Would you consider yourself a writer even if you've never been published? Can you carry that title if you are as yet unpublished? Is so, would you describe yourself to others as a writer?
I personally do not. I don't feel like I can hold myself out as a "writer" until I get *something* published, preferably more than once. I want to edit to clarify: My position stems from the implication of saying one "is" something that one makes a living or at least a partial living from that endeavor. When someone says, "what do you do," usually they mean, "what do you do for a living or what is your job/profession?" If I'm not writing to earn a living, I don't feel that it answers the question, even if one loves writing and is very passionate about it. A similar example might be someone who loves to bake. Even if one baked every single day, and the resulting food items were consumed by family and friends, that still wouldn't, in my mind, make "baker" the correct answer to the question "what do you do?" That would be "I'm a [whatever] but I love to bake," or some similar answer. The person wouldn't be a "baker" unless they owned at or worked at a bakery or actually did make money from selling the baked goods to people. But that's my philosophy for myself. I realize others will differ.
I consider myself a writer even though I'm not published. It's a part of who I am and something I've been doing for around 25 years (yeesh that makes me feel old). Just because I've never tried to get published before doesn't mean I'm not a writer. This book that I'm working on now will be my first attempt at getting published.
I didn't consider myself a writer until I'd actually completed a work and submitted it for publication, but everyone's definition will be different. Some folks write without the intention of every getting 'published' except maybe poetry on their blog, for example. Some draw the line between writer and author. A writer is someone who writes, but an author is someone who's been published. Then folks might debate what 'published' means. I suppose one could use 'unpublished writer' but some might feel that diminishes the effort. Others might say if it's only a hobby, you're not a writer. If it concerns you, just be sure to be preapared to explain why you call yourself a writer.
I consider myself a writer because I take a more sentimental approach to these titles. I am a writer - it is who I am. Currently I work as a teacher - I have never, not even once, referred to myself as a teacher. When people ask "What do you do?" I reply, "I teach, but I am a writer." Teaching is a job. To be called a teacher I feel you must be called to the job, be passionate about it etc. It is the same with being a writer. Because you see, if I said "I am a teacher" - people will make certain assumptions about me. They will think I love kids, I love to teach, I am good at lesson planning, I can control a classroom, I work for a school etc. While some of those are true and not others, I do not feel these assumptions describe me at all. But "I teach" - no assumptions are needed about my character, only that it is my job. So yes, I am a writer.
way back when i started writing seriously, i used to refer to myself as an 'as yet unpublished writer' before i sold any of my work... but yes, i was a 'writer' because i was writing pretty much full time and making an effort to sell what i wrote... when i joined the 'professional' ranks with a paid credit under my belt, i dropped the qualifier and when asked, just said i was a writer, period... actually, i could have called myself a writer from the get-go, since i wrote a column and articles for my high school newspaper [of which i was also the editor]... but with a decades-long hiatus due to 2 marriages and bearing/raising 7 kids, i considered my career as a writer to have begun when i started writing full time...
Interesting position, Mckk. I usually interpret the verb to imply a stronger passion than the noun. "I teach" makes me think one is more passionate about teaching than "I am a teacher." Of course, you clarify it with "but I am a writer," which I think explains your thoughts about it well. Just imagine how much harder if one has a position that is generally reviled, such as lawyer ;-)
I wouldn't describe myself as a writer unless it was my job/main source of income, and if someone told me they are a writer I'd assume that was their job.
I have been a writer since I was 12, and I will be till I die even if I don't get published. Writing is a part of my life and I cannot imagine not doing it.
If you go to the gym and play ball with your friends, aren't you a basketball player? Of course, you're not making money at it, and it doesn't answer the question 'what do you do for a living'. But you're a basketball player because you play basketball. Same with writing (and reading for that matter - I bet we all would have no problem saying we're readers). As to the philosophical question 'what are you?', that's a very personal and probably different answer. I am a writer, but I am also many other things.
Yes. If I actually sat down to describe myself to anyone, I would without doubt include 'writer' in the mix. It is one facet of who I am and what I do.
I Consider myself an aspiring writer. I haven't been published, but I do write. And I think I write enough that even though no one anywhere knows who I am, I'm still a writer at heart. Titles are meaningless. And besides, being a writer is more of a condition than a title. Either you are or your aren't i think. Writing is a form of expression, of art. Not everyone who writes is a writer, but then, neither is everyone who gets published.
I call myself a writer even though I haven't been published. If I write, I'm a writer. Say I have a bunch of short stories out there, all submitted to different magazines, and I'm waiting to hear from the editors. Some people would say I'm not a writer because I haven't been published, but do I suddenly become a writer if one or more of those editors decides to accept my story for publication? That would indicate that the editor has a magic wand they can wave that can make me a writer at the editor's whim. It wouldn't matter what I do - it's the editor who determines whether or not I'm a writer. To me, that's ridiculous. Whether or not I'm a writer is not up to an editor, it's up to me. I write, so I'm a writer, and editors have nothing to do with it.
I'm a writer - before it becomes my job , before I get published. Though success and payment are my goal, it's not to prove to myself I'm a writer - it's to get my work out there so people can read it , and for me to be paid, for doing my dream-job.
I'm a father, a musician, and a writer. I don't get paid to do any of those things, because I don't do them for money. If someone asks what I am, the context of the conversation will define my answer. If we're talking about bicycling, I will say I'm a trail-rider. If we're talking about occupation, I will say I'm a retail manager. If we're talking about non-paying interests, I will say I'm a musician and writer.
^ That was my thinking, the context of someone asking you what you are are or what you do is almost always going to be related to what you do for a living, so answering anything that isn't your job seems pretentious to me. If the question is 'what are your hobbies/interests' then of course saying you're a writer makes perfect sense, although even then I'm sure I'd say 'I'm writing a novel' rather than 'I'm a writer'. I'd also say 'I like swimming' rather than 'I'm a swimmer'; it seems titles just don't sit well with me at all
Not necessarily. In my case, I'd say "I'm a writer, but at the moment I stock groceries to pay the bills." Don't see anything pretentious about that.
I agree, unless the person saying it has never written anything other than a first draft of a short story. I wouldn't say it myself, but I am definitely in the minority here - where I live and work people are quick to judge others as being up themselves and it seems I am too keen to avoid this
Great mix of answers! I should qualify: I have no concerns in calling myself a writer though the only time I've seen my work in print was a university graduation 'best of' magazine, where students were approached by each dept head and asked if we would mind a selected (by them) piece being printed. I was thrilled. Now I am part way through my doctorate in creative writing, although I don't think I will ever be published for a variety of complex reasons; mainly because my progressive disability, and chronic illnesses, allow me to write less and less each year. But the fact that my academic research and attendant fictional work has been deemed by my universiy dept as of enough merit to warrant my being upgraded from MPhil to PhD without qualifiers this coming semester, is more than enough. I know I have it in me intellectually to succeed, even if my body gives out before I get there. So, yes, as well as being a woman, wife, mother and grandmother, I am also proud to call myself a writer!
I would hazard a guess that there are very few professions where you are not also a writer. Example, I have been an educator for 25 years. I write DAILY as an educator, although some days more than others. Try to write an email to your superintendent, a letter to a parent, a grant application or an article to a local paper and not exercise extreme care in your writing. They are undeniably MORE scrutinized than your average novel and need extremely clear and concise writing or you (not just your writing) will be criticized. Most of us write reports, important pitches or emails at our jobs. That might not make us novelists, but we are writers.
I write in my personal journals, so yes, I'm a writer in that sense. No living soul will ever see them, I'll never get them published, but I do consider myself their author, as I'm writing it.
