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Being Published Does Not Necessarily Mean That I Am a Writer
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I write fiction—these days. Does that make me a "writer"? Personally, I don't always take on activities I do as titles. I am human, and I do a lot of different things.
For years, I did research and then wrote papers for journals, just because, and proposals for funding, well, this is understandable, but I don't call myself a proposal writer, either.
Parker wrote: "This whole thread makes me sad. People have a right to be who they are and what they do. It's ..."I wonder if this whole thread introduces a "methinks ye protest too loudly" theme, the denial of wanting attention via a title drawing attention to the denial. This is becoming something of a navel-gazing exercise.
Sally wrote: "I wonder if this whole thread introduces a "methinks ye protest too loudly" theme,..."That did cross my mind but if so... someone should be kind enough to tell the guy that saying, "I'm not a writer" effectively kills the desire to look at their work. Mr. Not Writer is warning me he doesn't feel he can do a good job. It's like the guy at the bar who says, "I'm bad for you, baby." I'll take his word for it. If his self esteem is so poor he uses that as a pickup line, I'm happy to heed the warning and move on to the next guy.
Sally wrote: "Let's get back to writing."I feel like the other guy kinda called me out for writing too much-- c'mon, dude, some of those 10 books were short stories!-- but that's life in the fast lane...
Parker wrote: I feel like the other guy kinda called me out for writing too much-- c'mon, dude, some of those 10 books were short stories!-- but that's life in the fast..."
Writing too much? I did not think that was possible. :) I have known some writers who were one hit wonders and some who write numerous books at one time. We are all different in our process of writing, that is what makes us unique.
My opinion on the concept of "Being Published Does Not Necessarily Mean That I Am a Writer" is...
No, being published does not make you a writer. Perhaps an author, but not a writer. What makes you a writer is the desire to write. When all you think of every waking moment of the day, and during sleepless nights, is writing...that makes you a writer. Some worry about having an "original idea" before they write. That does not matter. As a species we have reached a point where our ideas now overlap and blend. If you want to become a writer stop trying so hard and just write. It can be in any genre you desire, fiction, non-fiction, it does not matter...just write. What makes you a writer is the desire, passion, and will to go on writing no matter what others say. Oh, and when they call you insane for writing just tell them "I am not insane, I am a writer!".
Mowing the lawn and trimming the hedge does not necessarily mean that I am a gardener but while I am doing such things I feel like one. Filling my notebooks with lines of verse and prose does not necessarily mean that I am a writer but while I am absorbed in doing so I feel like one. It is possible to elevate what it means to be a writer to too grand a level, as if you have to be close to Tolstoy or Shakespeare to have the nerve to call yourself one. Calling yourself a writer merely says what you do, that simply because you want to and find the need to, you are a person who writes. The highest mountains in England are not much more than 3,000 feet high, just bumps in the ground compared to the Himalayas, but to those who see them they are still mountains. A person who writes in verse or prose may never be remembered for as long as Homer or Virgil has been but can still say they are a writer.
Philip wrote: ".The highest mountains in England are not much more than 3,000 feet high, just bumps in the ground compared to the Himalayas, but to those who see them they are still mountains."This. Exactly. Many of us in our global world have seen and enjoyed both. The Lake District does not mumble modestly that you shouldn't bother walking there any more because you can just as well catch a cheap flight to Nepal... I like that comparison. It's brilliant.
Being a writer isn't a question of whether or not you earned enough money to impress your neighbor...it isn't a question of whether your work ends up being used to torture unwilling students far in the future after you're gone... that stuff is just noise on the side.
Parker wrote: "I saw what the reasoning was. It just doesn't make any sense to me. Of course you may call yourself anything you like. But denying you're a writer when you have written and published a book comes a..."Steven wrote: "Thank you for sharing that Joe. It sounds like a date with destiny! Perhaps I will stop turning a blind eye to the possibilities of a blind date again, especially considering your story.
The thre..."
