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Just imagine how filthy our streets would be if the only people who cleaned the streets were those who cleaned out of the love of cleaning their street, without thought of getting paid.
Of course, a clean street is a clean street, I don't care much about the motives of the person who is paid to clean the streets. I think that if a person's only motive for writing was to make money, I probably wouldn't like their books. But regardless of the person's motives for writing, all that matters is whether or not I like the book. Trust doesn't enter into it.
Yes, there are easier ways to make a living than writing, so if someone writes only to make money, it's probably not the wisest decision in the world. But regardless of the motive, people have to eat. We don't have to choose between people only writing for a buck, and those who write only for the love of writing.
While selling a lot of books doesn't mean that a book is going to be a classic, most classics sold well. A great book that no one wants to read isn't quite an oxymoron, but not too far off. But if you want to read books by people who didn't care about being paid for them, you're in luck! You can get any number of books that the authors offer for free. Read those, and you never need worry about reading a book from someone who expected to get paid.
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