It used to be the case that only the lucky few dare to call themselves ‘authors.' Not any more. There has never been a better time to dust off that forgotten magnum opus you've had hidden in the bottom drawer for so many years.
In fact, with more than 20 books published every hour in the UK and the explosion in small independent publishers, we are now producing more books per head than any other country.
A YouGov poll in February this year found that "author" topped the list of dream jobs among Brits, ahead of musician, actor, lawyer and interior designer. But is it such a dream after all?