Amateur Authors

Samuel Pepys and Chaucer were amateur authors, so was Milton; they were  civil servants. All facts I am coming to appreciate more as I read the excellent Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self by Claire Tomalin. Even in the Sci Fi world, in which I am a published but amateur author, one can find plenty of excellent precidents for non-pro authorship. Like Tolkein. The meaning of amateur, here, being number two in the list at http://www.webster.com , namely: "one who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession". I would prefer a less insipid word than pastime for the last bit, such as passion, voluntary hard labor or life's work auxiliary to primary source of income, but the point is--lots of wonderful authors had day jobs. So flinch not from the strenuous sneers and imprecations of the hard core pro, oh fellow amateurs. We, too, come of a long and honorable tradition. PS I do not recommend surgery for removal of a bladder stone in the 17th century, as Pepys experienced it. Shudder.