Publishing culturally significant books and essays rarely equates to standalone financial security. Ed Simon serves as the Public Humanities Special Faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, works as an editor for Belt Magazine and The Pittsburgh Review of Books, and is a staff writer for LitHub.
After 13 years of writing professionally, his dedicated freelance and publishing work generates an earnings range of $20,000 to $30,000 annually. To survive as the author of over a dozen books, Ed relies heavily on his $70,000 university salary.
Publishing across academic presses and the Big Five publishers presents a stark economic contrast. Academic and small press books rarely generate substantial direct income, often only providing enough money to cover rent or groceries occasionally.
Big Five publishers offer higher advances, typically ranging from $5,000 to $20,000. However, unlocking additional royalties, which can bring in $5,000 to $10,000 a year, requires the difficult task of earning out that initial payment first.
Because literary publishing is rarely lucrative on its own, Ed strategically treats his small press regional history books as lead generation tools. These titles frequently secure him speaking engagements that pay substantial fees for relatively quick work, bridging the gap between modest royalties and actual living expenses.
In the freelance journalism space, Ed writes online essays that pay anywhere from nothing up to $1,200 per piece. Sustaining this output requires an unsentimental approach to rejection and a relentless work ethic. “If you fail the first, second, third, tenth, or hundredth time, it doesn’t mean you’ll fail the hundred-and-first time,” Ed advises.
He notes that as a writer builds a track record, the process of securing commissions becomes slightly easier. “After you’ve started to build a track record of acceptances, you can lean on your CV as well as the relationships that you’ve developed with editors,” he explains.
Despite his extensive connections and accolades, navigating the constant stream of editorial rejections from top tier magazines remains a daily reality. To maintain his high volume of published essays without wasting hours drafting new proposals from scratch, Ed relies on a highly specific, tiered pitching framework to guarantee every single rejected idea eventually finds a paying home.
To see exactly how Ed recycles his rejected pitches to lower tier publications until they sell, check out the rest of the conversation on How I Make Money Writing.
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