Alcs Author Survey Essay

Section 1 – Introduction and Aims

1.1 Background

The figure of the author and their significance in society has been the subject of critical debate for many years. (source?) There are now more books published per capita in the United Kingdom than any other country, according to the International Publishers Association. In 2013, 184,000 new titles and re-editions were released in the United Kingdom, an increase of 8% on the previous year (International Publishers Association, 2014). This meant 2,875 titles per million inhabitants, yet much has been written about how writing as an author’s primary profession is now under threat and authors can now no longer afford to be full-time writers; needs must dictate that they have to take up writing

Reports and surveys such as the Creative Scotland Literature and Publishing Sector Review (2015) and the Authors’ Licensing and Collection Society (ALCS) Author Surveys (2007 & 2014) show that the situation is worsening and worsening by the year. The ALCS Author Survey (2014) shows that the median incomes of professional writers in the UK, i.e. writers who ‘devote the majority of their time to writing’ (ALCS, 2014, p. 3), has fallen by 29% in real terms between 2005 and 2013. The median income of a professional writer in 2013 was a mere £11,000, compared to the real term corresponding amount of £15,450 in 2005 (ALCS, 2014). The Creative Scotland Literature and Publishing Sector Review (2015) paints a similar bleak picture for Scottish authors, noting that ‘Scottish writers earned a gross mean of approximately £6,000 per year from literature-related income’ (Creative Scotland, 2015, p. 22). The Creative Scotland Review does not say if this mean figure of £6,000 is solely based on professional writers so for this reason is it impossible to compare the ALCS Survey and the Creative Scotland Review directly, but they do both show that the average author’s earnings

For example, Donna Tartt reportedly received approximately £1 million for her third novel, The Goldfinch, published by Little, Brown in 2013 (Law, 2013). Debut novelists have also received massive advances. Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist, published by Picador in 2014, is said to have received a six-figure sum (Law, 2013). However, the median author advance in 2015 is £6,600 (Jones, 2015). There is the opinion that publishers are becoming more and more conservative; publishing companies are reluctant to take the risk and invest precious capital in publishing a book, that although might be wonderfully written, has little commercial value, due to the genre or the fact that the author is a first-time writer with no name recognition in a crowded market place. In this crowded marketplace, how does an author differentiate themselves from other similar authors and make people pick up their book, or download it as the case may be? The ‘mid-list’ author is suffering as a result of this reluctance on publishers’ part to back an author who is not going to appear on the bestseller lists. Novelist and associate editor of The Observer Robert McCrum states that ‘rates of attrition among so-called ‘mid-list’ writers, steady professionals who can no longer find publishers to support them, have begun to rise alarmingly’ (McCrum, 2014). The