Comment by jdougan
3 hours ago
Being a full-time writer has always been a tough gig unless it is attached to an institution (but that can corrupt the writing). I'm not sure why anyone would think it wasn't tough. The author/poet/painter starving in a garret was a well known stereotype. Just like most of the arts there is a supply and demand imbalance; lots (claim to) want to write, only a few will actually write to completion, and only a few of those will have written something someone else wants to read. And that's before the traditional publishing funnel.
On the other hand, I've known writers who make it work. Larry Correia has a lot of useful thoughts about it, he used to be an accountant before he got into writing and brings those skills to his analysis.
eg. "Analyzing My Royalties" https://monsterhunternation.com/2022/02/08/analyzing-my-roya... he breaks down how the system works. Claims to be making Doctor/Lawyer level money as of 2022.
I would like to see an analysis including "non-traditional" publishing options, and how different kinds of writing sell. I suspect genre fiction is different from "literary" from non-fiction, etc.
John T Reed is another author who found a formula that worked for him - "area of expertise" books, self published. https://johntreed.com/products/how-to-write-publish-and-sell...
You're not going to be able to jump head-first into (career) successful writing; but since it's almost perfectly suited to "after hours work" you can slowly build up to it.
The harsh reality is most wannabe authors suck and their writing sucks, and if they haven't written yet they need to get started, because the only way to get good is to get going and produce - the first five books may never see the light of day but you'll have improved.