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Can this be true?

31 July 2017

Can this be true? A recent study quoted in Bookbrunch claims that 52% of UK adults believe they have a book in them. And, according to the old adage, that's where it should stay.

Figures produced last week by Type & Tell, a new self-publishing company, suggest that those thinking they could write a book could amount to 25 million people in the UK. Apparently 13% of Britons have already written or are currently writing a book, while 9% are planning to write one.

Science fiction is currently the most popular genre of fiction, with 15% of those who said they intend to write a book saying they'd like to write a SF (or presumably Fantasy, a much more popular genre) novel. Drama and children's stories were equally popular, at 15% each, while short stories, mystery and crime (usually regarded as the same category) are slightly lower down the list at 12% each, followed by romance, at 11%.

It seems fair to question these figures, as the overall total seems impossibly high. Is it really possible that half the adults you know might be writing a novel or planning to? It's hard to believe that this can possibly be the case.

Also, even if these figures are accurate, anyone who has ever attempted to write a full-length novel, no matter how good it is, will know how much work is involved. Writing is just not something you can fall into and that everyone can accomplish with ease. And even if you can physically manage to produce a full manuscript, this says nothing about its quality and whether an agent or publisher might be interested, or if you can find an audience through self-publishing.

As any writer knows, that is the real question.

 

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