I dream of making a living from writing, but even if I manage to break through the apathy and writer’s block, finish something, put up with the rejection and carry on pitching until I get a deal, it may still prove impossible. Of the 417,000 new titles published last year, very few made it into the ‘pile them high’ lists of Waterstones etc. It almost makes you lament the days of the tiny independent bookshop.