Prose relationships of writers. Success stories of modern writers Why there are no Russians in the list of the richest writers
1. JK Rowling
Renowned British novelist. Her net worth is estimated at $1 billion, making her one of the richest women in the world. The writer is best known for her fantasy novel about the boy wizard Harry Potter.
Rowling owns a beautiful $10.7 million Tasmanian mansion and a $5.8 million church cottage in Tootshill, South Wales.
2. Candy Spelling
Like all rich people, Candy lives in a big way. She currently owns a $47 million luxury condo apartment in downtown Los Angeles.
3. Stephen King
The main capital - 400 million dollars - he earned on books. His most successful novels are The Shining, The Body, The Stand, Carrie, It, and The Dark Tower. Writes in the genre of science fiction, horror, mysticism, thriller.
Stephen King owns luxurious villas and mansions, cars and a private jet.
4 Daniela Steele
Her fortune exceeds 375 million dollars. The American writer works in the genre of romance, children's fiction and journalism. Her top bestsellers are The Promise, Crossroads, Until the End of Time, Zoya, Mother's Sins, Only With You, Beautiful Things, Heartbeat, Sisters, Star.
5. Tom Clancy
His fortune is estimated at 300 million dollars. The American writer skillfully intertwines spy thriller with science fiction in his works. Wrote a couple of scripts for famous computer games.
6. Olivia Harrison
The widow of Beatles guitarist George Harrison is a British-Mexican author. Her net worth is $275 million.
7. James Patterson
This American author is best known for his fictional series about the psychologist Alex Cross. The approximate net worth of James is 250 million. His annual income was estimated at $91 million as of June 2013.
8. John Grisham
9. Jackie Collins
English writer, from whose pen 29 novels came out, and all of them became bestsellers! Over 500 million copies of her books have been translated into 40 languages and sold worldwide. Overall, Collins earned $180 million.
10. Michael Crichton
Michael Crichton was a famous and beloved novelist of his time in the genre of science fiction, medical fiction, thriller. Experts estimate that his net worth is $175 million.
11. Nora Roberts
Known to the general public is an American writer who has written more than 200 detective and romance novels. It works very productively, releasing several books a year. "Worth" 150 million.
12. Dean Koontz
American science fiction writer, master of action thrillers. Mysticism, horrors and secrets are his forte. Dean's net worth is $145 million.
13. Stephenie Meyer
An American who was made famous by the Twilight series of novels. She wrote only 10 books, but they all gained worldwide fame and brought the author 125 million dollars.
14. Mary Higgins Clark
Popular American novelist who writes psychological thrillers and stories for children. Her famous novels - "Strive for Heaven", "The Cradle Will Fall", "A Walk in the City", "We'll Meet Again" and many others - brought Mary $ 110 million.
15. Dan Brown
He lives in a magnificent mansion in New Hampshire.
16. Clive Cussler
Clive is a former maritime archaeologist. He has written several adventure, detective and thriller novels that have earned him $80 million.
17. Janet Ivanovich
Her famous works Big Hero, Grand Finale, Ivan Accepts a Wife, Elsie Hawkins (4 books), Stephanie Plum (20 books) and others brought their author 80 million in net income.
18. Wolfgang Puck
This famous Austrian chef has written several cookery books and earned $75 million from them.
19. Jonathan Franzen
He is compared with the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. Jonathan's writing career has earned him $70 million.
20. E.L. James
21. Gary Larson
This talented writer and cartoonist once earned $50 million. Today, he lives as a recluse in Seattle, Washington, earning $4 million in annuity each year, which he immediately donates to the Anteater Conservation Fund.
22. Stieg Larsson
Swedish writer and journalist with an estimated net worth of $50 million. Passed away in 2004 due to a heart attack.
23. Carol Radziwill
24. Ann Rice
American writer, who was made famous by the novel "Interview with the Vampire". In total, with her talent, she was able to earn 50 million dollars.
25. Ken Follett
Welsh and British novelist. He is best known for his novel The Eye of the Needle. "Worth" 45 million dollars. His most significant acquisition is an old townhouse in London.
