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Profit Beyond Hollywood: Where Fiction Writers Can Find New Paths to Profit During the Writers Guild of America Strike
Now into its sixth week, the Writers Guild of America strike is sparking an essential dialogue about the value fiction writers bring to the economic table and the fair compensation for that value. At the heart of the strike is an effort to remind Hollywood that their profits are dependent upon the fiction writers whose creative talents provide the foundation for the movies, TV shows, streams, and podcasts that earn Hollywood its money.
Hollywood is, historically, one of the few places where fiction writers can reliably sell their work for premium prices. That’s something the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) is counting on to be their bargaining chip.
As a national bestselling author whose books and publications have sold over a million copies, I know their pain intimately.
Traditional publishing contracts don’t pay like they used to. A generous traditional publishing contract may extend a small advance on royalties to the author — usually less than four figures — but that advance must be paid back in book sales before the author sees another dime. That same author usually receives less than $2 per book on a $30 book, meaning they must sell four-figures worth of books…
