Falling book prices could force authors to abandon their keyboards

Recent surveys in Britain, the United States and Australia have revealed a serious slump in the income that authors receive from their writing. In Australia, authors have seen their average income from writing decrease from about $22,000 in the early 2000s to less than $13,000 in 2015. For many authors, that means they can no longer earn a livelihood from their work. It's particularly worrying for young writers, who may abandon their craft altogether. And that's bad news for readers, who could miss out on the work of our future Tim Wintons and Richard Flanagans.