The Truth on What We Make as Novelists

I'm doing something today that I rarely see posted.  I'm baring my soul to talk about what we actually make as novelists.

Yes, the real scoop.  I'm doing this for the friends, students and colleagues who have asked me about it recently - those who dream of leaving their real job to become a full time fiction writer.  I have two caveats about that:

First: make sure you have a financial backup plan (a spouse with a real job is good.  A pension is mighty nice.)

Second: be aware that you are making your beloved hobby into your work.  I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH.  Believe me, if you are writing novels for a living, you are not 'hobbying' in writing anymore.  You must produce under pressure.  You've lost your precious hobby.  Are you really sure you want to do that...

Okay, so I did it, and I'm glad I did.  I have a great publisher that puts money and effort into the promotion of my books.  They pay me a good advance.  I'm in libraries and bookstore chains across the country. They get me into literary festivals and conferences.   

And yes, I miss the hobby I used to have.  But here's some more reality.

A Bestseller in Canada is usually considered to be 5000 copies sold.  (I was told in the US, 7000 is a number bandied around.)  It has to do with the number of books required to get on bestseller lists.  I can tell you that I was selling 1000 books a day to get on the Amazon overall top 50 list.

So...maybe you are lucky enough to become a bestseller.  Maybe twice over.  That's 10,000 books in a year.

My average take per book is $1 per copy.  (more on that later.)

In my best year, I sold close to 50,000 books. (This was the same year 41,000 copies of Rowena Through the Wall were downloaded illegally from one pirate site alone!)  I'm considered a mid-list author, with 10 awards.  Even so, I'm pretty sure most staff at publishing houses make more than I do. It's sobering to think about.

I read recently that 94% of books on Amazon never sell more than 100 copies.  That includes trad and self-published. The average author with a trad publisher is reported to make between $5000 and $8000 a year.  Why so low?

SALES:  Our sales are down since the early 2000s. I've heard from three publishers, that April to Nov of 2025 is not looking good, compared to the previous year. That doesn't necessarily mean that we've lost readers. SOOOOooo many books are pirated now.  People don't seem to consider this stealing.  Also, I fear Gen Z is not pulling out of their phones to read fiction, while boomer readers are dying off.

ROYALTIES:  are down as a percentage.  Amazon is partly/largely to blame for this.  They've squeezed publishers for years (remember the lawsuits of ten-fifteen years ago?) 20 years ago, I was offered 10% of cover (cover price) pretty well across the board.  Now, it is a percentage of price the book is sold for, not cover price.  Libraries usually buy at 50% off.  So if my books are cover price $20, but sell to libraries for $10, I get $1. Other big retailers get discounts as well.  I also get less for books sold in the US than for those in Canada (probably due to shipping costs. And possibly tariffs, I'm sad to see.)

E-books are a slightly different calculation, but it seems to average out for me at a dollar a book. 

THIS IS WHAT WE MADE 20 YEARS AGO.  The cost of living has gone up since then.

Depressing, eh?  The good news is I make money on my backlist.  If someone reads and likes The Pharaoh's Curse Murders (out April 11!), perhaps they will go back and buy The Silent Film Star Murders.  And then, earlier books.  I have 19 backlist books that I'm still getting royalties for.  This helps me make a living.

Now, some of you may say, Well, you should self-publish!  You'll make more per book!  

I'll echo what John so eloquently said recently, as it applies to me so well: I don't have the confidence in my own work to self-publish.  I need to know that a publisher or editor feels my work is good enough that they will put their own money into the production of it.  

I do have some friends who self-publish.  They tell me they spend 80% of their time promoting and 20% writing.

I want to spend 80% of my time writing. 

So yes, I have supported myself through writing novels, plus teaching writing on the side.  I consider myself very very lucky.  Less than a dozen crime writers in Canada have been able to do that, I've been told.  But I haven't become rich at it. Even with film options (two - never exercised due to the pandemic.)

So much luck goes into this crazy business.  I've seen very good writers not make it past the first book or two, which makes me sad. 

So why do I do it?  Because I can't imagine doing anything else.  I've been writing fiction since I was eight.  I won my first award at eighteen.  I'll probably die slumped over a keyboard.

And if that is you as well, welcome!  Welcome to my world of being a crime novelist. 

Melodie Campbell is a former comedy writer who writes humorous crime novels for unsuspecting publishers.  The Toronto Star compared her to Agatha Christie.  She has 10 awards.