Would you rather be Harper Lee or John Grisham?
 

Some friends and I were discussing this. Forget the gender thing, go strictly with the career. Would you rather be Harper Lee or John Grisham. If you are Lee you write one book and play a major role in the writing of another (Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird and was Capote's assistant who helped him greatly when he wrote In Cold Blood). The book is a huge hit and becomes a classic. It wins tons of awards including the Pulitzer Prize and is considered a classic. It is taught in schools is made into a movie that wins several Oscars. Then you just walk away. You live happily every after living a comfortable life on the royalties of your book. You never write another one and just fade away as an Icon of literature.

Or you could be Grisham. You write a bunch of books. All of them sell movie rights and end up on the best sellers lists. Most of them actually end up getting made into movies, some good and some bad. Every now and then you write something good, but for the most part it is pop fiction and you get panned by the critics. You are considered a line cook just churning out the product. But you sell a truckload of books and along the way have amassed a fortune of over 100 million dollars doing it.

So which would it be? Would you rather be an Icon who lives comfortably or would you rather be a pop writer with little cred, but a truckload of cash?

Tough question ..... It's 2 in the morning and i can't decide between Family Guy or Friends.

It depends. If you want to laugh watch Family Guy. If you want to orgasm watch friends. . . The girls are hot :)

How long did Lee work on To Kill a Mockingbird? Maybe it took all he had.

I'd say Grisham. Strictly financial.

You really need to read more, lol.

I dig Harper Lee. She is still alive and living in my general area. When I was in grad school a relative of mine got me her address and I sent her a letter along with a paper I wrote about her. She was known to sometimes write to students or critique you on your work if it involved her work. I never heard squat from her but my professor knew several people who exchanged letters with her.

She and Capote both led interesting lives. I always read anything I come across involving either one.

Good question. :upsidedow

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh ooops.

From what I know Lee was writing the book while she was helping Capote on In Cold Blood. He helped her get an agent and she published it after helping him with his research for In Cold Blood. I believe the book was in work about 2-3 years.

Lee has never really said why she hasn't written anything else. I think it is partially that she wasn't too fond of the attention and when you write something like this your first time out there is no way to top it so your next book will be a let down for many even if it is great.

Then again, maybe she just didn't have another story to tell. It is hard to say.

I would rather have a career like Grisham.