Simon -- I'm not sure that authors "need" those qualities. But a vast number of successful writers do have a combination of two traits: grandiosity and insecurity. The grandiosity (i.e., the belief that they're as good as those wretches on the best-seller lists) enables them to persevere despite rejections. The insecurity prods them to keep trying to improve in ways that foster long-term success (and I say this after having met, dated, been friends with, interviewed, or otherwise known hundreds of authors through my work). Thanks, as always, for your perceptive comments. Jan