So there I was last week, deep in research for this crazy bestseller quest I’ve gotten myself into at 77, when I stumbled across some indie author income numbers that made me put down my coffee and stare at the screen for a good five minutes.
Not because the numbers were encouraging–hell no. Because they were so brutally honest about what we indie authors are really up against that I felt like I’d been handed the keys to a vault I didn’t know existed.
See, most of us writers operate on hope and caffeine, convinced that our book is going to be the exception to all the rules. We hear about Hugh Howey or Amanda Hocking making millions, and we think, “That’ll be me next year.”
Well, let me share some data that’ll either cure you of that delusion or help you plan for actually making it happen.
The Indie Author Income Reality That Nobody Talks About
Here’s the thing that knocked me sideways: according to recent survey data, the top 1% of indie authors–that’s the Hugh Howeys and Amanda Hockings of the world–earn 31% of all the revenue in this business.
Think about that for a minute. One percent of authors are taking home nearly one-third of all the money.
It gets better. The top 10% of indie authors earn 71% of total revenue. That means 90% of us are fighting over the remaining 29% of the pie.
This isn’t a normal distribution. This is what economists call a “winner-takes-all” market, and if you’re not prepared for that reality, you’re going to get your literary ass handed to you.
What the “Average” Author Actually Makes
Now, before you throw your laptop out the window and go back to that accounting job you hated, let me share the other side of these numbers.
The median annual income for self-published authors in 2023 was $12,759. That’s up 53% from the previous year, which sounds encouraging until you realize that’s still poverty-level income in most of the civilized world.
But here’s where it gets interesting: veteran authors who’ve been at this since 2018 are earning a median of $24,000 annually. Still not enough to quit your day job, but it’s double the overall median and shows that persistence and experience matter.
Compare that to traditionally published authors, who earned a median of just $6,000 to $8,000 last year–and their income is trending downward. Suddenly, that $24,000 for experienced indie authors doesn’t look so bad.
The Mean vs. Median Trap
Here’s where things get really interesting, and where a lot of aspiring authors get led astray.
The mean (average) income for indie authors is estimated at $82,600. Holy crap, right? That’s a living wage! That’s quit-your-day-job money!
Except it’s also complete baloney as a predictor of what you’ll earn.
The mean is so much higher than the median because those superstar outliers–the folks earning six and seven figures–drag the average way up. It’s like saying the average person in a room with Jeff Bezos is a billionaire. Technically true, mathematically meaningless.
The median tells you what the author in the middle of the pack actually earns. And that author is making $12,759 a year.
This isn’t me trying to discourage you–it’s me trying to make sure you go into this business with your eyes wide open instead of chasing unicorns.
Why This Actually Matters for Your Strategy
Now, you might be thinking, “Gee, thanks for the pep talk, Chet. Really feeling motivated here.”
But here’s why understanding these numbers is actually the most valuable thing you can do for your writing career: it shows you exactly what you’re trying to climb out of, and it explains why the strategies that work are so different from what most authors try.
If 90% of authors are splitting 29% of the revenue, that tells you something crucial: volume matters more than perfection.
The authors in that top 10%–the ones earning actual money–aren’t necessarily better writers. They’re more prolific. They understand that in a winner-takes-all market, you need multiple lottery tickets, not one perfect ticket.
The data backs this up. Authors earning over $20,000 per month have published an average of 61 books. Sixty-one! That’s not a typo.
Meanwhile, most authors are still polishing their first manuscript, convinced that if they just get it perfect enough, it’ll be the one that breaks through.
The Compounding Effect Nobody Explains
Here’s what those brutal numbers actually reveal about building a sustainable author business: it’s not about hitting a home run with book one. It’s about getting on base consistently.
Every new book you publish becomes a marketing tool for every other book you’ve written. A reader who discovers your latest release through an Amazon ad doesn’t just buy that book–they often go back and buy your entire backlist.
This is why prolific authors earn disproportionately more. It’s not just that they have more books to sell; it’s that each new book increases the sales potential of every previous book. Book 10 doesn’t just earn royalties on its own sales–it drives additional sales for books 1 through 9.
The math starts working for you instead of against you, but only if you understand that building a catalog is more important than perfecting individual titles.
What This Means for Your Publishing Plan
So what do you do with this information? Give up? Hell no.
You use it to make better strategic decisions:
- Stop betting everything on one book. If the top earners have an average of 61 published titles, your first book isn’t your lottery ticket–it’s your business card.
- Focus on consistency over perfection. A good book published is worth more than a perfect book sitting on your hard drive. The market will teach you what readers want better than any amount of self-editing.
- Plan for the long game. That median income of $24,000 for veteran authors? That’s the result of years of consistent publishing, learning, and building audience. It’s not year-one money.
- Understand your real competition. You’re not competing against Stephen King or James Patterson. You’re competing against the other 90% of authors fighting over 29% of the revenue. That’s a much more winnable game.
The Tool That Makes It Real
Want to see these numbers in action for your own situation? I’ve embedded a simple royalty calculator on my author’s resource page that lets you play with different scenarios of books published for the Kindle.
Plug in your current numbers–how many books you have, what you’re charging, how many you sell per day–and see what your actual monthly and yearly income looks like. Then adjust the numbers to see what it would take to reach your income goals.
I’ll warn you: the first time you run your real numbers, it’s sobering as hell. But it’s also clarifying. Dreams without math are just fantasies. Dreams with math become plans.
Why I’m Sharing This
You might wonder why a 77-year-old guy chasing his own bestseller dream is sharing data that could discourage other authors.
Simple: because the authors who get discouraged by reality weren’t going to make it anyway. And the authors who see these numbers and think, “Okay, now I know what I’m really up against, let’s make a plan”–those are the ones who might actually join me in that top 10%.
The indie publishing world doesn’t need more dreamers. It needs more strategists.
The numbers are brutal, but they’re not hopeless. They just require a different approach than most authors try.
In my next post, I’ll break down why your first book will probably lose money–and why that’s actually part of a smart business plan. Because once you understand the real economics of indie publishing, losing money in the right way becomes the first step toward making money in the long run.
Want to follow along as I document my own time investments, learning curves, and (hopefully) eventual wins in this crazy bestseller quest? Subscribe to my notification email list for real-time updates on whether an old dog can indeed learn some very profitable new tricks.