Indie Authors' Earnings 2023

ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors, together with the Self-Publishing Formula, commissioned CREATe (the UK Copyright & Creative Economy Research Centre based at the University of Glasgow) to conduct independent research into the earnings of independent (indie, or self-publishing) authors. This report consists of a secondary analysis of data gathered by way of an online survey conducted in February and March 2023 by The Future of Publishing and SKS Advisors.

The analysis focussed on indie authors who had self-published at least one book, and who spent at least 50% of their working time on writing or self-publishing activities. We found that, from these sources alone, indie authors earned a typical income of 12,755 USD in 2022, representing an almost 50% increase since 2021. Whilst this level of income likely needs some form of supplementation from other sources to make a sustainable livelihood, we nonetheless found that indie authors earn a typically higher income (a difference of almost 50%) from writing alone when compared with authors who use traditional publishing models.

As with many creative industries, indie authors work in a ‘winner-takes-all' market, with a highly unequal distribution of income: in 2022, the top 1% authors earned 31% of total revenues. This is in keeping with our expectations of how writing markets function based on previous research. However, we find that the indie writing market also overperforms in unexpected ways, particularly in diversifying and amplifying marginalised creator voices. We find a reverse gender gap, with cisgender women earning more than cisgender men, and a community of thriving LGBTQIA+ authors, who earn more than their straight counterparts. Nonetheless, we find that patterns of low pay for black authors continue to be perpetuated, and that disabled authors earn more than three times less than able-bodied authors. These findings suggest that, whilst the removal of traditional cultural gatekeepers is more enabling to some sub-groups within diverse author segments, many systematic issues continue to prevent meaningful participation and sustainability of a writing career.

The indie writing market is particularly well served for three genres: Romance, Crime/Thriller and Fantasy. Authors who write in these genres also earn a typically higher income than more generalist indie authors. Whilst we note the great benefits to amplification of diversity to non-cis gendered authors and non-straight authors, we find that members these communities tend to remain intercommunity, writing almost exclusively for LGBTQIA+ genres.

Where business strategies are concerned, we find that the indie authors are best served by lessening the barriers in distribution and communication between them and their readers. We see the highest growth in revenues for authors who utilise new business models as opposed to traditional, self-publishing routes: these include crowdfunding and patron platforms (e.g., Patreon), and income derived from sponsorships or other forms of ‘influencer’ income.