While some are proclaiming the death of the mass market paperback, at least one writer is still making a very healthy living writing them. Author Lynn Viehl (who also writes under five other names) is interviewed on Book Angst.
LV: I’ve had my disappointments, but not many, and
they made me work harder. I didn’t know anything about the industry and
I never met another writer until after I was published, so that may
have something to do with it. My only expectation was simply to see my
name on the cover of a book, and I’ve done that twenty-six times in
five years.
M: You also seemed to be among the best paid of all of the respondents.LV:
The reason my writing income is in six figures is because I write very
fast, I’m aggressive about finding work, and I’m willing to work 12 to
16 hours a day at the job.
M: If you don’t mind my asking, what’s the most you’ve ever been paid for a book? And how many do you generally write per year?
LV: The largest advance I’ve been paid for a single novel is $25,000.00. I write six to eight novels a year.
She writes in a variety of genres, including horror and romance, and mentions on her blog that she’s well on the way to reaching that total in 2005.
I’m 20K away from finishing the first draft of my first book of 2005 (some of which I wrote in 2004; I’m not that
fast.) I expect to polish it off today. I have two more books in
progress and hope to finish both of them by the first of Feburary.
Compared to her, I feel lazy.