It’s estimated that only about one percent of the graduates of creative writing programs go on to have successful writing careers. This despite a thriving business to educate writers. “Writers have become dependent on academies for the peace and funds with which to pursue their art. Once in the university, they have had to do something in return for the funds, and what they have done is to set up programs in creative writing. At last count there were more than 300 such programs granting more than 1,000 degrees a year. “Together they’ve probably turned out 75,000 official ‘writers.'” – The Idler