The average salary for an author in the UK dropped 29 percent to £11,000 a year in 2013 from 2005, according to a new study from the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) done in conjunction with Queen Mary, University of London.
In fact, according to the “What Are Words Worth Now?” study, the majority of authors are finding it difficult to make a living from writing. In 2013, only 11.5 percent of professional authors reported earning their income just from writing. Back in 2005, 40 percent of authors reported living off of writing alone.
Here is more from the ALCS blog: “In contrast to the sharp decline in earnings of professional authors, the wealth generated by the UK creative industries is on the increase. Statistics produced by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in 2014 show that the creative industries are now worth £71.4 billion per year to the UK economy (over £8 million per hour) and the UK is reported as having “the largest creative sector of the European Union”, and being “the most successful exporter of cultural good and services in the world”, according to UNESCO.” (Via The Guardian).