Last night I was playing with my new Kindle Fire by perusing the books available at Amazon, and I grew overwhelmed but then inspired by the seemingly infinite number of books that exist on every conceivable topic and genre. An aspiring writer must see observe this catalog and ponder whether his books even have a chance at decent sales, when there are so many other books going largely unread.
Perhaps they are irrationally optimist (I'm sure it helps in the publishing world) but perhaps becoming an established writer is not their ultimate goal. Perhaps they feel a yearning to drive their steak into hard ground and announce to the world that their soul and mind exists, and they will prove it by transcribing the most unique and beautiful parts of their identity into a written word that will exist forever.
If that is the case, one has to be impressed at the human spirit.
Of course, to do this and publish successfully, becoming a known author with a respectable market share: that is an absolutely remarkable achievement.
