How much do writers and artists get paid?

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The big shots are there, look how many bad books are published.

Times are changing, Publishers and Gallery owners used to control the market but desktop is coming of age.

I publish books and prints and sell worldwide. It has not made me rich, but it did pay for the means of production. There are lots of spots for low production works. I buy fifty year old repair manuals, and sell reprints. Three to five sales and the startup cost is covered, and they continue slow sales for years.

I write, but the gap between a finished manuscript, and an edited, type set book, ready to go to the printer, with a 1500 copy minium, is huge and expensive. Figure $10,000. $7 a copy. Publishers have to look at selling 10,000 books, which now cost $3, to break even. They have to invest about $50,000.

I started with an inkjet, they sold, but the price per page was high. Then I got an HP LaserJet, and my cost dropped almost to the cost of paper. I have them spiral bound at Office Max. I am under $7 a copy, produce ten at a time, an they sell for $25. Twenty books paid for the printer with duplexer.

My work, 271 pages, Office Max wants $22.50 a copy to print, and $5 for binding. The Laserjet turns it out for $3, while I am playing on WP. I can Multi-Task! The copy work got me to print on demand for my own work, and $8 a copy. I have it, so I can sell it.

Online booksellers, Borders, Barnes&Noble, others, will list for free, take the payment and run the credit card, for 15 to 20%. I just bought squiers book and they charged $9 shipping, which is $4 actual, plus $5 handling, do your own shipping.

If you can sell hundreds of copies, it is worth having it printed, Laserjet is not waterproof, and then get shelf space in Barnes&Noble, that will drive sales to thousands, with more customer contact. Then you need to promote, contact book reviewers, make friends first, then get it reviewed, there are writer groups, some are fun, Beauty and the Book is one in East Texas you might like.

It is work, writing, printing, selling, and becoming known, but then you are, and with a track record, groundwork laid, a known name, you are a fairly safe bet for a Major Publishing House. Nothing drives sales like book signings, giving speaches, and becoming famous is work, you are on the road as much as a new rock band. Publishers want writers who will promote, it is more effective than running ads, paying for displays at the front of bookstores, and the money is spent on you.

It is worth it to build a name, once known, easy to keep up. I will spread rumors about Paris Hilton seen skinny dipping in the Pearl with you.

Painting is a racket, the money is in prints. The painting is shown for $3500, but signed and numbered prints are only $220, what a deal! Framed it is only $435, and they sell. The business is total hype. Only I know what art is, and having never seen any of your work, I say, Her rustic style is a breath of sweet air in the so long grim and overdone attempted art world, finally someone with a gift! I can babble like that all day. It is a sleazy business, you have to dress like your avatar, dont speak, gush, and hang out with gay people. They claim to love the arts, do have money, and will promote you for free.

After all those parties, comes a Galley show, twelve to twenty paintings, high prices, and the rumor that with her lifestyle, this may be all, then the prices will go through the roof. Art as an investment, Ha! But they do, and they might buy the original, but you reserve the reprint rights.

I sell prints for $30, 18 x 24 which cost me $1.50. It is the bottom of the market. It paid for a nice 24" roll printer. It was my learning series, I am now much better with Photoshop. For another few hundred I can upgrade from Epson photo paper, to real Art Paper, and archival inks that will last a hundred years.

As Thomas Jefferson said, "Freedom of the press means owning one."

I sell paper and hype, and make about 1000%.

I was going to exploit New Orleans artists, they needed it, but the flood ruined that plan, now I am looking at WP.

I have no talent in art, but I do know machines, business, and wish to trade prints and promotion for talent, for I do write, and my stories need pictures. WP has loads of talent, but we are a bunch of aspies. We need each other.

I know that writers don’t get a very big royalty kick at all. my dad is a novelist and makes about $3 a book. but its not really how much they hook you up per a book really. I mean if you look at how much money goes into making a book. the real think that you should worry about is marketing the books

In my part of Australia, artists generally dont get much unless they are the cream of the crop, and these are usually the best students who graduate from Art School with heaps of contacts and prizes etc.
here, there is a lot of competition for not much work. unless you are able to find a rich person who loves your work.

I'm planning to sell copies of my art to people around my area.

SC,

I have a college diploma in Graphic Design and I can only forwarn you that it is an iffy bet at best. Do you have the knack as a salesperson? If so, you have a better chance already.

I did try tp pursue a full time career freelancing for some time and most of my earnings came from my being a portrait and cartoon artist in the carnival business. Some stops turned a pretty good profit, other stops were not so profitable and there was quite a bit of travelling 300 or more miles for $10. At one point I had to stop touring and get a day job in an unrelated line of work.

I still do it very small time on the side. When I do sell a piece, it's beer money for me

Journalists can make good money, and if you move up and are successful(with big city/national newspapers), it can be huge cash. Many book writers have a day-job, the lucky ones can live off their writing.