An Author At His Own Expense

"To be an author - unless one is a poet, and in addition a dramatist, or one writes textbooks or in some other way is an author in connection with public office - is about the poorest paid, the least secure, and just about the most thankless job there is. If there is some individual who has the capability of being an author and if he is also fortunate enough to have private means, then he becomes an author at his own expense. This however, is quite appropriate; there is nothing more to be said about it. In that way the individual in his work will love his idea, the nation to which he belongs, the cause he serves, the language he as an author has the honor to write. Indeed, this is how it will be where there is harmony between the individual and the nation, which in turn in the given situation, will be, somewhat appreciative of this individual.

Whether the opposite of this has in any way been my experience..."

               - Kierkegaard, On My Work As An Author, 1849