26. Terry Macmillan
American writer, known worldwide for her bestsellers Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Answer, Mom, Well If You Don't Know, Dollar, Getting to Happiness, etc. Her net worth is estimated $40 million.
27. Jonathan Kellerman
While working as a practicing psychologist, he wrote several books in the genre of medical thriller and earned $ 40 million.
28. Jon Krakauer
This prominent American writer and journalist (the main photo of the article) has a net worth of $35 million. He is fond of mountaineering.
29. Nicholas Sparks
He lives in a beautiful large waterfront house in New Bern, North Carolina.
30. Jane Ann Krentz
31. George R. R. Martin
American writer, producer and screenwriter. Writes in the genre of science fiction. With a net worth of $30 million, he still lives in a simple house in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and drives an old Mazda RX-7.
32. Nelson DeMille
Earned $25 million in writing
33. Elizabeth Gilbert
34. Cecily von Ziegesar
35. Harlan Coben
Popularity and wealth ($ 25 million) brought him detective novels-thrillers.
36. Jack Canfield
Marked in the Guinness Book of Records as the most popular author. Wrote a series of stories "Chicken Soup for the Soul", which has been called a publishing phenomenon. "Worth" 25 million.
37. Lee Ann Tui
The fixed capital of 25 million US dollars brought her writing talent.
38. Toni Morrison
She is a Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning professor and author of children's books, plays, and short stories about African American life. "Worth" $24 million.
39. Nick Hornby
Earned $22 million by indulging his passion for writing.
40. Patti Mallett
Known not only as the mother of megastar Justin Bieber, but also as the author of several bestsellers, which earned $ 20 million.
41. Lisa Gibbons
In addition to her career as a TV presenter, Lisa is also a well-known writer. She earned 20 million on her books. She does not like to save money by surrounding herself with all sorts of luxury items.
42. Martin Handford
43. David Chilton
Canadian writer David Chilton is "worth" $20 million. Specializes in topics about financial success.
44. Robert Crumb
Earned 20 million on comics!
45. Brad Meltzer
46. Nancy Grace
The former prosecutor has written such successful books as "Celebrity Defendants", "11 Victims", "Objection!", "Senior Defense Lawyers", which brought her $ 18 million.
47. Joe Esterhaz
The Hungarian-American writer and former journalist has a net worth of $18 million.
48. Timothy Ferriss
By publishing his books, this young American writer earned $15 million.
49. Salman Rushdie
A well-known British-Indian celebrity, his writing talent is valued at $15 million.
50. Joan Lunden
Earned 15 million mainly on books about a healthy lifestyle and proper nutrition.
Magazine Forbes lists the richest writers in the world.
1. Leading, as you understand, Joanne Rowling with my Harry Potter.
This writer has earned $300 million, helped in no small part by her latest book, “ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” (Harry Potter and the deathly hallows).
2. In second place James Patterson, a fairly prolific writer who writes 2 books a year.
His income is 50 million dollars, and the total circulation of his works is 150 million dollars.
Patterson's first novel Thomas Barryman number was rejected by 26 publishers before Little Brown decided to publish it in 1976. The book became a bestseller and won the Poe Award for Best Debut Novel.
With the release of the novel A spider appeared“, Patterson became one of the most popular detective writers in America, and the book itself became an international bestseller.
3. The third place is firmly held by the king of horrors Stephen King. His income amounted to 45 million dollars.
What wonderful horror stories this author writes!!!
4. Tom Clancy, bestselling author The Hunt for Red October' took fourth place.
His income is 35 million dollars.
In particular, he earned 100 million by selling the rights to one of his novels to create a computer game.
5. In fifth place - Daniela Steel, the queen of female romance, over which millions of women around the world sob.
His books are well known to lovers of detective stories.
7. Surprisingly not that Dean Koontz still “gives out” its mystical horror films, and that they continue to be read.
8. In eighth place Ken Follett with his income of 20 million dollars.
He started as a journalist, but over time, working in a newspaper ceases to bring pleasure. Follett begins writing books. However, for several years this has been nothing more than a hobby, books cannot yet bring in a significant income.
