The Bookseller - Editor's Letter - Write on

"Writing in itself cannot sustain an income that is consistent with a minimum wage," the earnings report asserts, arguing that the very future of authorship is now under threat, which must be news to agents and publishers, who continue to be inundated by submissions.

I jest. One of the issues with this report, which now comes out every few years and generates much the same headlines and one-sided debate each time around, is how detached it feels from the publishing business it purports to inform. Publishers have had a good recent run, and bookselling too, truth be told. The Publishers Association counters that traditional publishers are paying out more than ever before-about £1bn-a figure that rises as their profits grow, as they have.