“Many of us hopeful writers grew up browsing bookstores with the misguided impression that all of those tens of thousands of authors we see on the shelves were writing for a living. The vast majority are not.” What pisses me off about American Capitalism is that there is no path for people to write, draw or play professionally and make a living wage. You don’t have to be an all star engineer to earn a living wage but you have to be literally one in a thousand to be able to afford rent and food as an artist. Yet when we think what is most important to us from a cultural standpoint it is Steinbeck, Warhol, and Karoac whom we value, not Jobs or Gates or even Lincoln and Eisenhower. It is art that speaks for us and represents us, not politicians or businessmen.
http://authorearnings.com/the-tenured-vs-debut-author-report/