My first significant author earnings were back in the early 90s, when I wrote a comic script that did very well (right before the comic book boom turned into a comic book bust). I had heard from James Ellroy that when he sold his first novel, he bought an expensive sweater he'd had his eye on, knowing that the money would soon be gone but he would have the sweater forever. Since my first comic script paid me about as much as his first novel, I followed his lead and I bought a fairly pricey fringed western jacket (that I still have, and it's still in good shape). The money didn't last long, but the jacket is forever.
