Copyright Licensing New Zealand is repeating a survey on New Zealand writer's incomes, which was first conducted in 2016.
in 2016, Copyright Licensing New Zealand conducted a survey of writers in New Zealand with the aim of increasing an understanding of how writers are earning from their work. You can read more about the results of this survey here.
Below is an excerpt of some of our findings from 2016.
On average, only 24% of annual earnings - $13,500 - was generated from writing and most spend the majority of their productive time working in another occupation that is unrelated to their writing. One in five writers had experienced infringement of their copyright and many reported that finding a publisher for their work was becoming more difficult.
It is the right time to look at this again and so working with the same independent research company, Horizon Research, we have created a new survey for 2018 to build on what we learnt. We are asking all writers from across New Zealand to take part in this years' survey. Previous respondents were a mix of fiction, non-fiction and children’s book authors, academic and education writers, journalists, screenwriters and playwrights.
Paula Browning, Chief Executive at Copyright Licensing NZ says: "This version of the survey has an expanded copyright section where we’re asking questions to help inform our advocacy work with the government as it reviews the Copyright Act. As the creators of New Zealand stories, it is vitally important that our writers have a voice in the discussion about ensuring that our copyright legislation is fit for the 21st century."
To ensure this survey is representative of the breadth of writing that takes place in New Zealand, we'd like writers of all genres and income brackets to participate. Please take part by following this link: WRITER'S SURVEY 2018
The survey questions ask for estimations of your earnings from writing. Please provide the closest estimates that you can. Responses are confidential. Thank you to everyone who contributes.