At what point did you realize you were a writer?

when groupies started asking me to autograph their breasts.....



honestly I'm not sure....I sold a few small things to small mags some time ago, and that was nice, but I set the bar at "commercial"...at least a couple higher-tier mags than I'd gotten in. Then, I did a novel. Not a great one, but I finished one. And nearly another....I think the first time I REALLY thought I'd "made it" was actually from some of the stuff in QLH, and re-writing mockups of other people's queries

Hmm. I'm not, at least not as a primary identity--and probably never will be.

I really felt like a writer when I became a reporter. It's not necessarily the same "I'm a writer"-ish feeling as writing a novel, but I was getting paid to write (even if it was crap.) I even had my own column. So, yeah, it was then. Then the paper went under and I went back to being not a writer anymore, haha.

veinglory said:

Hmm. I'm not, at least not as a primary identity--and probably never will be.

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veinglory has a point I missed. how are you using "writer"?



I consider myself a writer in that I can write competently....just like I am a cook, skiier, etc. But in terms of an actual title, when I can reliably sell books at a meaningful portion of my income....and even then, more in my head, as I doubt I would start telling friends and neighbors what I did on my computer. If they caught me downstairs, hunched over a monitor, I"d probably tell them I was doing something that carried less of a stigma, like watching porn ;-)

I started writing, to write novels. So it's hard to really say when.

I think it was 3 years ago when I would come home from school and just write until I hit the sack.

quicklime said:

If they caught me downstairs, hunched over a monitor, I"d probably tell them I was doing something that carried less of a stigma, like watching porn ;-)

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Yup. Used this excuse more than once.

A writer (has happened) - when I finished a number of works and started subbing

An author (hasn't happened) - when I have a decent back catalog of ebooks built up, an agent, and and big 6 book contract. And then I'll only be completely satisfied when I can support myself on books alone.

Probably if I could support myself with e book earnings I would consider myself an author, but it's a major life goal to sign with an agent and one of the big 6.

When I stopped programming and started writing creative stories

GFanthome said:

Quicklime, I'm leaving this completely open to interpretation as I'd like to see if people see Writer and Author as the same thing.

Your comment about "making it" wasn't something I thought about myself when I posed this question. To me, that would be a completely different question... or would it?

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well, it depends. as I said, a writer as in "a guy who writes, competently" is not the same as say a lawyer, where you either do it for a living or do not. A guy who is good at arguing and well-versed legally doesn't get to be a lawyer by any definition, but a guy who writes can argue he's a writer. So Amrose split the difference in a way, by defining writer and author differently. That's sort of where I'm coming from. I write, and I like to think I write well, but I don't think of myself as a writer any more than I think of myself as a cook or brewer, because I do those fairly well too, but not professionally and not as something I stake my primary identity on.

When a stranger on an airplane asked "what do you do?" and I said, without thinking it through, "I'm a writer." I quit saying that soon thereafter, but it must have been just after the moment my self-concept switched over.

Fifth grade, when I completed my first official short story, I became a writer. I've written all my life since then and have thought of myself as a writer, with intervals in which I thought of myself as an illustrator and writer. But writing has always won out.

Just recently I was filling out some form and so wanted to write "novelist" under "Occupation." But then I thought I'd save that big moment until the ink on the contract was dry.

I had a pretty good inkling I was a writer/author in high school. Definitely in 2004, when I started really trying to learn and polish my writing.

When the check for my first short story came in the mail. I looked at it, realized it was for more money than my day job paid in a month, and went upstairs to tell my wife I was quitting my day job.

When I realized I was too old to be a rock star.

Can't say as I've ever thought about it. I just do what I do - always have. It's sort of like breathing. You don't think about it, you just do it to sustain life. It's an autonomic response to being alive.

quicklime said:

veinglory has a point I missed. how are you using "writer"?

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I think people use "writer" as an identity word.

I cook but I am not a "cook". I write but I don't choose to think of myself as a writer. It is not my primary activity or profession so i don't use it as an identity label.

If I made an identity word list based on subjective importance it might or might not make the top ten.

If i "am" anything I do, I am hundreds of things from a dancer to am orator. I prefer to just not bother with that.

When I realized I was miserable without it.

I still don't tell people I'm a writer, though, not until I actually have something published.

veinglory said:

I think people use "writer" as an identity word.

I cook but I am not a "cook". I write but I don't choose to think of myself as a writer. It is not my primary activity or profession so i don't use it as an identity label.

If I made an identity word list based on subjective importance it might or might not make the top ten.

If i "am" anything I do, I am hundreds of things from a dancer to am orator. I prefer to just not bother with that.

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Just because I do things other than write, as long as writing is something I take seriously and put continuous effort into, I have no problem calling myself that. I'm also a musician, and at times have been a waiter, a business professional, and a butler. I agree, most people, no matter what they do, should not be defined by a single activity but if someone asks, I will define myself in order of importance, writing being just under "Dad" at the top of the list.

rwm4768 said:

I still don't tell people I'm a writer, though, not until I actually have something published.

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This is how I feel all the time. Though my family urges me to tell people that I'm a writer after someone asks "so, what do you do?", I can never bring myself to actually say it. I do consider myself a writer - and have since I completed my second novel. But until I'm published, it feels kind of awkward saying it out loud.

I saw myself as a true writer after selling a couple short pieces to Amazing Stories. Those were my first pro rates.

tri

When an editor asked me for more. And when I started subbing

I'll let you know when I do.

Sometimes I consider myself an aspiring writer , but more often I just say I enjoy writing. I won't be able to really consider myself a writer until I see my book(s) sitting on a shelf at Barnes and Noble. More than likely, I'll just always be an enthusiast, never an offical writer.