28 Comments on When do you become a writer?

Flugel Meister on Feb 17, 2010 at 10:27am



As my full-time occupation involves nothing to do with writing it does seem a little odd to even contemplate the title of being a writer. Of course, if I had any published work then I’d be only too happy to apply that as my occupation. So I suppose I’m a “writer in training” at the moment.

On a side note, to improve my chances, are there any helpful resources for creating a writing portfolio?

Jesse on Feb 17, 2010 at 11:59am



I like the title ‘Writer In Training’ – exactly where I am at the moment.

Paul Lamb on Feb 17, 2010 at 12:24pm



I don’t call myself a writer. I let other people call me that. I just write.

ricky martin on Feb 17, 2010 at 20:39pm



yes i know what you mean tricky question. Iam writing my first novel if someone said to me what do you do i would never say i am a writer i would feel embarassed.

Claire Fogg (Publisher, Yearbooks) on Feb 18, 2010 at 09:40am



Hi Flugel Meister, I just wanted to say that a writing portfolio isn’t something authors typically use. However, if you are a freelance, it can be a very good idea to set up a website with samples of work, so that prospective clients can find out about your writing style and experience at a glance. You can find out more about ‘Setting Up a Website’ in the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook. Hope that helps.

On another note, I’ve noticed that US publications typically refer to new writers as ‘emerging writers’ while UK ones tend to say ‘aspiring writers’. I rather like the confidence and commitment implicit in the former.

Bryan on Feb 18, 2010 at 15:04pm



I suppose you become a writer when you wish to put pen to paper, or even have the story in your head and deliver it orally.

I find most people who define themselves as writers, have done so because they have managed to tap into that universal environment we all share. We can transmit that successfully to those beyond our own circles then we have become a writer, I guess.

Not an easy question to answer.

mark lees on Feb 18, 2010 at 16:07pm



I think of myself as a writer although I have never been paid for my work. I have recently registered mysefl as self-employed as a writer (due to my partners income the fact I have recently, and belatedly, become a student I can live on no fixed income for a few years.)

I have done this to force me to start submitting work and get used to writing to deadlines. Before this year I had only put forward my writing to vanity publishing with no cash incentive.

Since I made the commitment to write professionally I have already submitted two pieces that may earn me a cash return, that is in little more than a month, and I have four or five other stories I am working on as well as planning a novel. Another benefit is that I have been forced to look for markets for my writing and have managed to find a number of websites and magazines that are potential purchasers.

I know I am not yet a professional writer, but I certainly feel I am a writer.

lil.miss.hc on Feb 18, 2010 at 17:44pm



*stands up* Hi, my name is Heather Christie and i’m a wannabe novelist/authoress (is that a word? If not, it should be!). Personally i wouldn’t define myself as a writer until i have successfully published a book and seen it in Waterstones. Until the moment i receive some money for my work then i class it as just a hobby. Just like i wouldn’t define myself as a runner because i like running, or a chef because i like cooking. But it’s up to you. If writing is your be all and end all then by all means define yourself as an writer. If you haven’t published yet, it’s a little dodgy, but call yourself whatever you feel comfortable with. It’s just another label.

Jessica Blake on Feb 19, 2010 at 12:39pm



In a class during my first year, we touched the topic of author and authority. The question was “Who is an author” and when we expanded it we thought about “what makes a person a writer”. The answer, I believe is in the end, always subjective.
My belief is backed up by the Rilke’s first letter from “Letters to a young poet” – he said that if you wake up and feel that writing is what you should do, it is. And if you fall asleep with nothing but writing in your heart, then you should write.
That is how I feel and I write. That makes me a writer. I might never publish anything, but my stories, my ideas and every sentence I write comes from that abysmally deep place inside of me and when I die, god knows what will write on my tombstone, but everyone who knows me will know that deep in my heart, I was a writer.
But as I said, the answer to this question is always subjective.
All best,
Jessica

Fran on Feb 19, 2010 at 22:52pm



I like the ‘Writer In Training’ title, especially its acronym.

Paul Lamb on Feb 20, 2010 at 12:12pm



Really, it’s a pointless title. It speaks of an insecurity that merely gets in the way of the job that must be done. Write. Simply write. Let others, mere mortals, deal in titles.

Dave Felton on Feb 20, 2010 at 18:22pm



When I started out, I joked about being a “wannabe” writer. Since that time some of my work has been published and still I leave the “wannabe” monicker up.

When I land the first novel contract I will take it down…maybe.

To be serious for a second: A writer is someone who writes, end of.

Shankut on Feb 21, 2010 at 10:25am



Hi everyone,
When do you become a writer? In my book everyone who dares to put words on paper and persistantly does so is a writer. As far as publishing is concern, publisher on publish your writings if it is marketable. If it is not marketable then can it be construed to be none writeable material, does it mean that you are not a writer.

No sir, it means the publisher can’t make profit out of your brilliant masterpiece hence you remain un published, unestablished writer. Catch 22 dilema. Well I think if you have a manuscript which is brilliant then it will creat a market and suddenly you are a marketable commodity, “wow” an established writer/author. This takes us to a level where as a writer we write to please ourself and remain unpublished and then we also write for market so to earn bread and butter an be awarded as an established, published writer/author. Eitherway you are a writer as long as your inner well profoundly keeps on bringing the bucketful of ideas to write. Write, write and write, that is the way to become a writer. Don’t talk, JUST WRITE. That is what I think makes you a writer.