I miss the comments and camaraderie on this forum. I've just made it back HERE in time before this has hit the wind and vanished like so many others wrier's forums. Cheers, Don Greywolf
Jim wrote: "Since I am the author of a published novel, I could tell people that I am a writer. There would be nothing wrong with that, I just personally choose not to. Why?I drive a car, but do not refer to..."
You are clearly a writer, unless your computer used AI to create what got published or you plagiarised it all. But you may not be an author as in authority which is implied by author.
If you put words on a page/screen, you are a writer. If you are an author, you are writing with a target audience in mind. If you are published as a writer, then your words are reaching the people you intended to reach. I have been both published in books but most of my work reaches children in 188 countries of the world from my website: JOSIE'S POEMS.com. Does it matter how your audience enjoys what you've written?
Thank you Lizzie. In fact the internet is a blessing because not so many trees are being cut down to be turned into books made of paper. I guess reading Ebooks is a blessing too for this reason. We have to really consider these things in this day and age because our trees are SO important in helping to stop climate change. So carry on 'authors' and 'writers' I say.
Though energy still has to be created for electricity on which the internet depends. There is no right and wrong way, just what suits you.
Lizzie, it is only a fraction of the cost of book publishing and all the additional costs, ie other than paper. My publisher said that our local bookseller takes 49% of the cost of the book for himself and his overheads. Ah well!!
Supermarkets take 60%. So many people think we all earn like J K Rowling or that the price on the book is the price we get! I'd be leading a jet set lifestyle if that was the case!
Yes, you are 100% correct. My publisher told me that before that he had to pay for the books but also transport, staff in the office and educational agents etc. The author may get 15% or 20% - - and so the publishers don't get much at the end of the day I rather think. But I've worked extremely hard to make my website - hours of work - and I guess I could, if I wanted, make it into a subscription website for schools, because schools come from many places here and abroad. Ah well. Thanks Lizzie. I'm with what you say.
Josie wrote: "Thank you Lizzie. In fact the internet is a blessing because not so many trees are being cut down to be turned into books made of paper. I guess reading Ebooks is a blessing too for this reason. We..."NO, they're being cut down to burn as fuel to generate the electricity to charge your devices, which you'll upgrade after a couple of years, and then they'll either burn more energy to "recycle" them (AND)/or bury them in a landfill to pollute...
Yes, much better than pulping a part of the tree we don't use for furniture or flooring to create a biodegradable product that can be enjoyed for decades without becoming "unsupported" and then feed delicious fungi, that in turn feed, plants and animals, that feed more animals...
Jim wrote: "Since I am the author of a published novel, I could tell people that I am a writer. There would be nothing wrong with that, I just personally choose not to. Why?I drive a car, but do not refer to..."
The world is full of 'writers'.
There are many 'authors' too.
But true authorities and best selling novelists are rare.
Susan wrote: "For my point of view, a writer is someone who writes."True.
Anyone who writes is a writer.
Those who get paid for their writing are professional writers.
Joe wrote: "Susan wrote: "For my point of view, a writer is someone who writes."Because I am a writer, I will add my two cents here. I have been a writer since my earliest days. I was a soldier for a while b..."
I am a writer too. Background very similar to yours.
Writing was forced on me by my job.
With no summer work during college I read every copy of writers digest at the library and learned the business of writing. Even sold some small non fiction items to magazines.
Much later my main job was writing for a few years.
I hate writing.
I like having written.
But I love taking that check to the bank.
Now in retirement I am working on one non fiction book.
I gave up all wanting to do fiction at all.
And I am pondering writing some essays or other short works too.
jim said Today, due to the invention of the personal computer, widespread access to the internet and a proliferation of self-publishing venues, literally hundreds of thousands, if not millions, may honestly and legitimately refer to themselves as a published author.
I would say that anyone who self published is stretching it to say they are a published author at all. Now you have to be trad published to have any legitimate claim to that descriptor.
