The abuse I get on social media is pretty mild stuff compared with that received by others. It usually comprises allegations that I am fat (these are true), a liar (these are untrue, but then I might be lying in saying that) or in this campaigning lark for the money (ha ha!).
Apparently I wrote Inglorious in order to make my fortune rather than to influence the debate over the future of driven grouse shooting.
The other day I received my remittance advice from Bloomsbury which covered Inglorious (published 2015), A Message from Martha (published 2014) and Birds and Forestry (published 1989).
You’ll see that in the fourth year of its publication, Inglorious provided me with £343.34, A Message from Martha nothing at all, and Birds and Forestry, in its thirtieth year, £3.12. If you bought a copy of Inglorious from a bookseller some time in 2018, maybe on 1 January 2018, and maybe paid around £9.50 for it, then I have just received my share, maybe £0.60, of your expenditure. And of course that money is taxable. Getting any money at all in 2019 for work done in 2014 is a great thrill, but £343.34 is not going to pay the bills for very long. In contrast, the fact that Inglorious is finding its way into more and more people’s hands, and its ideas into more and more people’s brains, is very pleasing.
In fact, 252 copies of Inglorious were sold in 2018 including 40 e-books. £343 divided by 252 doesn’t come to 60p but that’s because some of an author’s royalties are kept back for future years and so some old sales have only now found their way into my bulging bank account. Publishers do that partly because some books may be returned unsold from booksellers and they end up as a negative sum on your royalty return (and some paperback copies recrossed the Atlantic in that category). Complicated isn’t it?
For a more detailed breakdown of the fortunes to be made from writing books see this previous blog about Inglorious, this previous blog about receipts from other books and public lending right, and for an insight into my sources of income (which I have just updated) see here.
The Society of Authors makes for some grim reading.
https://www.societyofauthors.org/News/News/2018/June/42-real-terms-fall-in-UK-author-earnings-since-20
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I always start my presentations with “this is a passion not a profession”, I’ve enjoyed all your books and as a children’s author/illustrator myself with well over 12000 book sales I feel your pain, I just about cover print costs and generate enough to donate funds to conservation organisations, look forward to your next publication.
No doubt the doubters will assume you have some other lucrative income associated with your campaigning Mark. Those of us that know you, even slightly, know this is clearly not the case but the dark side has never let the facts get in the way of a good story. I have several of your books and they are all a good read, I learnt something from all of them as well as being entertained, what more could one ask of a book.
Irritating and hurtful though they must be, unjustified ad hominem attacks are an indication that your interlocutor has no substantive arguments with which to challenge your views. If someone is only able to resort to name-calling and insults it is a sign of the weakness of their own position.
Keep calm and carry on.
Always think you shrug off nasty comments as good as anyone.
As you have said,no one can agree all the time but for sure conservation would be much worse off without your input.
I think it is impressive that Inglorious is continuing to generate income (albeit modest) four years after its publication.
I assume that the figures will have been substantially higher following the six months after launch when the title would have had the benefit of maximum publicity.
Since Mark is more than capable of overseeing his own marketing/ PR might it not be more profitable for him to go down the self-publishing route for future literary projects (possibly backed by some sponsorship funding)?
Incidentally, what is the next title up your sleeve?