And only in 1978 his first real bestseller " needle eye» about the work of British counterintelligence during the Second World War. In 1979, the novel won the Poe Prize.
The novel was a great success, and Follett becomes a famous writer.
His novels have been a steady success - since 1978 he has written a dozen and a half bestsellers, some of which have been filmed.
In the latest novel world without end» Follet colorfully described the catholic cathedral Catedral g?tica de Santa Mar?a in the Spanish city of Victoria.
As a token of gratitude for the huge influx of tourists, the city authorities erected a monument to him on the square near the cathedral.
Winfrey Oprah adores him, which he never tires of repeating from the television screen.
9. Janet Ivanovich- The author of adventure novels in the penultimate place.
For two years she diligently learns jargon, trains in shooting and drinks beer with "criminal types".
The knowledge gained in this way was used to create the image of the heroine Stephanie Plum. The image itself was inspired by the character of Robert De Niro in the movie Midnight.
Janet Ivanovich's detective novels have received numerous awards: Dilys, John Creasy, Silver Dagger and Special Dagger " The one who laughs last."
10. Nicholas Sparks, author of well-known Hollywood adaptations of works " Diary" and " Letter in a bottle”, completes our TOP.
The themes of his works are inextricably linked with Christianity, love, fate and human feelings. Nicholas Sparks has published 14 novels.
Forbes dug into writers' pockets and calculated how much the richest of them were getting. In the lead, of course, is Harry Potter's mother JK Rowling. Last year, she earned $95 million. Not very popular with us, but, as it turns out, America's richest writer James Patterson, author of a series of detective novels about Inspector Alex Cross, earned $87 million. In third place was Jeff Kinney, the author of " Diary of a Wimpy Kid" - his wallet replenished last year by $ 21 million.
"Harry Potter" by JK Rowling is first of all a good business project, and then a very good literary work. Photo: Joel Ryan/Invision/AP
Every year, our writers are not included in the list. Why? Is it really impossible for us to earn money by writing? Maybe. And the point here is not the cost of the book, but its circulation. Among those who have really good circulation of books are Daria Dontsova, Dina Rubina and Boris Akunin. The publishers do not hide the fact that the total circulation of Daria Dontsova's books is now about 200 million copies. But the total circulation of Rowling's books is 400 million copies, only the Bible has more.
If you have just come into literature, the fee can be 25 thousand rubles, an author with a name can be paid a million. So most of our writers have to look for additional income - teach, do journalism, run their own business, write scripts for television films, sell book rights abroad.
Of course, the writers on the Forbes list didn't just make money by selling books. The lion's share of Rowling's income comes from the sale of the rights to the film adaptation of Potteriana. And last year, a film adaptation of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was added to the mix, and the film was an incredible success around the world. Rowling also donates some money to the amusement park of the Universal film company, which has rides dedicated to Harry Potter.
Another objective factor that foreign authors get rich faster is that all the writers on the list write in English. As you know, many more people speak English than Russian. Not all Russian authors are translated into other languages. They actively translate Dina Rubina, Dmitry Glukhovsky, Lyudmila Ulitskaya. But this is a drop in the ocean compared to the world circulation of the same Rowling. Among other things, "Harry Potter" is a well-promoted marketing project in which a lot of money has been invested. Our publishing houses have no money for such projects. So what we read is largely influenced by PR and marketers.
Competently
Why are there no Russians on the list of the richest writers?
Oleg Novikov, President of the Eksmo-AST publishing group:
In order for the names of Russian authors to appear on the list of the highest paid writers in the world, social and economic prerequisites are needed. The book industry in Russia today lives in somewhat different conditions than publishers and writers in other countries. First of all, the writers' fees are affected by the cost of the book. In recent years, in Russia, prices for almost all goods, be it food or electronics, have become quite comparable with the global level, while at the same time, the cost of a book has not changed much. In the US and European countries, books are significantly more expensive, and this is reflected in the royalties of authors, which are counted from final sales. However, we understand how important it is to keep prices down on the book market, given the purchasing power of our readers, which is an order of magnitude lower than that of Europeans and the United States. If the price of books begins to rise, the circulation and the number of readers will decrease, whose incomes are not yet comparable to the standard of living of the population of European countries and the United States.
