I have made a career out of being an author. It has been a great privilege to be able to do that. But I am deeply saddened that the job I love has become inaccessible and unsustainable for others – and increasingly ruled by luck.
I’m not talking about the luck that plays a part in the writing process, or in getting our work in front of the right agent or the right editor at the right time. I’m talking about the luck that comes later, once our work has been signed and contracted, and we’ve earned our way to the status of professional author. That, according to the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society’s (ALCS) fourth major round of research into authors’ incomes, published on Tuesday, is when the real luck comes into play.
