💡 Why it matters: Authors from every country are read around the world, and traditional and self-publishing are both growing. Most authors earn little at first, so many keep another job while writing.
🌍 Around the world
- Nigeria: Nigerian authors like Chimamanda Adichie are read around the world, and local publishing and self-publishing are growing.
- United States: Jobs for writers and authors are projected to show little or no change from 2025 to 2035 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦300k – ₦1.5M
- Mid-career
- ₦1.5M – ₦5M
- Senior
- ₦5M – ₦25M
≈ ₦125k – ₦417k a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Indicative mid-career range (our estimate, not yet checked against an official source). Incusim estimate
🇺🇸 United States
Closest US category: Writers and authors. Median pay; low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
🇨🇦 Canada
Hourly wage low/median/high x 2,080 hours. Job Bank (Government of Canada), 2023-2024
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Plan stories, characters or ideas for a book
- Write and rewrite chapters
- Work with editors to improve the book
- Promote the book at launches and online
- Speak at schools, festivals and bookshops
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Writing
- Imagination
- Self-discipline
- Resilience
- Research
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Self-publish an ebook and learn from reader feedback
- Join writing workshops and competitions like the Caine Prize or youth contests
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Writing groups, short courses and competitions
- Submit to agents and publishers, or self-publish
🇺🇸 United States
- Write short stories and enter contests
- Submit to agents and publishers, or self-publish
🇨🇦 Canada
- Writing workshops and festivals
- Submit to agents and publishers, or self-publish
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Read widely and write every day
- 2Join a school writing club or online writing group
- 3Finish short stories and share them
- 4Write and edit a full book
- 5Publish through a publisher or self-publish
⏰ A day in the life
You write for two hours in the morning, aiming for 1,000 words. In the afternoon you work on edits from your editor, then post a short excerpt on social media to build interest in the book.