Another important factor is significantly smaller print runs than in the West. The average circulation of a book today is 4,500 copies, which is comparable to the publishing industry in Poland, whose population is much smaller than Russia. And today we are interested in creating bestsellers that come out in large circulations of 30-50-100 thousand copies and more. In order for national authors to begin to receive high incomes, a developed book infrastructure is needed. So far, the provision of Russians with bookstores and libraries differs significantly from the situation in which the inhabitants of Germany, Great Britain, and the United States find themselves. In terms of per capita availability of bookstores and libraries, we are still far behind other developed countries, and even the countries of Eastern Europe, and it is important to correct this situation. Library funds need regular replenishment with relevant publications. As for sales, today, according to expert estimates, the country lacks about 1,000 bookstores.
The richest writers in the world in 2016
Joanne Rowling, revenue for the year $ 95 million. The play for the Broadway production of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" became the best-selling book of 2016.
James Patterson($87 million). In 2016, the author sold 9.5 million books. Now the thriller created by Patterson together with Bill Clinton is being prepared for release. If the book has a good PR campaign in Russia, then we will finally know the name of America's richest writer.
Jeff Kinney($21 million). "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" from Kinney became a bestseller all over the world, though not in Russia. But Kinney's main source of income comes from making video games.
Dan Brown($20 million). After the release of The Da Vinci Code, for which the author received $ 260 million, all his books, already published, and those that are just being prepared for release, automatically became bestsellers.
Stephen King($15 million). Amazing performance brings income to King. And besides, the love of the public, whatever he wrote. Last year, King fans were snapping up his 55th novel, The Post Passed.
John Grisham($14 million). His "Informant" became one of the best-selling in 2016.
Nora Roberts($14 million). Income was brought to the writer by a series of detectives "The investigation is conducted by Eva Dallas."
Paula Hawkins($13 million). The British author made money on the film adaptation of "The Girl on the Train". Film companies are said to be queuing up to buy the rights to the next bestseller.
Daniela Steel($11 million). Things are not going well for the queen of female romance right now. But last year she published six books, which brought considerable income.
Do you think that literature is dead, and in the modern world it is impossible to earn good money as a writer? Then you will surely be surprised by the rating below, which includes the most wealthy authors of our planet.
Elizabeth Badinter - $1.1 billion
The richest writer on Earth is Elizabeth Badinter, whom many people do not know anything about. How did it happen? It's very simple - a wealthy Frenchwoman received most of this money as an inheritance.
Coming from a respected family in the country, Elizabeth could devote herself entirely to literature, having previously received a chic education. As a result, now she publishes her works from time to time, and also teaches philosophy in one of the educational institutions in Paris and is the most influential intellectual in France. For aspiring writers who dream of getting on the list of highly paid personalities, we advise you to first understand the main writing mistakes that are so colorfully described on officeplankton.
JK Rowling - $1 billion
But Rowling got her fortune solely through literature. The author of the Harry Potter saga can boast that her books have been translated into several dozen languages of the world, in addition, the works formed the basis of the sensational film adaptation that made Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson famous.
Of course, Rowling has other works, but they are unlikely to ever boast such a similar success with readers. It is no coincidence that the writer has recently completed the eighth book in this popular series. A work called "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" went on sale on July 31, 2016 and it is already clear that it will be read by millions of people in different parts of the globe.
Daniela Steel - $610 million
Daniela's life is like an endless series of plots for exciting novels. So, she was married five times, and one of her sons committed suicide when he found out that his father was actually only a stepfather.
The first work of the writer was published in 1973 and critics greeted him very cool. Readers, on the contrary, liked the opportunity to look into the world of the rich and famous (all of Steele's works tell about the powerful of this world) and they willingly sold out the circulation. After that, Daniela continued to build momentum and now boasts a very impressive bank account balance.
Bill Watterson - $450 million
This man is known as the artist who invented the Calvin and Hobbs comics. But Bill not only drew pictures, but also wrote the plot, coming up with suitable replicas for his characters.
