When Can You Call Yourself a Writer?

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by James Scott Bell
@jamesscottbell

First thing I did when I decided to become a writer (even if I couldn’t learn like they told me in college, even if I failed) was go to a bookstore and buy a black coffee mug with WRITER on it. I wanted to look at it every day, and believe it. I don’t think I ever drank coffee from it. It’s still here in my office. I still look at it every day.

At first, when people would ask me, “So, what do you do?” I could never get myself to say, “I’m a writer.” I was still practicing law and running a small law book business. That’s really what I did to put food on the table.

Then I got published. Only when I had four or five books out there and a new multi-book contract was I comfortable enough to say “Writer.” Even then it took some getting used to.

That’s because the inevitable follow-up would be, “Oh! What do you write?”

“Fiction.”

“I love fiction. I wonder if I’ve read any of your books.”

I’d then be forced to give a few titles and watch the dead, uncomprehending eyes of my questioner blink, and see a half smile of abject pity crease her face.

Well, like the existentialists say, it is what it is. I’m better prepared now.

“What do you do?”

“I’m a writer.”

“Oh! What do you write?”

“Thrillers.”

“I love thrill—”

“Thanks! Here’s my card. You can check out my books on my website.”

So what about you? Do you feel comfortable calling yourself a writer?

Does there have to be a certain level of accomplishment first? (See Kay’s excellent reflections on “success.”)

Early on I clipped this from The Writer magazine. It’s by Malcolm Bradbury, from Unseen Letters: Irreverent Notes From a Literary Life:

I write everything. I write novels and short stories and plays and playlets, interspersed with novellas and two-hander sketches. I write histories and biographies and introductions to the difficulties of modern science and cook books and books about the Loch Ness monster and travel books, mostly about East Grinstead….I write children’s books and school textbooks and works of abstruse philosophy…and scholarly articles on the Etruscans and works of sociology and anthropology. I write articles for the women’s page and send in stories about the most unforgettable characters I have ever met to Reader’s Digest….I write romantic novels under a female pseudonym and detective stories…I write traffic signs and “this side up” instructions for cardboard boxes. I believe I am really a writer.

That’s how I felt at the beginning, though I quickly began to specialize in full-length thrillers. Even so, I love to write. Novels, novellas, novelettes, short stories, flash fiction, micro fiction. I’ve written a lot of nonfiction on the craft, starting with Writer’s Digest and moving from there to Writer’s Digest Books, to a spot on TKZ, and by publishing indie books on several aspects.

And still I want to write more. There’s a kind of nonfiction piece that’s not easy to categorize, and as far as I know only two collections of such exist: Obituaries by William Saroyan, and Some People Are Dead by yours truly. You might call them Eclectic Musings, or Eccentric Escapades. But I’m calling them Whimsical Wanderings—Reflections From the Fringes of Normalcy. They are riffs that follow a random thought through a mind maze and into an unanticipated point.

You will find this on my Substack, and I’d like to invite you to join. Just type in your email and you’ll get it spam and ad free. For a paid subscription there’s extra content and a podcast, too. (Yes, podcast. Gilstrap isn’t the only one around here with a mellifluous voice!)

The purpose of all this is to provide a lift in the middle of your week, an oasis away from all the ranting and raving and name calling and general hooting.

So yes, I finally believe I am a writer.

Comments welcome.

23 thoughts on “When Can You Call Yourself a Writer?”

  1. In case anyone forgot to spring forward, happy daylight savings.

    Writing is a never-ending apprenticeship. There is no single magic moment when you step onstage and the dean bestows a diploma that proclaims you’re a “writer.”

    Over on the Authors Guild discussion thread, there’s been recent discussion about “imposter syndrome” which many writers experience. Even after multiple publications, some still don’t feel worthy to call themselves “writer.” That feeling seems to go hand in hand with a creative mind b/c artists, musicians, actors, dancers, etc. often share the sense of inadequacy.

    So what if your name isn’t as recognizable as James Patterson. Neither are 99.99% of writers.

