Statistics do not, of course, provide a complete profile. We must add that writers surveyed were not dilettantes or hobbyists. The respondents are full-time professional writers who have been working at their occupation for years. Most possessed an undergraduate degree at least and nearly half had no other job but writing. Low income was their prime concern and other surveyed concerns included fluctuating income and no spare time.
Writers work long hours to make the meagre incomes that they do.
Often they must take extra jobs to make ends meet. All of these problems are further compounded by the length of time it takes to write, be published and then derive the fruits from a published book. This process is not measured in weeks or months, but in years. Even if the fruits at the end are bountiful, these follow a long duration of creative output and industry production in which income is low or even non-existent. This committee's expressed intention to provide Canadians with equal opportunity to succeed cannot help but find writers and other artists deserving because of the hardships outlined above.