Two weeks ago I was at a book conference, sitting at a table filled with both published and aspiring authors. I struck up a conversation with a nice woman at my table, who told me that after years of toiling at various jobs she was thrilled to now be a full time writer. When I asked what she’d published, she said she had written one draft of one novel and was thinking about starting another one. For some reason this bothered me, probably more than it should have, and it’s been like a popcorn kernel stuck between my teeth. What she said touched a nerve, I just haven’t been able to shake it. I’m not picking on this woman–she seemed perfectly nice and loved books and people like that should never be taken for granted–but I couldn’t help but think that if she truly wanted to be a writer, she’s going about it completely wrong. And the reason I believe her comment bothered me is that many aspiring writers I’ve met over the last few years have very similar attitudes, that once you put a pen to the page or bang out a few pages you’re officially a ‘Writer.’ This is not to come across as elitist, it’s not to create a division between published and unpublished writers, but in my opinion if you want to be a writer, that way of thinking harms your writing more than anything.
While I was working on the book that would eventually become THE MARK, I rarely talked about it, and then only if shocked with a cattle prod. My family and a few close friends knew I was working on a book, but to me it wasn’t worth talking about until it was finished. And even then, I didn’t think it was much worth talking about unless it actually found a publisher. I didn’t want to ever spend time talking about ‘My Book.’ My book. My book. My book. I have met so many aspiring writers who spend countless minutes and hours talking about ‘My Book,’ that if they took that time and put it towards the actual manuscript, ‘My Book’ would inch closer to being on a shelf somewhere. Occasionally some of my family members would ask, “How does it feel to be a writer?” I would usually hem and haw and give one word answers like, “Good” and “Fine,” just to be pleasant. But in my own mind my answer was always, “I’m not a writer…yet.”
To me, being able to call myself a writer was akin to lunging for that carrot hanging off the end of a stick. It was something to aspire to, but in order to reach it I needed to earn it. Slapping a label on my work-in-progress was easy, giving myself the title of ‘Writer’ without having published anything would have made things oh so simple. But if you set the bar too low, you can leap over it without any difficulty, without trying, without pushing yourself. By calling herself a “full time writer” despite not having completed even a second draft of one novel, I felt this woman was doing herself a disservice. If she had talent, she was cheating it. Taking batting practice does not make one a baseball player. Using a calculator does not make one a mathematician. Wiping the crust from my dog’s eyes does not make me a of veterinarian. These are all professions. They take years of training and study and work. And while you never get a certificate that proclaims you a ‘Professional Writer’, not allowing to think of myself as a writer until I was published was a powerful motivational tool. Writing is a wonderful, cathartic thing, and I would never, ever discourage anyone from ‘writing’. I am simply discouraging people from calling themselves ‘Writers’ until they have accomplished their goal. If your goal is to write one draft, so be it. But I have a feeling most writers aspire to more.
Becoming a ‘Professional Writer’ is nowhere near as easy as writing a first draft of one novel. It takes numerous drafts of one novel. And then maybe numerous drafts of a second, third, or even fourth novel. Too many writers waste time worrying about agents and marketing and query letters, and not enough honing their craft so that when an agent or editor reads the book, they’re blown away. I wrote two books before THE MARK got published. The first book was a coming-of-age story about a college freshman who must discover who he really is. It did not deserve to be published. I still love the story, but I was simply not a good enough writer. My second novel was something of a literary thriller, about a bartender whose life is manipulated in order to make his upcoming memoir more exciting (and therefore salable). This book came close to selling, but in the end did not. With my third book, I finally wrote something that, when my agent began submitting it, I felt had a real chance. And it did, selling in a three-book deal. I loved my first two books, but had they been published I doubt many people would have enjoyed them. I’m sure there were some redeeming qualities about each, but in the end I’m glad they weren’t published.
If you aspire to be a writer, do yourself a favor and don’t call yourself a ‘Writer’. I’m sure many people have gone about it differently, and what worked for me won’t necessarily work for others, but don’t allow yourself to eat the carrot simply by sticking your hand out a few inches. Hold it out there in front of you. Walk for it, run for it, grasp for it. When the time comes, you’ll be able to reach it. Just don’t sell yourself short by holding it an inch from your mouth, then congratulate yourself for leaning forward far enough to take a bite.
Related posts:
Comment
That is so true. I’ve been doing this writing thing for about five years and still can’t work up the nerve to actually call myself a Writer, because I just don’t feel I am in the stage yet. Your post hit the nail on the head though, and has made me reevaluate my priorities.
Comment
Too many people outside the industry think that once you set one book, or even write one book, that’s all it takes to be professional writer-as in writing for living. It’s not that easy. If it was, a lot more people would do it.
