Call Yourself A Writer?

The call to write is a passion, and the pull to write, sometimes, irresistible. But who writes? Who calls himself an author? And how do they persuade their audience to buy their book? This is a question I ask myself from time to time, because the vanity press allows almost anyone to own the title. Anyone with the nerve, and the wherewithal, may lure an audience, with fancy book covers, advertising, and well-targeted spin, to reach into their pockets and buy, buy, buy, a self-styled author's work, irrespective of whether that so-called author can actually write.
Now, I wish to be clear that I am all for giving newbies a chance, and if publishing becomes fairer, allowing unheard voices to be heard, so much the better. It does need a shake-up! But it is a nightmare-in the-making if the public is duped into purchasing lacklustre trash, which is not even grammatically correct, yet somehow passes off for the real thing. I have read semi-biographical books which fall short. I have even read "children's books" which purport to "teach children," and yet the authors have not even mastered the basics themselves.
I am the kind of person who delights in congratulating my peers for their hard won achievements as authors, and long may their success continue.
However, in my search for "the real thing" among new writers, I have come across writers who do not know their grammar, do not know basic spelling rules, use colloquialisms inappropriately, yet, often, they are the first to sing their own praises about the "popularity" of their books, the "awards" and "badges" they have won, and so on. We as writers, should relish the journey for its own sake, and that journey should involve professional development and skills mastery, which involves not only one's own writing, but also reading books.
Now, come on, I am in my sixtieth year, and I wasn't born yesterday. Who are these writers fooling? The public may be deceived in the short run, but some of us are in it for the long haul. We care about the quality of our work, we do not feel we are "entitled," and we continue to strive to make our work better and better!
To anyone reading this, please look carefully at a writer's work, and then decide whether or not he deserves to call himself a writer.