http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/aug/30/death-books-exaggerated

This time last year, I was metaphorically invited to the only party I’ve ever wanted to be seen at. My first novel, The English Monster, was picked up by an agent, and then by a publisher, Simon and Schuster. It hits the streets in March 2012.

 

I’ve made it, I thought to myself as I clutched my invite to the most exclusive set of all. I’m going to be a published author.

 

So imagine my surprise – nay, dismay – to discover that publishing‘s streets were not paved with gold, but stalked by the anxious, the gloomy, the suicidal. “Publishing’s dead!” shouted men in sackcloth on Bloomsbury street corners. I had arrived at the party, but the coats were being handed out, the drink had dried up and the hostess had collapsed