yes. It was hard for a while to write before work, in evenings, weekends. I did that for years. But I really wanted to.

I understand earning varies hugely - does £20k a year seem feasible to you?

I think sometimes the hype of a novel outweighs the earnings so vastly - I know the author of a book that's been in every Waterstones' window, but he didn't make more than about £7k on it.

Great thread, thanks OP. As a bestselling novelist would you say you earn the UK's average, ie around 27k a year? Or a lot more?

I write but earn a pittance. My dad was a successful novelist yet money was tight, but that was decades ago.

How did you get a publisher?

Also, how many hours a day do you write? On average, how many words do you write a day?

Are you ever not writing, or do you finish a book and start the next one straight away?

Re wages

yes, more than national average.

Are you ever not writing, or do you finish a book and start the next one straight away?

It's a bit more complicated than that. If you're on a book a year schedule, you will be writing a first draft, editing the previous book, and promoting the one before that. Generally, I am doing all of these things. But I do take a couple of weeks off after delivering a book and then I take a few weeks to plan the next novel, too.

Also, how many hours a day do you write? On average, how many words do you write a day?

When writing a first draft, probably 3 hours a day and the rest is responding to readers, admin, publicity - writing articles or short stories for supplements etc - editing another book, dealing with financial admin.

Do you have an agent or did you just spam the publishers until one read your work? How easy is it to find an agent?

What genre do you write?

Where you on another forum? There was an author on there who was quite famous, with a different username. Don't worry, I won't out you, I'm just curious.x

Were you ever a SAHM whilst writing? If so, how did you find time to write?