Q&A with a mid-lister

      Last night I was talking to Crystal about a writing plan for 2007. The conversation veered into whether mid-list authors can actually make a living at writing. I happen to know a couple of mid-listers and have talked to them about their finances. It's not pretty. Both have seen their sales and advances fall over the past few years. One of them -- due to her husband’s retirement income -- is living comfortably. The other -- a single mom -- has had to scramble to make ends meet and sometimes they don't.
      On her blog, Holly Lisle offers an interesting explanation today for why mid-listers are suffering, relating it to how chain stores order books. I don't know enough about it to know if she is correct, but it makes sense. I'm going to ask my friends to read her explanation and see if they agree.
      Anyway, I sent an email last night to one of my mid-listing friends and asked her a few questions. She responded this morning. With her permission, I thought I would share her responses, although she asked me to not share her name.
      Is it possible to make a living at writing these days?
      If you write a bestseller, certainly. I'm not sure otherwise. If I were starting in my career now, I would probably starve. Advances are lower than in the past; book sales are good, but not what they could be. I know I would have been a writer because that's what I am, but I'm sure I wouldn't have had the audacity to attempt to support myself as a writer exclusively.
      Why is it different now than in the past?
      Oh, a host of reasons. Books don't hold the place in society they once did. We don't live in a culture that values the written word. Television and the movies have dumbed down society. We don't like to do the work that's required by reading. We want to sit there in the comfy theater seats with our Cokes and popcorn and have information and entertainment fed to us. It amazes me that despite how well Rowling’s Potter books have sold, there are many more people -- millions -- who saw only the movies and will never read the books. While the movies are good, there is so much richness in the books that is being missed by those who only choose to watch the movies.
      I also think publishers don't support mid-list books the way they once did. Publishers want the next blockbuster. You can't blame them for that, but they could use the tremendous income generated from authors like Rowling or Dan Brown to foster a stronger stable of mid-list authors. Publishing houses used to have strong stables, and they counted on them to provide the backbone of their budgets. That's not true anymore. My publisher has cut many good authors that haven't reached the numbers that the accountants ask for. I've been fortunate that my sales –- particularly of (the series) -– have kept me from feeling the cold edge of the axe. But I could see it happening if I have one or two disastrous outings.
      What would be your advice for an author just starting out?
      Don't give up your day job! LOL Seriously, that's important. You need income to live, and even at the best of times, a writer's income is irregular. Manage your money carefully. Have a budget and follow it. Don't make an impulse purchase just because you've received your advance. Start an emergency saving account. And somehow get health insurance. An illness can devastate a budget and your life. I was fortunate that my husband worked for the state, and we had a health plan. And now we have Medicare, of course. That's a very good reason to work at a job: for the health benefits. And of course, write several best-sellers!