Ben Boland
Friday, 4 April 2025
Writing is an inside, seated job. Authors have dictionaries of words to use. Even AI can write. Writing can’t be that hard! Or can it?
I am not a professional writer, but that is not surprising as the average income for an Australian writer is $18,000 per year. The average Australian book sells less than 3000 copies. Successful Australian authors such as Mem Fox, Geraldine Brooks and Arthur Bryce Courtenay positively skew these numbers; most Australian authors sell significantly fewer copies and make significantly less.
The classic advice to authors is to treat writing like a job, or better yet a career; but don’t expect to break even.
Australia simply does not have that many people. Reaching the ‘big markets’ in the UK and particularly the US is very challenging due to both geography and time zones. Finally, Christian authors face two additional challenges. First, not everyone is interested in Christian resources. Second, as Christians we love FREE stuff – after all is the Gospel not free? Theologically, salvation is a gift of God, that was paid for at great price – Jesus’ death on the cross. Likewise, resources and particularly great resources are not cheap in term of writing, let alone expertise. To quote Paul in Philippians 4 ‘I am not saying this because I am in need’ but to encourage us to consider what value we place on Christian thinking and resources. Expecting Christian content producers to live on under minimum wage is unfair and unbiblical (Deut 25, 1 Cor 9 & 1 Tim 5).
Writing can seem cheap to share, as it’s already been created and yes, all Christian ministry is challenging to fund and the biggest cost it typically staffing. However, if we do not support Christian thinkers and writers, who will have the time to think and communicate well about Christian issues? The number of people attending theological colleges is declining, full-time ministry is full time, and writing is rarely part of a paid role. ‘New’ technology such as social media, livestreamed sermons and podcasts are powerful, and we should use them. However, ensuring both old and new resources have depth requires people to have time to wrestle with theology and present deep things clearly and simply. Writing a great resource often takes years and is often based on decades of experience.
Part of the problem is that a traditionally published book earns the author as little as 2.5% of the sale price before tax. At that rate for every ten dollars of purchase price the author will get twenty-five cents. So, an author needs to sell forty dollars of sales to make one dollar, before tax.
Where does all the money go? While the cost of printing has declined and print on demand reduces warehousing costs, globally book shops and publishers are struggling to stay afloat, as demonstrated by the demise of Book Depository. A major cost for publishers is risk – that is, some books simply fail to sell. Other costs include not simply writing costs (e.g. editing, typesetting and cover design) but business costs (offices, shop space, transport and staffing). Even a moderately successful book may only break even in terms of the publishers’ costs. While books have a long shelf life, shelf space costs and buyers want new books about whatever is trending. While books are eminently recyclable, their disposal incurs costs. Self-publishing allows authors to make a higher percentage from sales, but still requires the payment of professionals such as editors, typesetters and proofreaders.
Marketing is a particular challenge for both traditional and self-published resources. The number of books globally is skyrocketing but sales are plummeting. Part of the issue is competition: fiction books compete with other forms of entertainment, while nonfiction competes with YouTube and other internet material. People are becoming more time-poor, often experience decreased attention spans and expect material to be easy to digest, hence the popularity of audio books and videos. The less people read the slower they read, and thus the fewer books they buy. Therefore, the agony of authorship applies to the whole writing industry.
Friends, I wish I had a solution. That I could say buy more resources or set up paid writing position or enrol in Bible college. All of which are great options, but instead I ask you to pray for Christian authors and other content producers.
Ben Boland is an older person’s chaplain, writer and content producer. His book Priceless People (Christian Focus Publications) is available for pre-order: Priceless People: Loving Older People and People Living with Dementia : Boland, Ben R: Amazon.com.au: Books
Image Credit: Many old books. Martin Vorel. Wikicommons.
Want more thoughtful public theology? Follow us on Facebook and subscribe to Engage.Mail, Zadok and Equip.