have you watched the tutorial? I've added some recommendations on how to succeed. Higher skill authors are more expensive but work better.
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I figured that was the case, but I could never afford good enough writers. Perhaps I was just unlucky, because on my 3 playthroughs my only hiring options on the first day were either less than 60$ or more than 100$, so I could never afford a good writer on the first day, and then could never make enough money to get a better one.