Am I a writer or an author?

Recently I was thinking to myself: “Self?” I asked. “What does it mean to be an author?”

To which I replied, “He needs to have written a book.” Okay, I don’t really talk to myself like that. You can put down the phone now. My sanity is assured.

I have written and published five books so far, so I guess that qualifies me. But I could never write another book and forever be an author. Harper Lee wrote one book (okay, now it’s two if you want to get technical) and has been forever labeled and author. But that’s not enough for me. I want to be a writer too. A writer writes. They may never publish, but they write. If I ever stop writing I will cease to be a writer and will only ever be an author. That’s like saying I played basketball in high school (which I did.)

No. Ideally I want to keep writing and publishing. It is not only being an author that is a kick for me, but the actual nitty-gritty of writing down stories, revising them ad-nauseum and publishing them. The whole process is so much fun. I may never get the fame of others, but two things are true. I will enjoy myself immensely and I will get better and better at the craft. And there is some hope in that, isn’t there?