That said there are a very few whose SP books do sell that merit that title. But for the millions that threw some crap book on amazon especially ebooks on kindle which never sold copy one have no claim to published nor author.
Wmba wrote: "I would say that anyone who self published is stretching it to say they are a published author at all."That is your opinion and irrelevant to the majority of readers. I am a published author. I continue to improve my craft, work with a team of professionals and publish books indistinguishable from trad published books. As do many other self published authors who know how to run long term, successful businesses.
On a different angle; I can't stop telling stories. Never ever did I regard it as skilful; it was just something I did. Only when my back was against the wall and I had no other income did I bite the bullet and wrote my first book. So it was from expediency and the story teller I'd always been won through. I was published within fourteen months. That was well over twenty years ago. I've had over fifty books published and been in the top thirty best selling paperbacks quite a few times. A friend of mine, a former editor at Harper Collins and copy editor to some very star spangled names informed me that fiction writers need to be natural born story tellers. Non fiction do not; they just need to be methodical and well versed in their subject. I've always made a good income and still marvel that I gain monetary reward from doing something I love doing - so I don't really work at all.
Tilly wrote: "Wmba wrote: "I would say that anyone who self published is stretching it to say they are a published author at all."That is your opinion and irrelevant to the majority of readers. I am a publishe..."
I call em as I see em. Do you own your ISBN? Or did you get a freebie from somebody else?
If you do not own your ISBN then you did not SP. The owner of the ISBN is the publisher.
And if you are just on amazon with a freebie ebook, you get no street cred as being published.
Millions of amazon books never sell copy 1. The average sales is 2 for print slightly more for estuff.
So I note that being truly a published author is far different from being a successful author that was published.
Almost all SP work is pure crapola and readers do care.
ALL vanity press stuff is pure concentrated crapola.
Trad pub is also bad but nowhere near as bad as SPed stuff.
Gutenberg and Franklin were good, then trad pubs emerged and bad mouthed the vanity press books and that 'SP' approach lost favor.
Then about 45 years ago true self publishing came back although most readers confused that with vanity presses. Many authors were confused too. That only lasted 20-25 years until xerox machines created another wave of vanity presses claiming to be SP help.
Now with digital and free 'publishing' the meter has swung way back giving SP a very bad name.
But *IF* you had your own ISBN and you set up your own publishing company then your SP work would be closer to trad pub books, but even trad pubs have about 90% crapola in their catalog. Then you could legitimately say you were published.
So if somebody says they were 'published' you should ask them if they bought and own their own ISBN. Because if they took a freebie from a vanity press claiming to help them 'self' publish they are fooling themselves and trying to con you too.
Wmba wrote: "And if you are just on amazon with a freebie ebook, you get no street cred as being published."Again that is simply your opinion and irrelevant to readers. I do not need approval from you, or this so called "street cred", to call myself an author. I am an author, I run a publishing business. That's good enough for me, my readers, and the tax department.
Further, you are misinformed about ISBNs. Using a free identifier from a retailer does not change the nature of how I have published. I assume you are not involved in publishing, as your information is either incorrect or outdated. Buying ISBNs for ebooks is an unnecessary expense.
There seems to be a hint of bitterness to your replies, and I am sorry if some impediment has stopped you from pursuing a career in writing. Fortunately, I will not let somebody else's disappointment stop me from doing what I enjoy, and something that has become my primary source of income.
Self published, vanity published, trad published... none of those labels matter. Readers don't care and ultimately, the reader decides what is worthwhile and what is not. Readers don't care how a book is published, they simply want an escape and a good read. I deliver the experience my readers are seeking, and in meeting their expectations, I will grow my publishing business.
Writing may be an aural skill. A writ is spoken first of all. I hope that helps! Tv correspondents, and politicians may not write much down, but they are first and foremost writing the spoken word, out loud.
