Average Salary For Authors In South Africa

An author is the creator or originator of any written work such as a book or play and is also considered a writer or poet. More broadly defined, an author is “the person who originated or gave existence to anything” and whose authorship determines responsibility for what was created.

Below are salaries earned by An Author In South Africa

A person working as a Content Writer in South Africa typically earns around 27,700 ZAR per month. Salaries range from 14,400 ZAR (lowest) to 42,300 ZAR (highest).

This is the average monthly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Author salaries vary drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location. Below you will find a detailed breakdown based on many different criteria.

An Author Salary Distribution in South Africa

The median, the maximum, the minimum, and the range

Salary Range

Content Writer salaries in South Africa range from 14,400 ZAR per month (minimum salary) to 42,300 ZAR per month (maximum salary).

Median Salary

The median salary is 26,600 ZAR per month, which means that half (50%) of people working as Content Writer(s) are earning less than 26,600 ZAR while the other half are earning more than 26,600 ZAR. The median represents the middle salary value. Generally speaking, you would want to be on the right side of the graph with the group earning more than the median salary.

Percentiles

Closely related to the median are two values: the 25th and the 75th percentiles. Reading from the salary distribution diagram, 25% of Content writers (s) are earning less than 18,400 ZAR while 75% of them are earning more than 18,400 ZAR. Also from the diagram, 75% of Content Writer(s) are earning less than 33,100 ZAR while 25% are earning more than 33,100 ZAR.

An Author Salary Comparison by Years of Experience

How do experience and age affect your pay?

The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. Naturally the more years of experience the higher your wage. We broke down An Author’s salaries by experience level and this is what we found.

An Author with less than two years of experience makes approximately 16,300 ZAR per month.

While someone with an experience level of between two and five years is expected to earn 21,900 ZAR per month, 34% more than someone with less than two years of experience.

Moving forward, an experience level between five and ten years lands a salary of 28,500 ZAR per month, 30% more than someone with two to five years of experience.

Additionally, An Author(s) whose expertise span anywhere between ten and fifteen years gets a salary equivalent to 34,500 ZAR per month, 21% more than someone with five to ten years of experience.

If the experience level is between fifteen and twenty years, then the expected wage is 37,700 ZAR per month, 9% more than someone with ten to fifteen years of experience.

Lastly, employees with more than twenty years of professional experience get a salary of 39,700 ZAR per month, 5% more than people with fifteen to twenty years of experience.

An Author’s average salary changes by experience in South Africa

0 – 2 Years16,300 ZAR
2 – 5 Years+34%21,900 ZAR
5 – 10 Years+30%28,500 ZAR
10 – 15 Years+21%34,500 ZAR
15 – 20 Years+9%37,700 ZAR
20+ Years+5%39,700 ZAR

An Author Salary Comparison By Education

We all know that higher education equals a bigger salary, but how much more money can a degree add to your income? We broke down Content Writer salaries by education level in order to make a comparison.

When the education level is High School, the average salary of An Author is 19,700 ZAR per month.

While someone with a Certificate or Diploma gets a salary of 22,500 ZAR per month, 14% more than someone having a High School degree.

A Bachelor’s Degree gets its holder an average salary of 31,700 ZAR per month, 41% more than someone with a Certificate or Diploma.

Professionals who hold a Master’s Degree are rewarded with an average salary of 38,400 ZAR per month, 21% more than someone with a Bachelor’s Degree.

An Author average salary difference by education level in South Africa

High School19,700 ZAR
Certificate or Diploma+14%22,500 ZAR
Bachelor’s Degree+41%31,700 ZAR
Master’s Degree+21%38,400 ZAR

An Author Salary Comparison By Gender

Though gender should not have an effect on pay, in reality, it does. So who gets paid more: men or women? Male Author employees in South Africa earn 8% more than their female counterparts on average.

Male28,900 ZAR
Female-7%26,800 ZAR

An Author Average Annual Salary Increment Percentage in South Africa

How much are annual salary increments in South Africa for An Author(s)?

How often do employees get salary raises?

Content Writer

Content Writers (s) in South Africa are likely to observe a salary increase of approximately 10% every 19 months. The national average annual increment for all professions combined is 8% granted to employees every 18 months.

An Author Bonus and Incentive Rates in South Africa

How much and how often are bonuses being awarded?

An author is considered to be a low bonus-based job due to the generally limited involvement in direct revenue generation, with exceptions of course. The people who get the highest bonuses are usually somehow involved in the revenue generation cycle.

73% of surveyed staff reported that they haven’t received any bonuses or incentives in the previous year while 27% said that they received at least one form of monetary bonus.

Those who got bonuses reported rates ranging from 1% to 3% of their annual salary.

Received Bonus
27%

No Bonus
73%

Content Writer Average Hourly Wage in South Africa

The average hourly wage (pay per hour) in South Africa is 160 ZAR. This means that the average Author in South Africa earns approximately 160 ZAR for every worked hour.

How much does an author make per book in South Africa?

According to Publish SA an author receives around “10 – 12% of net receipts (the amount the publisher sells to the bookseller for, i.e. retail price less VAT less discount)”, so even if the book retails for R200 they will only see a tiny percentage of that money.

How much does a content creator earn in South Africa?

The average content creator salary in South Africa is R 264 228 per year or R 136 per hour. Entry-level positions start at R 180 000 per year, while most experienced workers make up to R 531 000 per year.

Who is the richest author in South Africa?

James Patterson – R12837920000.00

First published in 1976, Patterson has gone on to write over 90 books.

How much do ghostwriters charge South Africa?

Ghostwriting: R4. 50 to R7. 50 per word / R450 to R550 per hour.

How many books do you need to sell to be a bestseller in South Africa?

5,000 copies

South Africa has an established book publishing industry centered on educational content. The market for general trade books is small, and unlike in developed markets, where general books are sold in much larger volumes, local sales of 5,000 copies make a title a bestseller.

How do I promote my book in South Africa?

7 Ways South African independent authors can market their books.

Don’t release just yet: validate.

Don’t release just yet: build buzz.

Maintain and grow a fan database.

Publish and share a dramatic excerpt from the book.

Choose a catchy or memorable or maybe a shark-like book title.

Publish an excerpt with value

How many books are sold in South Africa?

Using the help of some publishing insiders, and Nielsen Books can, the society found that there were 10.5 million books sold in South Africa in 2015.