TO BE OR NOT TO BE... A "WRITER"?

So, you're not a bestselling novelist, you're not even published, can you still you call yourself a writer?

Oh to be a wordsmith!

What's the difference between a writer and someone who writes? Most of us write - whether it's thank you cards or post-it notes, so at what point can you call yourself a "writer"?

Some careers are earned with a lanyard, but writers are often asked what exactly makes them a writer, especially if they're not a published novelist, let alone a best-selling novelist. Well...

Writers write, right?

Writer's write. And writers come in many forms: travel bloggers, ghostwriters, speech writers, copywriters, rappers, chefs, anthropologists, romantics, celebrities, teachers, translators, etc. It doesn't look like one thing.

You're not making any money, can you be a writer?

There are no hard and fast rules, though some will try to tell you that there are. Many writers write for a long time before seeing financial reward, if any, and many (if not most) writers struggle to live off writing alone. Equally, there are many professionals paid to write who do not identify as writers.

For some writing pays the bills, for others it is an escape from paying the bills. But for many, it's a vocation that blurs these lines. Writing is a practice and being a writer, in many ways, is a choice. So are you a writer?

You're not published, can you still be a writer?

Take away the money component and some will lead you to believe being a writer is about being published or public acclaim, however this fails to empower the many writers who write for themselves or who share their work in alternative ways, such as spoken word artists, BookTokkers, bloggers and community writers.

Traditional publication routes are not the be all and end all of what it means to be a writer. If you're writing, you can call yourself a writer if you wish. Sometimes you just need to own it and embody it and ultimately manifest it, fake it 'til you make it style. Even if you're not published, even if you haven't shared your stuff with anyone and even if you never intend to. Who's to tell you otherwise?

Is there a difference between a writing career and a writing hobby?

Sure, but it can also be both! There's no simple answer because writing can take so many forms and these forms can mean different things to different individuals.

We use the term writer to describe both a hobbyist and a professional because writing is an art, writing is culture and these are both separate and inextricably linked to the idea of "work". Humans will create art regardless, and whilst that art can also be rewarded, through acclaim, through discussion and praise, and through a paycheque if you're lucky, art will exist either way.

What kind of writer am I?

I write poetry and fiction, in the form of short stories and novels. I also help other writers write and I help non-writers write. I have always been a writer in my own eyes, but this was often questioned as I navigated moving on from writing birthday card poetry for my friends, to becoming school poet laureate, and later to writing articles and blog posts for work. To the publishing world, here I come.

What kind of writer can you be?

Pick up a pen (or a laptop) and find out. We are all stories in the making. We are observers and twisters and the creators of even more stories. Storytelling can take many forms so enjoy experimenting with what makes you and/or your readers/listeners/audiences tick!

In the end, nobody can define exactly what a writer is or what it is to you. Nobody can define you. So, I say, you choose! For myself, I'm not sure where or when my writing as a hobby became my writing as a career, but I choose to be writer, in every sense of the word, and therefore I am.