Brief
Written Word Media: half of surveyed authors still expect to grow
The mid-year sample of nearly 600 authors is not a census, but it cuts against forum fatalism — and says exclusive-versus-wide did not separate the optimistic group.
Why it matters. Current working picture of indie sentiment until a later 2026 survey lands.
Written Word Media’s mid-year 2026 survey found 23 percent of respondents growing, 22 percent holding steady, and 30 percent declining — with the squeeze sharpest in the $2,500–$10,000 a month band after Amazon’s A10 change. Fifty-one percent still expected income to rise in the next twelve months.
Authors in the optimistic group were writing more, investing in newsletters and paid ads, and monetising catalogues with box sets, translation and human-narrated audio. Exclusive versus wide was a coin flip in that group (46 / 47). Treat it as a snapshot from a promo company that also sells newsletter placements, and read the open-ended comments on algorithm anxiety before you rewrite a business plan.
Sources
- Primary · Written Word Media 2026 mid-year survey