M T McGuire on Feb 21, 2010 at 21:35pm



I’ve avoided this whole question by calling myself an author… it has an old world charm about it and that slight removal makes me feel a bit less of a charlatan than if I used the W word before being sure in my own mind that I am worthy of it.

That said, I’m not a writer, I am not an artist, I am not a parent… I do those things but, actually, I’m just M T McGuire… who happens to write… and take writing VERY seriously.

Cheers

MTM

CatherineGreen on Feb 22, 2010 at 20:36pm



I consider myself a writer although I’ve only put pen to paper (and fingers to keys) during the last four months! I do have some published work on a freelance website and YouPublish so yes, I am a writer and proud of it! For me it was a lack of confidence that held me back but I feel so much better for finally getting my stories out of my head, it’s a lot clearer in there now!

Garry Scobie on Feb 23, 2010 at 17:10pm



I play gyuitar and consider myself as a musician though I make my living in IT. I have written my first novel and I am preparing my submission to see where it takes me. Therefore I am also a writer. The fact I do not have a recording contract does not dimish my skills as a musician. The fact I do not have a publisher does not diminish what I write. I may put it up on the web for free download. I’m still a writer.

Lorraine J on Feb 25, 2010 at 14:53pm



In my opinion surely anybody who follows that inexplicable urge to put thoughts onto paper can classify themselves as a writer?
If anyone asks I tell them I’m a groom and a writer – most people are more interested in the former, I am more interested in the latter.

Martha on Feb 26, 2010 at 12:31pm



Writing? Writer.

tangellion on Feb 26, 2010 at 19:35pm



If someone asked me what I do and I felt like being pedantic (as I often do) I would say I sleep a lot, watch tv, go to work, walk the dog, write a bit and numerous other activities, what do you do? At which point they would say I was only asking. What they should have asked is ‘what do you do for a living?” The answer is then more obvious because it narrows down the options to the one which provides you with an income sufficient to meet you everyday needs. Nuff said?

Esther Sabedra on Mar 10, 2010 at 01:08am



I’ve been fascinated with the art of writing ever since my early chilhood years….& now 40 plus years later I am still going strong. I’ve always been a writer. It’s my connection to my source. It’s a sacred place within my being in which I cherish most deeply. I use this lifegiving gift to extract lots of different & beautiful ways with words to express what my spirit wishes to communicate to me, & eventually reaches the mind & spirit of a reader.

Tom Colohue on Mar 13, 2010 at 10:55am



I have firmly believed in the writer title since my first paid professional publication over a year ago now. Admittedly; I haven’t actually advanced too far since then, but I like to think that I’m reputation building in the mean time.

I’ll follow this I think.

Ramsgatered on Mar 15, 2010 at 13:02pm



I suspect the truth is you are generally considered a writer when you earn money for the work. I don’t approve of this but this is how most people rate any creative endeavour (same with painters/musicians etc.). I didn’t call myself a writer until I started doing journalism/commercial writing – but then I had to calm down everyone’s expectations and say “No – just financial stuff.” Nevertheless, it gave me additional confidence – much needed!

sarhad12 on Mar 16, 2010 at 01:14am



I started writing lately and the good thing is from being novice I’m at the level where I can show people my work, all I need is an agent or someone to take my work forward as Im not really expert in this field.

I believe in my self and the confidence is very hight I think that one day there will be film made on the story I write…….. thats how confident I’am if anyone intrested in looking at someof my work just letme now….

roseybo on Mar 16, 2010 at 12:19pm



We are all writers! Writers of our own fate and fortune in many ways. But chosing to share this process by crystallising our thoughts and feelings – however, or for whomever we translate them – is but one way in which we chose to have a hand in it.

If you feel that you’re a writer, then it is written.

mhpierre on Mar 16, 2010 at 13:52pm



I agree that we are all writers in the sense that we create our own world but we need to put things down on paper…

Write if it makes you feel good and call yourself a writer if you want to. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Louisiana Rose on Mar 26, 2010 at 17:31pm



I am a writer, it is the be all and end all of my life, it is my raison d’etre, it is the innermost workings of my soul, almost everything I write comes from personal experience of one kind or another.
I may never become a published writer although I have certainly posted almost everything I have ever written on forums that I am a member of, but that is of no matter to me, I could no more stop writing, than stop breathing, my work writes itself, my hands are simply the medium by which it is able to put the words on the computer.
If I never published any of my work it would not make me any less a writer

Sanjev Khanna on Apr 19, 2010 at 18:54pm



I believe am a writer still in making.

I know a better/cameo answer to the question. The Great Indian Writer R K Narayan wrote in his autobiography My Days, “the moment you start writing you become a writer.”

Xean Puccio on Apr 20, 2010 at 14:45pm



One isn’t a writer simply because they send holiday cards every year to their friends and relatives although I’ll admit, some of those people do write very well. When we seek to do it to create works in writing fields; that’s when I believe the writer title is applicable. Incidentally Sanjev, isn’t that the Narayan who translated the Ramayana? It was one of the books my father used to read it to me as a child.