What makes someone a writer?
Is it securing an agent, a publishing deal, or being able to walk into any branch of Waterstones and point out your work on the shelves?
Is it simply the act of sitting down and putting words on a page, whether by hand or keyboard?
Ask anyone with an interest in books, writing or publishing and they will probably have a different opinion.
For years I didn’t feel that I could call myself a writer without having the affirmation of a published novel under my belt. I would go to workshops and publishing days and listen to other attendees enthusiastically describe themselves as writers, because that’s who they wanted to be. I would often wish I had their self-assurance.
I always had to temper my own description with the word ‘aspiring’. I’m an aspiring writer.
As the years went by and I wrote more and more – often for work, and then for my blog – I began to feel more comfortable defining myself as a writer. I became known for my writing skills, without me having to force my desire for publication on other people all the time.
And then I read an interesting quote somewhere from a writer who believed that people who use the word ‘aspiring’ are doing themselves down. If she saw it in a Twitter bio, she would deem that person unworthy of a follow.
I’m confident enough now to call myself a writer, because it’s a part of my identity and it’s something I practice (almost) every day. However, that doesn’t mean that I’m a writer in the same way that Charles Dickens or Zadie Smith or J.K. Rowling is a writer.
Not everyone who writes does it for the same reason. A publishing deal isn’t the ultimate goal for everyone, amazing though it would be to have one. For some people, it’s enough to write for self-expression; few people have to read that work.
Now that self-publishing has become such a phenomenon, there exists a whole other level of people who write. Where do they fall on the scale? Are they equal to those with novels published by traditional means, or not? Do they come somewhere above those who so far have only scratched out the guts of a story in a notebook or on their laptop?
Who knows.
Do we really need to define against ourselves against all those other people, who probably love writing as much as we do?
Being a writer is something that you have to work on constantly, but it’s also a part of who you are. Chances are, if you don’t have that burning desire to craft stories and line the page with your words, then you’ll never become a writer, of any kind.
So what do you think; are there prerequisites for calling yourself a writer? Does it even matter?
Ché Dyer says
Love this post! I fully agree with you on the idea of whacking in a “lesser-prefix” before the thing that you choose to describe yourself as! Quite hard to initially put yourself out there as “a designer” or “an illustrator” rather than “well… I sometimes draw pictures…” but once you start doing it – it gets easier and it’s such a self affirmation! x
Amy Lord says
Definitely agree! Plus you realise everyone had to start somewhere and if you do your own work down, why would other people take it seriously?
Sara Strauss says
I love this! I’ve heard so many opinions about this! Someone once told me that if you love writing then by all means call yourself a writer!! So I’m going to call myself a writer, published or not! And you should too! 🙂
~Sara
Amy Lord says
Thanks Sara, love your confidence!
Katie Louise says
I’ve only just become comfortable calling myself a photographer – though I’m still not earning money from it, I’ve studied it for over 4 years and feel like I know enough to finally give myself that title :3
I’m keen to pursue writing though in my ‘career’ so hopefully one day I will be comfortable calling myself a writer! Great post!
Amy Lord says
Thanks Katie Louise, good luck with your photography and your writing!
Joséphine @ Dudette Reads says
Your thoughts on calling oneself an ‘aspiring’ writer are very interesting. I never really thought about it that way but I like your point, and am sure to keep it in mind. As for when someone can call themselves a writer? I think anyone who writes on a regular basis and has an audience that reads what they write, they are writers. Doesn’t matter if those writings are published, or if that audience is only made up of one or two people. After all, being a writer is but one identity among many others that a person can take on. Just that for a published author, for instance, it’s an identity that takes on greater prominence than for someone who writes poems and only shares those with a select few people.
Amy Lord says
You make some good points, Josephine! I think writing is such a personal thing, it becomes a part of you and your identity. For some people the desire to write is still a personal thing but others are more open; perhaps that all ties in to the decision to call yourself a writer too?
Annecdotist says
I enjoyed your post and used to wonder about this too. In a blog post last year I thought I had it all sorted out: a writer was someone who edits their work, knows the rules of writing, has served their time, and has readers. I still think this makes some sense but I’m a lot less wound up about it now. Call yourself a writer if it helps, don’t if it doesn’t and WRITE ! Which I think you do, Amy.
http://annegoodwin.weebly.com/1/post/2013/05/4-definitions-of-a-writer.html
Amy Lord says
Thank you Anne! I enjoyed your post; I can certainly relate to the idea of putting your time in. I think it helps to have experienced a certain amount of criticism of your work too, and learned how to deal with it and use it to improve your writing.
Xandra ★ says
An excellent point to address. Another problem that arrises is that people get accusatory about the word “writer”. “What do you write? Who is your publisher? Are you a REAL writer?” Joshua Fields Milburn [who has self-published some great minimalist stuff!] always answers the “What do you do?” question by saying “I’m passionate about writing. What are you passionate about?”
Amy Lord says
That’s a great way of thinking about it!
Sarah Shumate says
This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately – not in terms of writing (because I have zero desire or talent for that!) but instead in photography. Right now I feel like a complete fraud if I call myself a photographer, like I’m attempting to exaggerate my skills or something. But at the same time, it’s something I practice nearly every single day, and while I would certainly starve if this was how I made my living, I do occasionally make a sale or two. But does that qualify me to add the photographer title to my resume? I just don’t know. It’s a self-confidence thing, I know. I did appreciate reading your thoughts on this, though, because I think it applies to photographers just the same as writers. I like how you ended it, too – “does it matter?” Well, it matters to me. And I’ll probably continue to stew on this one for awhile. In the meantime, when people ask what I do, I tell them I’m a ‘taker of many pictures’. There’s a cop out if I’ve ever heard one… 😉
Amy Lord says
Thanks Sarah, I hadn’t thought about it from a photography point of view but you’re absolutely right! I guess there are two ways of looking at it, if you feel that you’re a photographer (or a writer) and you practice often, you can be justified on accepting the title, or you can save it for when you become a professional. I think either way it’s important to go with how you feel, and sure there is a difference between doing something professionally or not, but it isn’t absolute. I’m actually super envious of your photography skills – I’m trying to improve mine whenever I travel or go on days out, but I’m not very good at the technical side of things!