I've alluded a couple times to a past writing career as a commercial novelist. (These days, I'm mostly a copy editor, with occasional gigs as a technical writer.) I mostly worked for book packagers writing for tweens and teens under house names, and of that work, a) it's all long out of print and b) I don't own the copyrights. I do, however, own the rights to three books -- the only ones still in print. They are about as uncommercial as you can get.
They are collections of poetry.
And they've outlasted everything else. In fact, I'm looking at my latest royalty statement and, just as they have for the past couple years, they've earned me almost exactly enough to buy me a six-pack of hard cider every two weeks (which is about how long it takes me to drink a six-pack) until my next statement.
I'm sure there's a lesson to be drawn from this, but I'd rather spend the evening sipping this here cider in my hand.
(Anyone have a favorite cider to recommend? I'm always looking for new and interesting cideries.)