Poll: Writing is popular job choice among Britons
A new poll has revealed that writing is the job of choice for Britons. Writing tops even jobs in sports, which I always thought would be impossible. According to a Guardian Unlimited, the poll shows a division among age groups and even males and females:
More women than men yearn to write, while those aged between 35 and 50, and those over 50 were most likely to dream about getting published. The under-35s were most keen on becoming a sports personality.
So what can we credit for the surging popularity in writing? It appears, at least for the moment, that J.K. Rowling has inspired many (which is no surprise to me). With the super-success of the Harry Potter books, the article says there has been an especially large surge in submissions to publishers in children’s literature. The internet has also opened doors to the average-joe writer:
The internet has also opened up new opportunities for aspiring authors through online writing groups, tutorials, fan fiction and new forms of self-publishing. At the same time, there has been an explosion of creative writing courses in universities since the first arrived in Britain at the University of East Anglia in 1970.
I see this as encouraging news. But I’m also interested in how books are consumed in Britain as compared to the United States. Do Britons read more or less than Americans? I have a sneaking suspicion that they read more, but I could be wrong. If anyone can shed any more light on this issue, please enlighten all of us and leave a comment.
I didn’t plan on writing about reading and writing in various countries around the world this week, but it’s certainly turning out that way. As I said in the previous post about the sad state of reading novels in the United States, I will be writing a post about reading/writing in China – which is experiencing a boom right now! I’m working on that post now, so you can expect to read it by Saturday.
Check out my post about reading in America:
Many Americans don’t read books, according to survey
And don’t forget to read the original Guardian Unlimited article:
Writing tops poll of ideal jobs
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