The comic book about the adventure of the boy Calvin and his plush toy Hobbs was published for ten years, until in 1995 the author decided to put an end to the story. Interestingly, from that moment on, Watterson does not release either comics or literature, however, due to endless reprints and other income, he continues to profit from his offspring.
Sidney Sheldon - $400 million
Born into a family of former residents of Odessa, the writer published his first work when he was 53 years old. Before that, he made a living working as a screenwriter, thanks to which he learned how to create famously twisted plots that keep the reader in suspense.
In 2013, two near-literary records were set. The initial circulation of the new novel by the Japanese writer Haruki MURAKAMI "Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage" was 1 million copies, and the writer's fee, excluding interest on sales, was $5 million. An unknown 15-year-old Pakistani Malala YUSUFZAI will receive $3 million for a book of memoirs about how her school bus was shot at by the Taliban and how difficult it is to get an education in third world countries. To tell how much writers in Russia earn, we asked our staff writer, writer Vladimir KAZAKOV.
The history of the Russian fee is not simple. This word itself, translated from Latin, means "honor", hence the word "arrogance". For the curious, I’ll say that “gonorrhea” is not from that opera, it’s not Latin, but Greek roots.
So, in Rome, only foreigners and slaves could write for a fee. It was a shame for a real Roman to take money for odes, verses and other tragedies. Therefore, they came up with symbolic valuable prizes - a ring or a golden cup. It was also considered indecent in Russia among the nobility - and literature was predominantly of the nobility - to take money for writing.
But Alexander Pushkin changes everything. He makes writing a profession for the first time. Having spit on the vague notions of noble dignity, he began to sell his poems. We are often told that Pushkin was a poor poet, heavily in debt. This is only partly true.
Alexander Sergeevich spent a lot, squandered, lost fortunes in cards. His wife Natalya Nikolaevna devoured a lot with balls and receptions. But contemporaries wrote that the poet's favorite pastime was drunkenly throwing gold coins from the Anichkov Bridge and watching them shimmer in the water in the sun. Why such excesses?
Pushkin's salary in 1831 at the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, where, however, he did not really go, was 5 thousand rubles. in year. This is very big money. The Mikhailovskoye estate and 200 peasant souls that belonged to the poet gave another 3 thousand rubles. annual income.
Here are some of his fees:
1824 - publication of the first edition of The Fountain of Bakhchisaray, 1200 copies, fee - 3 thousand rubles;
1825 - publication of the book "Poems of Alexander Pushkin", 1200 copies, fee - 8040 rubles;
1827 - The Robber Brothers were printed, the fee was 1500 rubles;
1828 - the release of the second edition of "Ruslan and Lyudmila", a fee - 7 thousand rubles.
In 1824, for "Eugene Onegin" he generally received astronomical for those times 12 thousand rubles.
This is not all the fees of the poet. For comparison: a chic dinner in a restaurant, including sturgeon and caviar, cost no more than a ruble. A skilled young blacksmith with his wife and two children for export cost no more than 500 rubles.
Dostoevsky counted Turgenev's money
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky went further in the development of royalties. He managed to get quite decent sums for novels not yet written. In 1869, from Florence, in a letter to the publicist Nikolai Strakhov, he, among other things, reports: “... Here is what I am forced to answer: since I always need money extremely and live only by work, I have always been almost forced, all my life, wherever he worked, take money in advance. True, and everywhere they gave me. I left Russia soon two years ago, already owing Katkov 3,000 rubles, and not according to the old calculation with Crime and Punishment, but according to a new one. Since then, I have taken from Katkov up to 3,500 rubles. Russky Vestnik will send me money this year as well, although I owe a little to stay there.
It takes six months to sit down and write a novel for me. To write it for half a year, you need to be secure at that time ... You constantly write me such news that Ivan Goncharov, for example, took 7 thousand rubles. for his novel, and Katkov himself gave Turgenev 4,000 rubles, that is, 400 rubles each, for his "Nest of Nobles". per sheet. (A literary sheet is approximately 24 typewritten pages. - VK) My friend! I know very well that I write worse than Turgenev, but not too worse, and finally I hope to write just as well. For what, with my needs, I take only 100 rubles, and Turgenev, who has 2 thousand souls, 400 rubles each. From poverty, I am forced to hurry and write for money, therefore, without fail, spoil.
