I was browsing a freelancer forum to find editing gigs, when I stumbled upon this post (name and site withheld to protect the guilty):

“I have written a novel and it came around 36,000 words.

To get published, a novel should have 60,000 words atleast and I fell short of words.

Now, I need someone who can write those additional words without actually disturbing the usual flow and without making it boring.

Most importantly it should be finished in a week.”

For this work, the job poster was offering $50-150.

My reaction:

Obviously, I didn’t apply for the job. (And I was gratified to see that the two people who HAD bid on it were asking thousands of dollars. At least they had some sense!)

But that job posting made me think about why people write books (I mean, why would you write a book and then not finish it…