2007-03-16 18:59:45 · 5 answers · asked by Cindy 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
I think it's safe to say that most professional authors have a college education. Few students graduate high school with enough writing skills to get published. It's not about who you know in the business; it's about writing well and coming up with something that publishers want.
P.S. This is not to say that a college education is a requirement of getting published. But just because "there are those who CAN become published without" a college education does not negate the conclusion that MOST modern authors have one.
2007-03-16 21:21:37 · answer #1 · answered by Janine 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, many - if not most - of them have college educations, whether they're academic writers or fiction writers or poets. I would say a great majority have at least a bachelor's degree in something. Fiction writers/poets often have M.F.A.s in creative writing.
Anyway, the reason it's easier to get published when you've gone to college is because it's easier to make connections and meet the right people at the right time. You have the support and advice of a whole array of experts (professors) on how to write and go about being published. Professors who have already been there (have already had work published) are an indispensible resource. And you meet and befriend people at every turn who can lead to so many opportunities (especially jobs and chances for collaboration on projects, and free copy-editing services, and people to drink with so you don't have to drink alone). Ha.
2007-03-17 02:42:15 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
A good many do, but there are those who can become published without.
A college education merely shapes your abilities and hones them, let's you master the language. But that's not something that you can't do by yourself.
Furthermore, there are numerous publishers that take manuscript submissions via mail, and they do not ask for your life story with it so they'd never even know if you have a degree.
2007-03-17 06:08:20 · answer #3 · answered by Dan A 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think most non fiction authors do, but if you want to write fiction you just need to read a lot of the types of books you want to write. It's good to start with short stories and submit them to websites for feedback.
2007-03-17 02:10:27 · answer #4 · answered by Dachxe 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I'd say they are a neat cross-section of the American populace.
2007-03-17 02:06:57 · answer #5 · answered by Pseudo Obscure 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