In those years, the highest paid writers were Goncharov and Turgenev. But, in principle, Dostoevsky received quite decently. He could afford to travel all over Europe, play in a casino and indulge in all sorts of excesses in general.
Gorky earned money for a villa in Italy
The end of the 19th century was marked by a rise in wages for writers. Leo Tolstoy receives 1 thousand rubles. per sheet, Nikolai Leskov and Anton Chekhov - 500 each. Beginner "singer of the revolution" Maxim Gorky - 150 rubles, more than Dostoevsky!
The pre-revolutionary time is just fantastic for literary income. Gorky receives 1200 rubles. per sheet, Chekhov - 1 thousand, Kuprin - 800 rubles, Bunin - 600 rubles. That is, we again take the average book of that time in 10 sheets, multiply by Chekhov's 1 thousand rubles and get three years of living in a luxurious hotel like the Metropol. This is for one book. And they tried to publish every year and even more often. Chekhov, for example, realized in time and gave way to the St. Petersburg publisher Adolf Marksuprav for all his previous creations for 75 thousand rubles. And he successfully supported a large family, a mansion on the Garden Ring, the Melikhovo estate, a house in Yalta.
The prose writer Fyodor Sologub was not one of the leaders of the then rating, but a valued and high-quality poet and prose writer, author of the famous novel “The Little Demon”, paid 135 rubles for an apartment in Grodnensky Lane in St. Petersburg. per month. The writer's dwelling looked prestigious: expensive Art Nouveau furniture, palm trees...
Leonid Andreev built a beautiful mansion in a prestigious suburb of St. Petersburg, on the Black River. Construction, including interior decoration, cost 38 thousand rubles. Andreev received a ruble per line.
For a ruble you could buy a whole goose, for 50 kopecks. - a couple of chickens. The monthly salary of an average official was 100 rubles.
Gorky rents the most luxurious villa in Italy, on the island of Capri, and contains numerous relatives, mistresses and hangers-on.
Mayakovsky became an official millionaire
In Soviet times, writers also did not get bored. In the 1920s, Vladimir Mayakovsky and Sergei Yesenin were the highest paid writers. Mayakovsky was considered an official millionaire. He ordered cars of prestigious brands from abroad, traveled a lot, and supported the Brik family.
In later Soviet times, the issuance of fees in connection with the formation of the Union of Writers of the USSR was streamlined. It must be said that the union, in addition to fixed prices, also gave a lot of advantages that were not there under the tsarist regime. Benefits on rent, getting an apartment out of turn, increased pension, the opportunity to relax and create for free in numerous creative houses scattered in the best resort areas of the USSR. Opportunity to buy a dacha in writers' villages like Peredelkino or Komarovo for a symbolic price. The state stimulated intellectual, literary work.
Venerable writers, sometimes quite mediocre, sometimes received fantastic money. For example, a case is known how the now forgotten writer Anatoly Sofronov, editor-in-chief of the Ogonyok magazine, member of the Central Committee of the CPSU and laureate of three orders of Lenin, received more than 200 thousand rubles for a collection of works in 6 volumes, published for the 70th anniversary. A three-room cooperative apartment in a prestigious area could be bought for 15 thousand.
But even for ordinary writers, solid, very good earnings were guaranteed. For example, two rubles per line were paid for poems and plays. Plus copyright, additional payment for circulation, etc. For one book, the writer was guaranteed to receive several annual salaries of an ordinary Soviet person. By the way, if a writer wrote a book in Russian and it was translated into one of the languages of the peoples of the USSR, then the author was entitled to an additional 60 percent of the fee paid for the first edition. If the book was translated into a foreign language, then the original author was entitled to 30 percent of the first fee.
I had a friend who was a Mordvinian, he wrote poetry in Russian, he was published, then he translated himself into Mordovian, he was published again, and so he lived.
Writers also made scripts from books. The average scenario cost 5 thousand rubles. - this is the price of the Zhiguli, a prestigious car at that time. They also wrote plays based on their own works.