    Sometimes it feels like going to a meeting, raising a hand, and announcing, “Hi, I’m Debbie and I’m a writer.”

    “Hi, Debbie.”

    If ya write, you’re a writer.

  2. Good morning, Author/Writer JSB. And Happy Lost Hour of Sleep Day.

    I would pretty much copy and paste Debbie’s comment, with one additional thought that will make me a target of slings and arrows: I find it interesting how writing is the one profession where there is so much “sense of inadequacy,” as Debbie described so well. I recently read Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird. Her chapter on Publication showed that so clearly.

    In almost all other professions, it doesn’t matter whether the occupation is full time, part time, or only pursued nine months out of the year (teachers), the professional identifies themselves as being of that occupation.

    In medicine, doctors “practice” medicine. Maybe we writers/authors should proclaim “we practice writing.”

  3. To quote Throw Momma From the Train, “Writers write.” If you write, you’re a writer. That said, I lacked self-confidence for years as a writer, and struggling for a long time. Stepping on the path of writing craft at Willamette Writers conference in August 2008, followed by an epic eight-week class, “Become Your Own Story Doctor,” Writing craft helped my writing and it helped my confidence over time.

    Practicing writing with craft in mind when preparing and when revising, made me a far better writer. It’s a never ending process. Being a writer is like being athlete, there’s always another challenge.

    Debbie’s spot-on about lack of name recognition for most of us. However, all of us that write are writers, regardless of how well known we are.

  4. Good morning, Jim, and thanks for the mention.

    I used to have trouble calling myself a runner, but some years ago I calculated I had run more than 10,000 miles and was still moving forward, so I figured I had earned the title.

    I think the same is true with writing. The more hours I put in honing my craft, the more comfortable I feel calling myself a writer. At this point, I calculate I’ve put in more than 10,000 hours in this business, so I’m going to buy myself a mug and get back to work. 🙂

  5. I didn’t have a problem with calling myself a writer. “Author” took me years (and several publishing contracts) to spit out. I still prefer crime writer. Fits better with thrillers and true crime.

  6. “If you write, you’re a writer.”

    I dunno. If I light firecrackers, am I a demolition man?

    Seems to me there has to be more to this formulation….like a readership. Elmore Leonard wrote for an hour a day before going in to work as an ad man. He didn’t self ID as a writer until he was able to quit Madison Ave.

    If you’re writing in order to get better so you can publish and have readers, with an eye toward continuing production, that seems a fair minimum.

  7. A very dear friend of mine, long retired, holds writers in what I believe is unreasonably high regard. She buys into the romance and mystique of what Being A Writer portrayed to be. It’s humbling, but it also makes me a bit uncomfortable because I know the reality of what it takes to churn out books. It’s better than any factory job I’ve had, but it’s a far cry from the way it’s portrayed in the movies–both on the good side and the bad.

    A couple of years ago, this very dear friend sat down and pounded out 85,000 words of a story she’d been carrying in her heart and her head for years. It’s nowhere near ready for prime time, but it exits, and one of the first things she did was have a stack of business cards printed up with her name atop the word, “Author”. It made her feel good after the achievement of a lifelong dream and I say bravo!

  8. Good points, Jim.

    In other professions, there are steps and titles, based on training, before becoming a (fill in the title of the profession). Student, clerk, apprentice, intern/resident, etc. before “becoming” the real thing. Maybe some official writer’s group should prescribe a course of self-study, a written final exam, and an essay, before the trainee is awarded the coveted CRW – certified real writer.

    I have read that MFA graduates are often prepared to write basically short stories. Do we need a course to become a CRW?

  9. It took a long time for me to ever get comfortable with calling myself an author. After winning two awards, it got easier.

