I've been thinking about something lately and it goes a long with some feedback I've been getting from friends and family. I've been told that I'm selling myself short and should aim higher. I disagree because I like where I am right now in my writing career. Writing is a learning experience and there's more for me to learn.
So it brings up a question. When do you consider yourself an author instead of a writer? Is it when you get your first book finished? Your contract? Or maybe that huge book deal? I received my first book cover on Monday and it was so wonderful to see it. I was just thrilled! But the truth is, I had already decided I was an author long before I got the cover. I decided I was an author when I received my first contract from Lyrical press in January. Everything after that moment just reinforces the feeling.
So tell me your story... when did you decide you're an author instead of just a writer? Have you had not so welcoming feedback from friends or family? How did you handle it?
Talk to you soon,
Wendy
4 comments:
I started to think of myself as an author when I signed my first contract, I didn't believe it, until I was done with my first edits, lol. Getting a cover sealed it all up.
Close friends and family are wonderful...so much, I could get a big head from the way they talk about me.;-)
Neat post! Can't wait to see what others went through to reach that status of "author."
At one time, I listened to someone grumble about being an author or not...so, I looked up the meaning of "author" - my dictionary says "...the beginner, originator, creator of anything."
or "A professional writer..."
It didn't say anything about being published or selling x amount of books or making x amount of money.
So, I decided that once a manuscript was complete-well, I authored it...therefore I was an author. :)
Now, I happen to be a published author.
Cheers!
I'm not sure how to answer that. I don't really feel like an author yet. Although, I do have my first book coming out in August. I pretty much just say I'm a writer. I probably won't feel like an author until I can hold a hard copy of my own book in my hands. That's just me, though. I believe you're an author now. I don't know why I just don't believe I am, LOL.
An author is anyone who writes. Published or not...if you produce it, it's real and tangible. Even way before I was every published for the first time, I called myself a writer, an author. (To me the terms are interchangable.) Money, contracts, covers, never entered into the bargain.
-Kate
Post a Comment