Median Book Income!

Per the Authors Guild, their Author Income survey is "the most comprehensive study of its kind in the U.S. to date." For the 2023 survey, the Authors Guild surveyed: "Thirty-six other organizations, including Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, Ingram, B&N Press, PEN America, African American Literature Book Club [...] and 5,699 published authors."

Per the 2023 Author Income survey: "[...] the median book income (including advances, royalties, and fees from licensing and subsidiary rights) for full-time authors in 2022 was $10,000 [...]"

Therefore, per the Authors Guild, in 2023, 50% of full-time writers earned less than $10,000, while 50% earned more than $10,000. 

I won't share on what side of the median I fall on, but I do suspect that "full-time" is hyperbolic, because I suspect that, unlike Harry Lesser, most writers can't write full-time on a $10,000 income - especially if they live in The Big Apple.

THE TENANTS: A Motivating Novel and Film for Writers

Here's IMDb's plot summary for The Tenants (2005) : 

In an abandoned tenement, an African-American militant writer [Willie Spearmint (Snoop Dogg)] and a Jewish novelist [Harry Lesser (Dylan McDermott)] develop a friendship while struggling to complete their novels, but inner tension rises between the two.

In the film, which is based on Bernard Malamud's novel of the same title, Willie confessed to Lesser, "Man, I tell you, this writing stuff is no joke." And in terms of the life of a writer, Willie said, "Baby, it's a long, hard, lonely life."

Carlos Fuentes, the Mexican novelist and essayist, agreed with Willie when he reportedly said:

You must have discipline for writing. It is not an easy task. It is very lonely. You're all alone. You are not in company [...] You are delving into your depths, but you are profoundly lonely. It is one of the loneliest careers in the world [...] In writing, you are alone. That takes a lot of strength and a lot of will to do it.

If you're a writer and you're having trouble staying motivated and focused. And you don't know how to handle being constantly interrupted by selfish people who don't take your writing seriously, then The Tenants may be the novel and film for you, because Willie and Lesser are two writers who take their writing extremely seriously