I just stumbled upon this great question on the front page of WordPress.com: So Am I An Author Yet?
My natural curiosity just wouldn’t let me continue on with my own task. I had to follow that link. Because this is a question we who write struggle with constantly. Er… I was going to say “we who have not been published” but then caught myself.
Why do I see myself that way — as someone who has not been published? I have been published: one article in a national trade journal and a couple of articles in a now well-established and popular niche blog. And yet, I feel the need to say “that’s all.” Why?? It’s not a lot, but it’s a start, isn’t it? Do I devalue it simply because it wasn’t a book or an article in the Atlantic or a national consumer magazine?
Am I an author? Am I a writer? What am I? And who decides? You see my struggle.
Anyway, back to that link…At the end of it I found a great post by C-C Lester. She expressed the writer/author identity struggle eloquently and, ironically, it made me identify with her. Aha! I thought. She’s one of us. In C-C, I recognized a kinswoman. A woman-writer-perhaps-author chasing the muse, who also recently decided to share her story with the world via the blogosphere. C-C and I, we may not know what to call ourselves, but we know that writing is an inseparable part of who we are.
An author? A writer? Who knows? Who cares? I write. Period.
To read C-C’s post, click here: http://theelementarycircle.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/so-am-i-an-author-yet/
The Muse says...
charmingthemuse
chickstories
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Vivi Barnes
4chicks.wordpress.com 
Oh, yes. You write, so you’re a writer. Once you’re published, you’re a published writer. Either way, you’re a writer!
I agree with Vivi! You are a writer.
Hello neighbor,
I am writing a blog too, only it’s in Hebrew 🙂
The Israeli blogosphere keep asking itself the same Q..
Well, my opinion is if you are keep asking yourself that Q, you probably a writer and a good one.
Ronit, thanks for reading and commenting! Would love to hear more about your blog, though I can’t read it myself. It’s truly amazing to think how we are connected all around the world by our creative passions.
my blog’s name is CARPE DIEM.
I write about my life, my opinions, my cooking and even short stories.
I wish my English were good as my Hebrew so I could write in English as well, but it isn’t and I can’t share it. Heck, I can’t ‘trust’ my comments if they well written..
Welcome, Guest Chick, Ronit. 🙂 Creative sisters around the globe: unite!
Thanks!
In one way or another, I do believe that we are unite.
For me, it’s like a magic, that sisterhood-blogsphere.
PJ, you are BOTH! If you write, you are a writer. And by C-C’s awesome definition, if you have at least one enthusiastic reader, you’re an author. You definitely have THAT.
Hi fellow chicks,
Loved this discussion and also C-C’s that prompted it. Having taken time to think about where I sit on the writer-author spectrum, I’d like to propose a new sub-category, which I have described here: http://jahumm.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/a-question-of-identity/
Hope it makes you smile (or howl, or both!)
Happy writing/authoring, everyone.
JAHumm
I loved your post, and encourage others to click through and read it! Even if they don’t agree with the new sub-category, who can argue with drinking brandy in a French cafe?