Quote:
Originally Posted by Abecedary
So if you're a "good" writer who stops doing it just because you can't make a living at it, then I say good riddance. As far as I'm concerned, that's no different from hrumphing and taking your ball home with you. There are more than enough other "good" writers to take your place who write because they love to write..
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And what kind of output will your good, passionate writers have? Someone who writes solely because they love it still has to eat. Someone who is out working a 40 hour job and is squeezing in writing on top of it is clearly going to write far fewer pages than someone who can spend that 40 hours a week writing. I like to read those big thick multi-volume fantasy epics - I don't see how anyone could ever finish one while holding down a day job.
I've been reading "Grumbles from the Grave" by Robert Heinlein recently. As far as I can tell from his own accounts, he was not a man who wrote because he "loved" it. He wrote because he wanted the income, and he was talented enough and prolific enough to ensure that he made enough to support himself. In a "free book" world, we wouldn't have any of his works. He would have probably been working as an engineer at some government base instead.