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The previous thread about HarperCollins indicates publishing is getting back on track.
However, not so much for the writers of books.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/08/authors-incomes-collapse-alcs-survey
This study was specific to the UK, but I would guess the situation in the US is not that different.
However, not so much for the writers of books.
Will Self's lament for the death of the novel earlier this summer has been cast into stark relief by "shocking" new statistics which show that the number of authors able to make a living from their writing has plummeted dramatically over the last eight years, and that the average professional author is now making well below the salary required to achieve the minimum acceptable living standard in the UK. . .
. . . Commissioned by the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society and carried out by Queen Mary, University of London, the survey also found that in 2013, just 11.5% of professional authors – those who dedicate the majority of their time to writing – earned their incomes solely from writing. This compares with 2005, when 40% of professional authors said that they did so.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/08/authors-incomes-collapse-alcs-survey
This study was specific to the UK, but I would guess the situation in the US is not that different.