And after a book is published, I just don't care any more. It can sink or swim. If it sinks, well, in a Darwinian sense then that's what it deserves. Sometimes young writers send him manuscripts, asking his advice, or wanting his name for a puff on the back. I say, edit it, rework it, redraft it, send it back in two years.
People write without ever reading.
They think they can sit down and write a book, just like that, and be famous. I tell them to try again. Hardly surprising, really.