I do have to say, though, the lady you mentioned at least made the effort-she started a book and finished it, even if it was just the first draft. The one thing that boggles is me how often I have people tell me… “I’ve always wanted to write,” and then when I ask them why they don’t, I very often just get this blank stare. A lot of them want to write, but they don’t, and a lot of the time, they don’t even have a concrete reason.
IMO, being a writer really just takes writing. Being a professional writer/published author is a different matter. But neither will happen if a person never tries.
Comment
I agree that finishing a draft of a book is a great accomplishment, but as I said I don’t think most people end their aspirations there. They want to get published. And getting a novel into publishable shape takes multiple drafts and a lot of work. It really has nothing to do with whether someone writes full time or not. I’m all for celebrating the completion of a novel by ordering a pizza or having a glass of champagne, but someone who wants to be a published writer shouldn’t pat themselves on the back too much.
Comment
I agree with what you both are saying. I went back to work part time in a pub in the past year, (mostly so I don’t become a total hermit with my writing, but also because I enjoy it) and so many people say they want to write.
One girl I work with even says- often enough to piss me off I might add – “Oh, I could do that.”
Yet, she still never has. LOL I think most people don’t realize that it’s actually work.
ANd then there’s the other side of things. When my regular customers ask me where I disappeared to for a week or three (As I take plenty of time off for deadlines or conferences) I tell them I was writing. Or I say “Working the day job” and they ask what the day job is ..I reply write…they ALWAYS say. “Oh, that’s cool. Have you ever had anything published?”
Comment
growl… that “SET ONE BOOK” should have been “SELL ONE BOOK”
Comment
She may be writing full time, but she’s not making a living at it… That’s the one that’s bugged me, is the people who say they write full time without disclosing that someone else is paying the bills.
Comment
I think you can be a writer if you write regularly without being published, but I’d be leery of saying so because to most people “writer” = “Published and probably on the NYT list” and the last thing the fledgling writer needs is to be told his/her work doesn’t count. On the other hand, it’s good to get used to these things right up front, because as time goes on you publish and then it becomes “Have I heard of you/Have I read anything of yours/When are you going to write a real book”.
I didn’t consider myself a professional until I was paid for my writing, no matter how much finished work I’d racked up or how many queries I’d sent out. Paid in contributor copies didn’t count. That was a publishing credit, but money meant pro to me.
And writing full time? I’ve sold 21 titles in five years and I don’t write full time. It’s the only job for which I’m paid, but I also spend a good chunk of my time taking care of kids, house, etc. Many, many multi-published writers are not writing full time. This is another one of those “set yourself up for disdain” sort of things, because if you say you write full time but have written one draft and sold nothing, “rethink that” is probably the kindest thing somebody will say.
While working diligently towards whatever writing goal one may have (and to be fair, not everybody wants to publish or be a pro), it isn’t a bad thing to put a little protective bubble around the efforts and pursue the goal quietly. Enough people will burst your bubble down the road; why start off inviting it?
Comment
There’s no set ‘bar’ for when you can/should call yourself a ‘Writer,’ it’s something each person needs to determine on their own, based on their aspirations. I don’t think most people assume ‘Writers’ are NYT bestsellers, but they do assume you’ve published something and gotten paid for it (or if you claim it as your only job, that you make a living doing it).
I refused to consider myself a writer until I published a novel. Not saying that’s what every aspiring writer should do, but having a goal, something to strive for, did motivate me a great deal. If you achieve your goals too easily, I don’t think you’ve set the bar high enough.
Comment
Hmm…perhaps I could be an about-to-be published writer who continues to aspire? Seems to me that unless one makes it to the big-time (and maybe even then?), the aspiring part continues to apply whenever facing that computer screen to start another story.
Still, you make a good point, Jason…too many “writers” seem to forget that this is a profession like any other. Maybe that’s it…we could have apprentice writers! No?
Comment
This is always an interesting discussion. There are indeed too many of those ‘I’ve written a novel therefore I’m a writer’ people out there now. However, I do believe you can call yourself a writer if you do so consistently. I think you can be writer if you don’t get published, though I think most who do consistent work at the craft are striving to be published some day. I’ve written two novels now, and starting a third. I consider myself a writer, though if someone asks me, I say that I’m an ‘aspiring author.’ A lot of folks write out that one novel because they had the drive to always write one, but then it fades away and gathers dust in the closet. Being a writer means working at writing to me, continual effort to become better at the craft. So, perhaps it’s that writing plus effort/drive to improve one’s craft that would make one a writer.
Comment
See, I’m not yet published, but I do write full time. Which is to say, I treat writing as my job (graduate school is that thing I do that helps pay the bills, ironically). Which is to say that anywhere from 25 to 50 hours a week, my ass is in a chair working on my writing.