The leader here was Vladimir Voinovich, who in the 70s created the dumbest stories about real Soviet foremen at the construction sites of socialism and successfully processed them into plays.
- While the performances were going on, - the writer recalled, - my fees grew in arithmetic progression. One month - 600 rubles, another - 800, the third - a thousand. When the monthly fee reached 1,200 rubles, the accountant, writing out a money order for me, became nervous and shouted to her employees: “Look at the living millionaire!”
That is, a very mediocre writer Voinovich, churning out dreary plays about working everyday life, received monthly the annual salary of an ordinary person only at theatrical performances. Being a writer in the USSR was prestigious, and just very good.
JK Rowling outdone
The USSR collapsed. Other times have come. 99 percent of writers fell into poverty. But one percent began to receive even larger fees. Of course, they are incomparable with the fees of writers in the West, where the incomes of the top equate to the fees of pop stars and show business. For example, JK Rowling's income has exceeded $1 billion. Of course, this is mainly money for the film adaptation of her Harry Potter, but millions of copies of the saga bring her considerable income. In total, about 500 million copies were published. wizard books. But she is not among the leaders of the modern Western rating. Forbes magazine has published the earnings of the most successful writers over the past year.
1. James Patterson - $ 84 million The author of numerous thrillers and detective stories is best known for his series of books about the American psychologist Alex Cross.
2. Daniela Steele - $35 million. The total circulation of her women's novels exceeds 800 million copies, thanks to which Steele took eighth place in the list of the best-selling authors of all time.
3. Stephen King - $28 million The unsurpassed master of horror has worked in many genres during his long creative life, including mysticism, science fiction, fantasy, suspense, drama.
4. Janet Ivanovich - $22 million
5. Stephanie Meyer - $21 million American housewife and mother of three children wrote a series of vampire novels - "Twilight".
6. Rick Riordan - $ 21 million Author of mystical detective stories about a private investigator and professor of English medieval literature Treze Navarre.
7. Dean Koontz - $19 million An English teacher from Pennsylvania is considered one of the masters of action thrillers and horror films.
8. John Grisham - $18 million Master of "legal" dramas and thrillers, many of which have been filmed.
9. Jeff Kinney - $17 million Online game developer and cartoonist made famous writing with the children's series Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
10. Nicholas Sparks – $16 million
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Most of these citizens, with the exception of King, Steele, Grisham and a little Meyer, are unknown to our people. But what about domestic writers?
Finding information is extremely difficult. And verifying its authenticity is even more difficult. Because the circulation of books in one case is artificially lowered so as not to pay taxes, and in others they are inflated to the skies in order to emphasize the significance and popularity of the author.
On average, an author receives 10 to 15 percent of the publisher's selling price from books sold. This is the so-called royalty. By the way, the selling price of the publishing house is on average less than 100 rubles. for the book. The rest is cheating distributors and shops. Plus a fixed amount for the transfer of rights.
Having published two books in the “fat” years of the Russian economy, in 2007 and 2008, I received 150 thousand rubles for the first one, and 300 thousand rubles for the second one. Plus 300 thousand - for the third, which the publisher never released. This is a lot, because I am not Daria Dontsova. I did not receive royalties, and it is almost impossible to check how many books were published and how many were sold. This is the biggest secret of any publishing house. (By the way, the volume of the Russian book market now ranges from $2.5 to 3.5 billion annually. This is a fantastic amount, comparable to the proceeds from the arms trade.) Alas, now the royalties that I was paid no longer exist.
All this, of course, does not apply to our conditional "stars of the pen." According to rumors, Daria Dontsova earns about $150,000 a month from books. I think Viktor Pelevin, Boris Akunin get the same amount and Dmitry Bykov a little less. This amount includes fees for new books, reprints, royalties, film adaptations, performances.
At the peak of Boris Akunin's popularity, in 2005, Forbes magazine published data on his income: from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005, he earned a little over $ 2 million.
In short, if you rise to the top, you can live. Another thing is that, unlike the pre-revolutionary sales leaders, modern writers occupy an honorary writer's place not entirely deserved. But that's a completely different story.