Brits want to write books; Yanks probably won’t want to read them
According to The Guardian, a new poll has revealed that Britons want to be writers more than they want to be anything else.
A YouGov poll has found that almost 10% of Britons aspire to being an author, followed by sports personality, pilot, astronaut and event organiser on the list of most coveted jobs.
The Guardian speculates that this surge in literary interest is due mostly to J.K. Rowling, who is generally perceived to have made gobs and gobs of money by simply scribbling away in cafes over cups of tea. Judging by the fairytale content of the rest of the preferred professions list – which essentially amounts to playing sports, flying, and throwing parties – it seems that Britons are actually just saying that they don’t want to work for a living at all. Which is understandable enough.
However, according to our calculations, if all the wannabes follow their dreams, Britain will soon have 6 million authors storming the doors of the nation’s publishing houses. Good luck to ‘em, we say.
Meanwhile, The Guardian has also posted the results of yet another poll, this one from the U.S., which found that a quarter of Americans read no books whatsoever last year. And of those who did, the average tally was four books, with the Bible and romance novels named as the top picks. So we’re guessing that “writer” would not beat out pop idol, motivational speaker, and heiress as the preferred professions in the U.S., but hey – different country, different dreams.
I would like to comment on the article that states how Brits want to write, but that Yanks won’t read them. I find this to be untrue in my experience. I happen to reside in the US and I read all types of books, written by many “foreign” authors. I find that a good book is just that, good. I tend to gravitate to authors that have a different “voice” and perhaps bring a fresh attitude to their writing. I also read authors that are new, writing their first work, and as of yet are undiscovered by the mainstream. So, for your poll results, I have to ask the question…. who was polled and where did the target audience come from? I still feel that avid readers will read anything, provided that the material is engaging. Just my own opinion, for what it is worth.