How much do self-published authors really earn? Help ALLi find out (in just 5 minutes of your time)!

Serena BaroneAuthors earnings, IAF, News

As part of ALLi’s Self-Publishing 3.0 campaign to raise the average income for authors and poets through creative business practice, we want to find out more about author income in the self-publishing community.

We’ve all seen author income surveys from other author associations over the years, but they tend to mix data from trade-publishing and self-publishing, which can be confusing, perhaps even misleading.

Such surveys often ask questions that are more relevant to traditional authors running a career through third-party publishers rather than indie authors running their own publishing businesses. They have come to very gloomy conclusions about falling author incomes that center on reduced advances and royalties.

It’s time for a survey that focuses solely on independent authors and on the factors that contribute to commercial success in our sector.

The Research

ALLi’s research project is aimed at self-publishing authors who spend more than 50% of their working time writing and publishing.

Examples of publishing work, in addition to publishing their own books, include editorial and other publishing services, book-related speaking and teaching, licensing rights, publishing other authors, etc. All revenue from such activities counts as indie author business income and the research will analyze such income streams, as well as book sales.

The research is designed to identify:
1. how much self-published authors are making in 2023;
2. whether indie author income is increasing or decreasing;
3. specifics about the publishing and business models used by higher-earning indie authors.

Surveying those who spend 50% or more of their work-time on writing and publishing will allow us to make relevant comparisons to other surveys on author income.

The Survey

Our #IndieAuthorIncomeSurvey is designed to be quick and convenient, with just 20 questions that can be answered in under five minutes.

Please click here to take ALLi’s five-minute survey on indie author income if you self-publish books and spend more than 50% of your working time writing and publishing.

We would really appreciate your support in completing this survey yourself, if relevant, and sharing it as widely as possible with your community, friends, and anyone who is eligible to answer.

#IndieAuthorIncomeSurvey

PS: If you have already completed this survey through another invitation, you do not need to do so again, but please do share it to your indie author contacts. We really appreciate your help and look forward to sharing the insights that emerge with you and your community.

About ALLi

ALLi is a nonprofit organization with a mission of ethics and excellence in self-publishing. We’re the only global self-publishing membership association, now entering our second decade of empowering authors through our Self-Publishing Advice Center, member benefits, monitoring of the self-publishing sector, and advocacy for independent authors.

Explore what we can do for you: www.allianceindependentauthors.org