[projectazorian]

A lot of people in creative fields thrive off the presence of other creatives around them with whom they can discuss ideas, etc. NYC is hard to beat for that. You're also likely to come across more opportunities to get your work published if you live in one of the centers of the global publishing industry.

People choose to live in NYC for reasons other than narcissism or lifestyle amenities - for many creative fields (especially anything "high culture") it is objectively the best, sometimes the only, place to be if you want to develop your career.

And I'm sorry but if quantity written had any relevance on one's seriousness as an author then Stephen King would be the greatest English-language author of all time.

[hoistbypetard]

> And I'm sorry but if quantity written had any relevance on one's seriousness as an author then Stephen King would be the greatest English-language author of all time.

While I would never reach for that kind of superlative, and I definitely don't think it's related to quantity written, I do think Stephen King is an exceptionally good English-language author.

[projectazorian]

For what it’s worth I agree…he’s underrated, although he seems to be getting more respect these days. But he could have benefited from more editing when he was in his prime.

Edit: Still not the best of all time or even in the top 100. But I’d be hard pressed to name a better American author with his level of mass market appeal.