Today’s post comes courtesy of The Daily Post’s “A Bookish Choice” prompt, which asks us, “A literary-minded witch gives you a choice: with a flick of the wand, you can become either an obscure novelist whose work will be admired and studied by a select few for decades, or a popular paperback author whose books give pleasure to millions. Which do you choose?”
There is no doubt at all in my mind that I would rather be a popular paperback author than an admired, obscure novelist, and there are a couple of reasons for that. One reason, speaking from a purely logical standpoint, is that popular paperback novelists are able to earn a living from their trade, whereas obscure novelists have often been known to die penniless. Of course, when it comes to an art-form like writing it’s not all about the money, but being able to pay the bills is definitely preferable to living on the streets or working multiple day jobs just to get by.
The other main reason for my choice can be summed up into the fact that I’m an atheist. Or, in other words, I don’t believe in an afterlife. Or, in further other words: what the heck do I care if people admire my work after I’m dead? Now, don’t get me wrong…it would be awesome if something that I wrote persisted into the future and was admired and studied…but I won’t be around to see it so it’s not exactly a top priority of mine. I would much prefer if my work was enjoyed right now, while I’m here, even if that work is something of a lesser quality.
Part of being a writer is definitely trying to create something amazing, something that will far surpass your lifespan, but in my opinion a bigger part of being a writer is just desperately wanting people to read and enjoy your work. So if I had the choice between getting to see people enjoy my work, or being long dead while it’s happening, I definitely choose the former.
And on that note, please click on the image below to check out my novel, “Nowhere to Hide”. You can read the first chapter-and-a-bit right on Amazon for free to see if you think you might like it! Don’t be shy now…give it a go! ^_^
No Page Left Blank 
I think if we can write something that influence future generations, create writing that lasts longer than ourselves, than we have created something bigger than ourselves.
I definitely agree with you; unfortunately my personal attitude is that I want to SEE this happen, and that’s not usually the way it goes. lol