You make perfect sense, and sometimes I wonder if that's why so few fanfic-turned-pro writers really work for me. Being a really good fic writer is not something that necessarily translates to original work. Naomi Novik's Temeraire series is the only one I can think of that I really enjoy, though that does have some serious old-school slashy vibes coming off it and I sometimes wonder what the pro-fic only crowd make of it.