What are the clues? When is it official? Who determines that it is so? And then, how do you convince those people who’ve known you for years as an engineer, homemaker, secretary or dentist that you are now a writer? It’s all very mysterious and indefinable, isn’t it?
But it doesn’t have to be. I figure that you are a writer as soon as you decide that you are. For some, this might be once you sit down and start penning that first novel. Others can’t quite call themselves writers until they’ve had something published. But does it count if you pay to get published or you get published without pay? I know some people who have sold several pieces to a variety of publications and are still hesitant to consider themselves bonafide writers. I also know some who maintain blogs or who write a story now and then and introduce themselves regularly as “writers.”
I guess the label doesn’t really matter, except to the individual and the IRS. You probably can’t claim writing as your profession unless you are either making or losing money at it. And if you don’t claim profits and/or losses related to writing on your income tax return, I don’t think you can be considered a writer, can you?
Some people claim “writership” for the prestige value. I’m not sure, really, how non-writers feel about writers these days. When I started responding to the question, “What do you do?” with, “I’m a writer,” few people understood that status. Some were slightly impressed, until they discovered that I couldn’t name a publication I’d written for that they knew. This used to bother me, until I realized that I was earning a living through my writing, and it didn’t matter if it was through obscure publications. Maybe no one had heard of Woman’s Life, Columbia, The World and I, Communication Briefings, Pages, Teaching Tolerance, American Health for Women, Technology and Learning, Silicon 2.0, for example, but they were providing my bread and butter. (In fact, some of these magazines paid quite well.)
I always got the impression that people, upon learning that I am a writer, imagined me spending my days in contemplation until I felt inspired. I’m sure that most non-writers, at least pre-2000, had no idea about the energy, effort and time involved in carving out and maintaining a writing career. I spent many hours attempting to convince people that career writing is a business like any other business.
When I started writing, I didn’t know another writer. Now I know hundreds and hundreds of them. That’s partly because the Internet has brought us together—made us aware of one another. And it’s also partially because there are so many more of us. I think that the general public is becoming more educated about the writing life. Even though each of us puts a little different slant on the way we pursue our writing, we, as writers, are less of a mystery. Everyone, these days, knows a writer. Even some non-writers are penning their memoirs, maintaining a blog, submitting articles in order to promote a cause or writing one (and only one) how-to, self-help or informational book reflecting their passion.
So are they writers? I guess it depends on how they feel about themselves and what the term writer means to them.
Today, I want to know, are you a writer? What criteria determine this judgment? In your mind, what more must you accomplish or what threshold must you approach before you can consider yourself a writer?
Have you checked out my array of books, lately? I talk a lot about my hallmark book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. But I rarely mention my other books. My books include:
• The Successful Writer’s Handbook
• Over 75 Good Ideas for Promoting Your Book
• A Writer’s Guide to Magazine Articles
• How to Write a Successful Book Proposal in 8 Days or Less
• The Author’s Workbook
• The Author’s Repair Kit
• The Mainland Luau
• Quest for Truth (a metaphysical adventure)
Check them out at http://www.matilijapress.com