How much do authors make?
"Author" is the everyday word for the occupation the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks as Writers and Authors. The figures below are the government's wage-and-salary estimates for that occupation, not book royalties or advances, which BLS does not survey.
The short answer
The median wage for writers and authors is $76,910 a year (27-3043), with the middle half of the field between $58,230 and $101,950. The bottom tenth earn under $44,310; the top tenth clear $139,870.
Source: U.S. BLS OEWS May 2025, retrieved 2026-07-13. Wage-and-salary jobs only; the self-employed are excluded.
The full national wage distribution
47,940 people are employed as writers and authors in wage-and-salary jobs nationally. The annual wage percentiles below are the BLS OEWS May 2025 estimates.
| 10th percentile | $44,310 |
| 25th percentile | $58,230 |
| Median (50th) | $76,910 |
| 75th percentile | $101,950 |
| 90th percentile | $139,870 |
Which states pay the most
Ranked by median wage. A high median can reflect a small workforce, so read it against employment in the explorer.
| 1 | District of Columbia | $129,300 |
| 2 | Maryland | $104,330 |
| 3 | Connecticut | $98,460 |
| 4 | Vermont | $94,430 |
| 5 | Louisiana | $89,520 |
| 43 | Arkansas | $47,970 |
| 42 | Kentucky | $48,780 |
| 41 | Wyoming | $49,650 |
| 40 | North Dakota | $50,860 |
| 39 | South Carolina | $51,920 |
Methodology
Data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, retrieved 2026-07-13 (Retrieved 2026-07-13 via the BLS Public Data API (api.bls.gov, OE survey series, latest=true, year 2025). Wages are annual/hourly USD; employment excludes self-employed workers.). The caveats that travel with every figure:
- OEWS covers wage and salary employment only; self-employed freelancers are not counted.
- Technical Writers (27-3042) baked at national level only.
- States where BLS suppresses an estimate are omitted or carry null fields.
Thinking about the career itself? See how to become a author.
Frequently asked questions
How much do authors make?
The median wage is $76,910 a year for Writers and Authors (27-3043), per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS May 2025 estimates. The middle of the field runs from $58,230 to $101,950, with the top tenth clearing $139,870. These are wage-and-salary figures and exclude the self-employed.
Do these figures include book royalties or advances?
No. These are wage-and-salary earnings for people employed in writing and authoring jobs. Royalties, advances and self-published book income are not part of the OEWS survey, so a self-employed novelist's earnings are not captured here.
Why is there such a wide gap between the lowest- and highest-paid authors?
Writing spans salaried staff roles, contract work and part-year employment, so the same occupation code covers very different jobs. The percentile table shows the spread rather than a single average, which is the honest way to read a field this varied.
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