So when people ask me what I do, I tend to say “writer” (or “grad student”).
I don’t want to be a writer though. I aim to be an author. To me “author” means published, writer means someone who writes. But I figure, as you say, the goals are what’s important. Some people want to get published, others don’t really care. (There’s a guy in one of my workshops who writes awesome stories, but has no desire to ever publish, for example. He’s a great writer, but has little desire to do it for other than his personal fulfillment.)
Comment
The carrot for me is Author or published career writer.
Once I finally started calling myself a writer internally, then I found that I could focus on writing as a real career. I may be at the beginning, but I’m serious about it. But I don’t call myself a writer to others since most people think of it as published.
Comment
I’m with KathyF, but it’s semantics for the same thing. I started as a storyteller when I was 5? I became a writer in college when I studied writing and complete *cough* short stories. I did write before then, but I didn’t consider that really being a writer rather than writing. But for me, the carrot is author. That word is what you’re using as Professional Writer to me. And then I set the bar higher as to published Novelist, which I haven’t yet attained. I can tell you it took me forever to accept that with a number of published short stories under my belt I could say the “A” word
.
It’s a good point. If you’re not hungry, it’s that much harder to get out and work for the next meal.
Comment
I still don’t feel comfortable using the “A” word, Margaret. Doubt I ever will.
Comment
LOL! Sorry, but you are doomed. You are an Author with a capital “A”.
It is rather fascinating and funny how we give power to words. I can remember trying to explain to someone why I wanted X word over Y when they had the same meaning because another “felt” different. For me, that’s writer to author.
Comment
I wouldn’t tell people I was a writer until my second book was published and that was after I’d had a pile of articles published and after I’d written commercials for years.
And like Lynn, I’m not crazy about the “A” word. I’m a writer because I write, the same way a teacher teaches and a farmer farms. If I call myself an author then I’d be “auth-ing” all day and that doesn’t sound like much fun.
Comment
I am a writer.
Since 1998, while working a fulltime 9 – 5 job I’ve been writing features and columns both online and in print. I retired from fulltime employment in 2006 to write fulltime. I write a weekly (inspirational/reflections/self-improvement/slice of life) column in Womanwise magazine, a pullout special in the Sunday edition of the Trinidad Guardian newspaper along with miscellaneous feature articles for other print and online publications.
My husband has always paid the bills mortgage, food, car and utilities)and continues to do so, leaving me to do as I please with the money I earn from my writing .
I am a writer.
Comment
“These are all professions. They take years of training and study and work. And while you never get a certificate that proclaims you a ‘Professional Writer’, not allowing to think of myself as a writer until I was published was a powerful motivational tool.”
Actually, you can get a certificate that proclaims you a ‘Professional Writer’. I even have one (and yes, it’s from a real, accredited post-secondary institution). Before you spew your coffee on the screen though, it’s a designation for corporate communications and technical writing. Just thought I’d mention that there is such a thing as a certificate for ‘Professional Writer’ though most certainly not for fiction unless you consider a royalty statement or tax return as such.
On a more serious/relevant note: I agree that designating yourself a professional fiction writer without a publication track record is counter-productive. As is hiring a printer and calling yourself published. I tend to use KathyF and Margaret’s semantics on writer vs. author.
I’ve never had a career that neatly matched up with a verb so the mismatch of a writer writes and an author authors doesn’t bother me. After all a lawyer doesn’t lawyer all day long, he/she practices law; a journalist doesn’t journal (well, maybe sometimes). For me a writer can be published or unpublished but only an author is a professional writer.
I will never consider myself an author unless I have published a book. I will never consider myself a professional author unless I’ve managed to repeat the feat of publishing a book a number of times. If I can’t legally call myself a writer/author on my tax return, then I’m just kidding myself to tell anyone (including myself) otherwise.
Comment
Right on, Jason. To “be a writer” means to be published and paid, not even published by outfits like publishamerica and iuniverse. Those who don’t make their living this way have no idea what it takes. I’ve been doing this full-time since 1972, publishing 21 titles (under two names) and selling eight movies. If this sounds hard, well, writing is hard.
The way to becoming a professional, I think, is to read a lot and write every day. Every day.
The “author” word? It’s a social status, not a job description–never use it. Sue Grafton gave my wife (also a novelist) a blurb on the condition that she would never call herself by the A word.
I wish all a good day in their imaginations.
caleb
Comment
caleb fox:
I never thought of the word “author” as a social status. This is an eye-opening statement for me and I can understand why you hold it to be true. As for a job description, well, I’m leaning towards “limiting” and “grossly inadequate”.
Comment
I need somone to sponser my book please email me if you cam Thank you