Everything is a business

People complain about money as a motive, especially in the context of artistic pursuits such as writing.

Well, news flash: writing is a business. In fact, everything is a business.

(Okay, not everything is a business. But everything that isn’t a business should be. Like roads and sex, for example. Healthcare in the US is going the wrong direction.)

Money may not be the only or even the primary reason someone writes a book, but the author still has to eat, and so do the people who design book covers, edit books, typeset books, print books, sell books, etc.

I'm not sure I'd even like art that was produced "for art's sake" without concern for its potential for commercial success. We trade money for stuff and experiences. If an artist creates a thing or an experience that no one wants to trade for, then... what value does it have? Personal value only, like the crayon drawings of one's own child.

Conclusion: children make art for art's sake; adults make art in the hopes of providing pleasure to other people in exchange for the means to better their own lives.

That is, authors write for money.