undefined | Better HN

0 pointsjamilton3y ago0 comments

Personally, I like reading and usually prefer to read a book I like instead of a book I don't like, so the existence of more books I like would be cool. I expect I would still read human-written fiction, too.

Many authors are already "obsolete" in that they're not paid a living wage for the job of writing creative fiction. It's understandable to prefer being paid for it, and in an ideal world being obsolete would just mean you get to do it for fun and fulfillment and not worry about the money.

0 comments

vidarh3y ago

To add to your last paragraph: The median income for full time writers in the UK is below minimum wage. Most full time writers do it as a supplementary income only (the median household income for full time writers is above the average), and the vast majority of writers are not full time.

If you as a writer use a paid editor and cover designers, odds are it'll take you several years to break even today.

Unless you're "discovered" by a traditional publisher and they think they have the next Harry Potter on their hands, even being traditionally published means next to no sales for a large majority.

So it's already about fun and fulfillment for most authors. I went into writing (so far two) novels knowing the above, and did it anyway. That said, some do go into it thinking they'll make lots of money, or desperately looking for another income source.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

vidarh3y ago

If you as a writer use a paid editor and cover designers, odds are it'll take you several years to break even today.

Unless you're "discovered" by a traditional publisher and they think they have the next Harry Potter on their hands, even being traditionally published means next to no sales for a large majority.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse