Discovering What Kind of Writer You Are

Who are you as a writer?
What type of author are you?
Who do you want to be?
How do you want to be represented?
What will come to readers’ minds when they think of your name?

As much as you try to shape your reputation, it’s not always in your hands. Who you are as a writer is defined by not only the way you present yourself, but in the way you’re perceived.

I have been writing for 12 years now. In that time, my own perception of myself as a writer has changed drastically. At first it was just something I did after school. Then it became a dream or mine to be a novelist. Then I thought of myself more as an academic writer. Then I thought I wanted to be a journalist (that ended fast). Then I thought I want to be a magazine writer. And finally, I circled back around to novelist.

Before I published my first novel, The Blood Moon, I had a very loose image of what kind of writer I would be upon publication. Loose because I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t want to have unrealistic expectations.

Almost as soon as I published, I had a different vision for who I was as a writer. And it wasn’t a very flattering image, to be honest. I developed this image because of my perception. In a nutshell: nobody (outside of friends and family) seemed to care. life went on.

Since then I’ve uncovered a new sense of determination. If they weren’t going to notice me and my one little book, I was going to have to grab them by the shirt and make them notice. I’ve decided the best way I can do this is continue to write the best books I can.

What kind of writer I am will continue to evolve over my career. I’ll experiment with different genres, writing styles, and marketing tactics until I find what works for me and I develop my core readers. How many times were Stephen King and JK Rowling rejected before they got their first books published? Even now, JK Rowling has just started to move away from the success of Harry Potter and find new success as Robert Galbraith with her Cormoran Strike novels. And Stephen King, who is mostly known for horror, has played with various other genres as well. Now they’re both at a place where their names alone will sell a book. In Rowling’s case, her name doesn’t even need to be on the cover!