"Very, very few people write in order to get rich. Despite the common slander by PA Believers against "bashers," mostly we just want to be read. -- James Macdonald"
As Lane might point out, two verys is two too many. "Few people write in order to get rich" would suffice.
I presume Uncle Jim meant libel and not slander. Although, one never knows, maybe he knows some "PA Believers" and talks to them on a regular basis and thus is aware of the things they say.
"PA Believers" seems an odd term. What is there to believe in? That PA exists? I am almost certain it does; it isn't a figment of my imagination. Maybe he means "Followers" rather than "Believers" -- I can see the similarity. Either way, I don't know many, if any.
"Bashers" -- Ah, yes, the bashers. They are the troublemakers of this world:
“Ah, the Troublemakers. There are troublemakers all over the world.
They interfere because they lead such dull lives. Everybody else seems to enjoy
a much more interesting life than they do. I know it is difficult to
understand. You are very young and this is all very new and unpleasant for
you.”
“But why do they tell lies? Why do people believe their lies?”
“The good people in the world do not believe everything they hear. They
keep an open mind. Time has a way of bringing the truth out into the open.
Often this takes a long time—sometimes it takes years before all the truth is
known. Eventually, the liars tell too many lies. They tie themselves up in knots
as the truth unravels itself.”
“Are the people who believe lies bad people?”
“No,” Mr. Spaceman said reassuringly, “they are easily led. They are
not ‘bad people.’ One way they might feel superior is to believe that someone
else is worse than they are. It means they can look down on someone who is more
able than they are. It is easier for these people to build themselves up by
putting someone else down.”
“Will they ever lose interest in me?” Emmelisa asked.
“Oh no! They are not interested in you at all. They are interested in
themselves. You are being used to draw attention to them. They are
attention-seekers of the very worst kind. They have very little talent or
ability so they have to force the world to notice them. People see through them
but are amused and want to use the opportunity to join in the ‘fun’ to liven up
their dreary lives.”
“They are not interested in me?” Emmelisa said, wide-eyed in amazement.
“It’s me who isn’t interested in them!”
“That is perfectly true. They are competing with you but you have
already won! If you were as dull and stupid as they are, they would not waste
their free time on you. They would simply pick on you and taunt you if they
crossed your path—especially in front of others in order to boost their own
egos.
“This is typical childhood bullying. It goes on throughout life and
does not end in the school playground. Often the victim is timid and unable to
stand up to the bullies. Unfortunately, people who could help prefer not to
become involved.
“But you are not afraid. You are a survivor and a winner but you are
finding life difficult. I am here to help you through this difficult phase.”
“How am I a winner? And how long will this last?”
“You are a winner because, although they are only interested in
themselves, they envy you.
They follow
you. This proves that you
must be much more attractive than they are. After all, no one is following them
around.”
“Do I have to wait years for them to stop following me?” Emmelisa was
close to tears at the very thought.
“What would you prefer to do?”
“Do I have a choice?” she asked unbelievingly.
“Everybody has a choice. You are the master of your own destiny.
You can decide. You can be miserable while you wait for people to learn
the truth. Or, you can make the Troublemakers miserable by being happy. Ignore
the lies. Learn how to tolerate the interference and start fulfilling your
ambitions. You do have ambitions, don’t you?”
“Ambitions,” Emmelisa repeated the word, “ambitions. Yes…I suppose so.”
“You do not sound very sure. Do you have anything planned for the
future?”
“No,” Emmelisa replied.
“You thought this computer might help you?”
“Yes. I thought maybe I could find something that would make me feel
better.”
“Like a bottle of medicine?” Mr. Spaceman suggested. “There are no
magic potions for feeling happy or knowing what you want out of life. You have
to work at being happy.”
“It’s too hard,” Emmelisa said despondently.
“Now, Emmelisa,” Mr. Spaceman said sternly, “you are giving up before
you have even tried.”
“No. It’s just that you asked me if I had planned anything. I don’t
know how to plan things.”
“Well, perhaps that is the question you should ask.”
“What?” Emmelisa thought aloud before the question came rushing into
her mind.
“I know the question. The question is—How do I plan my future?”
“Well done!” Mr. Spaceman beamed with a smile wide enough to fill the
screen.
“Well,” Emmelisa said with slight irritation at this smug response,
“what’s the answer?”
“The answer is inside this computer. You must find the file ‘My Future
Life’ that your father stored in the memory of this computer before he died.”
The screen started to flicker as Mr. A. Leon Spaceman said, “Bye for
now, Emmelisa. Remember, you are the master of your own destiny.”
Mr. Planemaker's Flying Machine, Chapter Nine,
Questions and Answers 
2005 by Shelagh Watkins.
All rights reserved. So, what are we left with?
"mostly we just want to be read." Quite right, Jim.
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