I think we're always writers, because it's in our blood and we've been doing it as long as we can remember. We aren't authors until we're published, and it's up to the individual to decide what publications make the title worthy to them. That's just my take on it. I don't call myself an author though I'm published several times, because they're small short stories here and there. Once I get my book out, then i'll be an author.
I call myself a writer because I write - it's in the word. But like Ashleigh I can't call myself an author untill I've done enough to, in my own eyes, merit that particular word.
If you write something, you're the author of it. I've written stories, therefore I am a writer and an author. Publication has nothing to do with it.
Hi, I remember this thread coming up somewhere else a few months ago. My view is that you can call yourself a writer from the moment that you beging to write with the serious intention of writing to be published and make some money at it. I mean a lot of people write for fun, as a hobby etc, but if they never have any intention of being published, then to me they aren't writers. And at the same time many people may have written in the past, and may have published previously and then given up. Even though they are authors, I don't think they can be called writers any longer. Writing is what we do. Cheers, Greg.
That's only technical. Would you really go around telling someone you're an author with any real integrity, when you aren't even published? Also, if that were the case, then the definition of author would be useless. We call published novelists authors to differentiate them from hobbyists and give the title meaning. Otherwise everybody's an author. Picking daisies doesn't make you a florist.
You bet your boots I do. While some may call it pretentious, I personally find it pretentious to make the distinction between published and unpublished - particularly now with so many self-publishers. If it's that big a deal, I'll toss a couple shelved books up on Amazon. Will that really change anything? ... I didn't think so.
Maybe it's more the way some writers emphasize the distinction. I've been writing for many years now, but until recently I hadn't decided to try the publishing route. So I don't think the fact that I've completed several novel- (and a couple epic novel) length stories is somehow negated by the fact I haven't tried to publish them. And I don't think what I've learned over several decades of life and learning about writing is somehow less viable because I haven't published. And particularly now, when all it really takes to be 'published' is opening a smashwords account, the distinction really is moot. I guess my main point is that it doesn't really matter what one calls oneself, and definitely doesn't matter what others think you should (or should not) call yourself. Making any kind of distinction really means someone, somewhere, is trying to set themselves above someone else, when we're all doing the same thing - telling stories. A well-written story is well-written whether the whole world reads it or just Mom and Dad. So what difference does one's 'title' make?
I don't consider myself a writer, but I consider myself an aspiring one. I doubt I'll ever get published though, I've barely written in my life and am anything but unemployed. Not that I'm implying writers need to be unemployed in order to become writers, but it is funny how many well known writers started from there. I think, in order to become a serious published writer, you need to invest a lot of your time. And it is not easy combining that with a full-time workload.
Perhaps "a lot" - but it can be spread out, too. Just as a journey of a thousand miles starts with one step, a book or story starts with one word. Five minutes here, 30 minutes there - and since very few writers can support themselves with their writing, you'll be in good company.
I consider myself a writer because I write stuff, alot of stuff, and regularly. I don't consider myself a gardener even though I plant stuff now and then and mow the lawn. I hate anything having to do with yardwork and don't want to be associated with it in any way. See the difference? I also play the role of mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, friend, and worker but don't rattle those off when anyone asks. To me, writing is an honor and a gift. Something that I have done for decades and will do until the end, simply because I must. Do I tell others? Only my kids and family and a few close friends. Would I if I was published? Maybe if it came up in conversation and that would probably only be with other writers. Bottom line: what ever you feel comfortable revealing. It's your world.
Saying I'm a writer - to others or to myself? Last year, on my birthday, I said: "I am a writer". I sat down and started actually pitching to magazines and submitting short stories. Every morning, I told myself, "I am a writer." And I don't believe in fairies and that "the universe will give you what you ask" stuff but I do believe that by acknowledging myself as a professional being it was like I gave myself permission to succeed. I had been going around saying "I want to be a writer" so I was perpetually stuck in the state of becoming. By declaring I WAS...it was true. I make half my income from writing and associated activities now, so it worked.
I've been telling myself forever that I am a writer. I'm just beginning to tell others. To me, an author would be a published writer, a person who writes with the aim to become an author, is a writer.
Interesting topic, but if you've ever put pen to paper--or computer-keys to virtual paper--for the enjoyment of others, then you're a writer. If you've written, but not shared it, then you're a closet-writer. If you've been published, then you're a writer who has gained noteriety...
I don't think you're a true writer until you've been published at least once. Then you can hold that up and say, "I've been published. I am a writer." Until that moment, you simply write. But there is nothing wrong with those who simply write. They too, will someday become writers. At least that's what the hope is.
Of course your still a writer. Writing is an activity, not an alliance. There is no "coming of age" or some special "initiation" to be a writer. So, yep, you're still a writer! I'm unpublished, and I'm still a writer. (Sorry if I come off as, you know, rude.)
I definitely agree with your stand sir. You are a writer when you write. I think what differs the professional writer from the "writer writer" is that the profs are established and paid (most of the time).
It was always pretty simple to me. If you write, you can call yourself a writer. Published or unpublished. I never thought it really mattered. Just like ziddy6 said, writing is an activity!
If someone asks me what I do, I say 'budding author'. I don't think this as pretentious as saying 'author' or 'writer'. I am spending a lot of time writing and producing finished work. I take writing seriously and my self-published book of verse will be available this autumn. That raises another question. Should I change my description to writer/author if I self-publish? Or am I still a 'budding author?'
If you self-publish, you're still published. So if I can't be called an author until I'm published, I'll go publish myself and satisfy those elitists who insist I can't be an author until I'm published. It's all so silly, really.
I once knew a guy who insisted that you weren't a writer unless you were published. He also insisted that you weren't a real writer unless you physically wrote (with pen and paper, as opposed to typing) the original text. He was a jerk. That was also ten years ago and he hasn't even published a fart in an elevator. If you write, you are a writer. If you paint, you are a painter. Nothing in the word "writer" implies publication credentials, skill, notoriety or anything other than the fact that you write.
The question is moot. It's a matter of perception. Scribble some crap on a piece of paper. It doesn't have to make sense. It doesn't even to be made up of words. As long as it's written. Huzza. You're now a writer, because you can write. It may as well be rhetoric. Concern yourself with the writing instead of the status that writing brings you.