  10. I started writing short stories when I was a eight years old. When I won a few awards I told myself – Jill, you’re a writer and when you grow up you’ll be an even bigger writer. Strange story – when I was 15, I was homeless. One day a madam walked up to me, trying to recruit me to be one of her “girls.” I told her – I’m no hooker. I’m gonna be a big time writer. As she laughed, she replied – You’re a long way from the Wall Street Journal. (We were in Orlando, FL). Funny, to me now looking back. Homeless, 15, and I still declared myself a writer. That’s all I ever thought about even after I got off the streets.

    In college, I was a writer (reporter) for the Wall Street Journal. I wished I could have let that madam know that. LOL. Later I moved on to become a screenwriter. I sold two scripts. Now I’m an award winning filmmaker, who writes, directs and produces my films. So, yes, I’ve always told myself I was a writer. Currently, I’m writing my first crime thriller novel – Shadows of Love, Betrayal & Murder.

  11. The tag “Writer” is a little too flaccid for me. Too broad and vague. I mean, everyone writes, right?

    When I decided to create books, my goal was to become “the author of.” I figured that if I was The Author Of something, then I would gain credibility and it would lead to bigger things. Which it certainly did. After attracting a publisher and finishing my nonfiction book “Mastering Digital Printing” back in 2003, I secured a HUGE consulting contract with the fourth-largest company in the world. Goal achieved. Check.

    Then I turned my focus to fiction. I mean, how hard can it be, eh? Well, pretty darn hard, it turns out. But I stuck with it and eventually—using the Indie Self-Pub route—authored and published 5 novels (and am about to release #6). Goal achieved. Check.

    So what tag do I use now after my name? I currently like: Author/Publisher. It suits my “packaging” mindset since I also like to design my own covers, do promos, and all the rest. I’m a writer, sure. But also more.

  12. I’m a writer, and I’m lucky enough to get paid for it. That’s not the only criteria to be a writer. Emily Dickinson was a writer but very few of her poems were published during her lifetime.

  13. Writers write. Authors publish.

    Try telling someone you write romance and watch the looks on people’s faces. Not pretty. It was the rare person I couldn’t beat into submission with my enthusiasm, my knowledge of literature, and, worst case, my education. “When I was working on my doctorate in literature at Duke” will humble most jerks. I never mentioned I didn’t finish the degree.

  14. I write fanfiction, and I still feel compelled to immediately add, “but only action-adventure, no weird sex in any of it.” So that’s where I am.

    No, I don’t tell anyone I’m a writer. As far as anyone knows, I’m a vet tech. Do you need to have written and published original fiction to call yourself a writer? Because I feel the common expectation is that what you *are* is identical with what you *do to earn a living.*

  15. I began considering myself a writer when I received checks for published magazine articles. However, I don’t describe myself to others as a writer because I think it will be assumed that it’s my full-time job.

  17. Met a couple at the bar last night, and when the subject of me being a ‘writer’ came up, her first question was “Are you published?”
    I said yes, gave her one of my cards, and she looked me up.
    So, for that sample of one, being a writer means being published.
    (BTW – after some major SNAFUS with the airline, I’m in New Zealand and a day ahead of most of you, so forgive my lack of participation. Internet access isn’t going to be 24/7. Will be on the road a lot.

  18. I had never thought about being a writer–I was a reader…but when the bug bit, I somehow knew I would one day be published. And, since I’ve always had too much self-confidence, I had no problem calling myself a writer after I wrote my first short story.

    It was many, many years before my first novel was published, but since then, Ive been living my dream.

  19. I considered myself a “writer” when I got paid for something I had published. What convinced me that I could possibly pursue writing was comments from total strangers saying they liked what I wrote (on some free sites).

    I’ve faced derision because I’ve started out writing Romance Short Stories. I chose to go that direction because the avenues in learning the writing craft through magazine submissions are no longer viable, so my feedback to improve my craft has come through finding out what sells.

    I’m OK with others not considering me a true “writer” because I’m just starting out and am regularly making grocery money every month which many can’t claim. My goal is to become a “pulp” writer like the Lester Dent type’s before me have been. I don’t care if I’m not considered a “true” writer by some, I’ll just laugh at them on the way to the bank.

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