- The ALCS research, Authors’ Earnings 2018: A survey of UK writers shows median earnings of professional writers – that is those who dedicate over half their working hours to writing – has fallen by 42% in real terms since 2005 and by 15% since 2013. The median annual income of a professional writer now stands at under £10,500, well below the minimum wage. The number of professional writers earning their income solely from writing has fallen to 13.7% while the gender gap has increased with the average earnings of female professional authors only around 75% of those of the average male professional writer, a drop from 78% in 2005.
It can be difficult to persuade some commissioning editors that it is worth their while to pay experienced, skilled and specialist writers a decent sum for their work. I’ve even been told by one editor that the reason she wanted to pay me so little was that, as an expert in my field, I should be able to do the work quickly and easily. I wonder if that same logic applies to any other professional expertise? I declined the work…