The Average Author

IS THERE such a creature as an average author? Decidedly not, I fancy. Whatever other qualities authors may or may not possess they retain a dogged individuality, with the very sensible exception of their united support for their professional association, the Society of Authors. On the other hand, one hears so much of the extravagant lives of some of the comparatively few bestseller authors—the ones with two Rolls Royces, the motor yacht and the villa in the South of France—that it is sometimes forgotten that there exists a vast body of authors who achieve an average success, just about managing to make a living for themselves and their families by adroit and persistent use of their typewriters.