When can you call yourself an 'author'? and what is the difference between a 'writer' and an author'?
The moment you tell people you’re an author, they ask the dreaded question, 'What have you written?' They are, in a sense, asking you to justify yourself. To justify the hours you spend each day putting your ideas to paper. It’s not likely they’re asking you to describe the many unfinished projects you’re tinkering with on your computer. They want to know the titles of your published books, and how many you have sold.
But the truth, (which you know deep down), is that it’s not the published book that makes you an author. You’re an author because of the things you notice around you, in the world. You're an author because of the sheer joy you feel, when you string the right words together. You’re an author, because you can imagine things in such detail, that they come to life. You’re an author because you have so many reasons to stop writing (it takes too much time, pays too little, and the rejection hurts too much), but you just can’t. It’s not that you love to write books, it's that you feel you need to.
Aspiring: to have a plan, desire, or hope for something.
Author: a person who writes books
If we put those together, that means an aspiring author is a person who plans, desires, or hopes to write books, but doesn’t actually write them.
Now - writer or author? -
Back in the day, the publishing industry (i.e., agents and editors) thought of 'authors' as published and 'writers' as unpublished. I’m sure there are many people out there, who still have that attitude. However, the ease of self-publishing these days, makes that a pretty useless distinction.
Self-doubt is what causes me to question my own decision all the time. Some people cling to that 'aspiring writer' label. Some, embrace the 'writer' title, and some people will wait until someone else gives them the 'author' title.
But I want people’s first impression of me to be that I’m a professional writer, and that I take my work seriously, so I claim the title of 'author' (most of the time) - And yes, it has taken me time to get used to that, time to get used to being giggled at when I say 'I have written three short books and a novel in progress'. But yes, I am coming to terms with the fact, that no matter what people say behind my back, I am now an author. So, I swallow the self-doubt that nags in the back of my mind, and most other writer's minds too, and I strive myself forward, to live up to the word 'author'.
But the truth, (which you know deep down), is that it’s not the published book that makes you an author. You’re an author because of the things you notice around you, in the world. You're an author because of the sheer joy you feel, when you string the right words together. You’re an author, because you can imagine things in such detail, that they come to life. You’re an author because you have so many reasons to stop writing (it takes too much time, pays too little, and the rejection hurts too much), but you just can’t. It’s not that you love to write books, it's that you feel you need to.
Aspiring: to have a plan, desire, or hope for something.
Author: a person who writes books
If we put those together, that means an aspiring author is a person who plans, desires, or hopes to write books, but doesn’t actually write them.
Now - writer or author? -
Back in the day, the publishing industry (i.e., agents and editors) thought of 'authors' as published and 'writers' as unpublished. I’m sure there are many people out there, who still have that attitude. However, the ease of self-publishing these days, makes that a pretty useless distinction.
Self-doubt is what causes me to question my own decision all the time. Some people cling to that 'aspiring writer' label. Some, embrace the 'writer' title, and some people will wait until someone else gives them the 'author' title.
But I want people’s first impression of me to be that I’m a professional writer, and that I take my work seriously, so I claim the title of 'author' (most of the time) - And yes, it has taken me time to get used to that, time to get used to being giggled at when I say 'I have written three short books and a novel in progress'. But yes, I am coming to terms with the fact, that no matter what people say behind my back, I am now an author. So, I swallow the self-doubt that nags in the back of my mind, and most other writer's minds too, and I strive myself forward, to live up to the word 'author'.
No comments have been added yet.