No, speaking is speaking, verbally, and writing is when you actually put those words down, letter by letter, either on paper or on a screen. I actually never write my poems but type them always and I add voice recordings, always, because the children of the world like to hear our English language and how we speak it. This is important for children and adults, both in this country for whom English is the first language, and for those who are learning English as a second language. I just say 'I am a poet'. I was a teacher of typewriting, amongst other subjects I taught, so with the speed of touch-typing which I have and the fact I don't have to look at the keys, it would be perhaps foolish to slowly write each letter by hand. Typing and writing by hand are both 'writing' but speaking is aural.
Then you still have something to learn about what is writ, and how writ functions, but with respect since it is initially the domain of law, and subsequently of neural linguistics.
Josie wrote: "No, speaking is speaking, verbally, and writing is when you actually put those words down, letter by letter, either on paper or on a screen. I actually never write my poems but type them always and..."Ah!
I'm not particularly interested in 'how writ functions' Gar, or 'the domain of law or neural linguistics' - and neither are the children of the world for whom I write, so I doubt that I will be learning much on that subject, but thank you for pointing this out.
An author isn't necessarily a writer. A writer is the one who actually puts words in sequence. An author can be someone who just talks into a recorder or answers questions and has someone else do the actual writing.A writer IS an author, unless you define an author as having been published.
A writer is one who writes words.A broadcaster’s one who is heard.
An author creates
Stuff that leads to debates,
Whilst a poet writes words much preferred.
I wish I could put paid to this nonsense!I spent a couple of years as a trainee teacher 50 years ago, and showing children
how to read....and write.
The anecdoteur is a writer of the spoken word. It is 'writ'.
The neural pathways involved with reading
require movement of the vocal chords to do so. By the time you are a good reader that movement becomes imperceptible.
The same applies to putting pen to paper, when you are first learning to write. You have to say it " under your breath" as you write the letters down.
Many of you are Mothers, and have earlier experience of the child learning to speak, which is rather less sophisticated, but a wonderful achievement too!
Philip wrote: "Mowing the lawn and trimming the hedge does not necessarily mean that I am a gardener but while I am doing such things I feel like one. Filling my notebooks with lines of verse and prose does not n..."Josie wrote: "Lizzie, it is only a fraction of the cost of book publishing and all the additional costs, ie other than paper. My publisher said that our local bookseller takes 49% of the cost of the book for him..." If you buy a dedicated e-book reader, from a hard copy book retailer he also takes tgat commission on every book you buy while you use it.
If you are happy to sponsor a book retailer as your agent, then buy an e- reader from him.
Wmba wrote: "Susan wrote: "For my point of view, a writer is someone who writes."True.
Anyone who writes is a writer.
Those who get paid for their writing are professional writers."
As a blogger I have written about 12m words over the last 15 years. I am not a writer, right? I know. I'm a scribbler! An e- scribbler.
The surname " Scrivener" history may reveal more. He was usually a notary of some sort, if I'm not mistaken. scrivener= scribbler.
Gar wrote: "I wish I could put paid to this nonsense!I spent a couple of years as a trainee teacher 50 years ago, and showing children
how to read....and write.
The anecdoteur is a writer of the spoken word...."
'I wish I could put paid to this nonsense!' - - - -
Yes, so do I . . . .
A writer needs thoughts in his head
Which, once written, may sometimes be read.
And these words which we read
Are published, indeed,
So now let’s put this subject to bed!
Gar wrote: "Philip wrote: "Mowing the lawn and trimming the hedge does not necessarily mean that I am a gardener but while I am doing such things I feel like one. Filling my notebooks with lines of verse and p..."I made some lovely Ebooks with my poems in them, but, having sold some of them I discovered that it was very easy for my books to be sold on to many people by them, at no cost to them at all, whilst I did all the hard work of writing my lovely poems. So, rather than they should do this, I've stopped the Ebooks and made my poems available on the internet from my website. I'd like, perhaps, to find an educational publisher who might like to market them for me as a subscription website. How do I find such a publisher?
I feel like you're reaching out for something and we don't know what it is so we can't really be of any help.