Living off his old glory

[Bassim]

I am wondering if my sentence sounds natural. Would you please correct my mistakes.

The writer has not published any book in the last twenty years and is living off his old glory.

 

[JMurray]

not a teacher

"The writer has not published a book in twenty years and is trading on past glories."
"… living off past glories" is fine.

 

[emsr2d2]

You can use either "He has not published a book ..." or "He has not published any books ..." but don't use "any" with the singular.

 

[GoesStation]

You can use either "He has not published a book ..." or "He has not published any books ..." but don't use "any" with the singular.

That isn't a general rule, though. He hasn't published any new work, for example, is fine.

 

[teechar]

You can use either "He has not published a book ..." or "He has not published any books ..." but don't use "any" with the singular.

I agree with that for the context given above. However, and as GoesStation has pointed out, it can be used in other contexts.

For example,
He has not published any book that did not become an instant bestseller.

 

[Skrej]

I would prefer something like 'former glory', rather than 'old glory'.

 

[GoesStation]

I would prefer something like 'former glory', rather than 'old glory'.

Agreed. "Old Glory" is the nickname for the US flag, so the phrase seems particularly odd in another use.