The internet has failed to enrich professional writers, despite being awash with media outlets, blogs and organisations in need of tailored news for their audiences.
However writers in the UK have had more success at monetising their works online than their counterparts in Germany.
Such are the headline findings from the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management, which polled 25,000 writers to gauge their annual earnings.
The study found six out of ten writers, from either Germany or the UK, need another job to survive, despite being classed as professional writers.
More money came to writers who reported some type of dispute with their publisher or end client, compared to those who failed to complain about unfair contractual terms.
For British writers, the first ten years of their professional life would appear to be the toughest.
The typical earnings of a British professional writer aged 25-34 are only £5,000 a year - a third less than their counterparts in Germany.
This age bracket takes in those repaying student loans, starting out on their careers, getting on the property ladder and starting a family.
UK authors also receive little recompense for work that appears on the internet: less than 15% have received any payment for online use of their work. In Germany, less than 10% are paid for their online submissions.
Elsewhere, the study reportedly found that copyright law could also make writing riskier: income was less evenly distributed when it only took account of income relating to actual use of copyright material.
Jul 17, 2007
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