What is a writer?

I'm a writer but not an author.

Unless other people are offering to pay you, it isnt really their business to comment on whether you make money or not.

I'm also a mother, and a registered carer for my son; I dont get paid for either. It's still what I do with my time (along with writing).

You are an unpublished writer. Writer suffices. Published writer = author and/or writer.

Yes. I am an economist, where I get money from, and I am a writer too in my free time. My passion has always been writing. As long as I am writing and people read and like it, the fact that I am not making money for it doesn't matter.

A guy who types.

caw

You could use the terms amateur and professional. One is a hobbyist or not yet paid, the other is paid.

Alternatively, as others have said, writer and author.

I tend to dislike answering such simple questions in a straightforward way, because they are far too open to interpretation.

Clifford Simak kept his dayjob forever, and during that time he became just as legendary as Zelazny or Dick, in his field. So, even keeping it as a side thing forever doesn't make one less of a writer, if one is an actual writer.

"What is a writer but a miserable little pile of plot threads. But enough talk...have at you!"

-Dracula, addressing Bran Stoker

Writing your thoughts out on paper is watsup! It doesnt matter what u write, if u do it consistently then i welcome you into the writers club!

aguywhotypes said:

I read a lot of "you're a writer if you write"

I want to believe that but when people ask you what you do aren't they applying what you do that you get paid for?

Therefore isn't a "real" writer a writer who makes money writing?

I'm so embarrassed to tell people when they ask me what I do to say that I'm a writer.
I guess technically I am since I do write but I don't make a penny from it. Hopefully some
day but realistically I think that day to be far away.

Have any of you when asked what you do respond with "I'm a writer" when you don't get paid for it?

Click to expand...

I've also read that there's a distinction between a writer and an author (a paid writer). There are all sorts of ways to rearrange these labels.

Though the 'what do you do?' question irks me as much as the next person, how we make a living is a big part of how we identify ourselves. It's societal. It's often the first or second question we ask one another. I know I do. It's just habit. (Interestingly, while living in a small town, I took my son to the playground. A woman there began our conversation with, "So, what church do you belong to?" Um....

My wife and I always joke about how to most easily answer that question since we do various things to pay the bills, and each of them seems to require a lot of explanation. Annoying, yes, but it acts as a conversation starter. I sometimes respond with, "Do you mean what do I do to make money, or what do I do for fun?" This usually breaks the ice and makes people relax.

It might be useful to put ourselves in someone else's shoes. Writers aren't the only ones who struggle with that question. I see a lot of people hem and haw over it. For instance, does someone who bikes for enjoyment but works as an attorney answer, "I'm a cyclist"? Does someone with a science degree who works as a cashier answer with, "I'm a scientist"? Does a guitarist who makes no money from playing guitar answer, "I'm a guitarist"?

However you look at it, it's an interesting look into social norms!

There may be a lot of different ways to define being a writer, but I'd bet they all involve something like this as the ultimate goal (this might be my new favorite video ever):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vApR1OKF2Ao

(Kim Chance finds her own book at B&N)

When someone asks me 'what do you do?' I say, 'as little as possible'. That usually takes care of that conversation.

I guess this question also relates to what KIND of writer you'd like to be. In the strictest definition of the word, I've definitely been a writer. I've had my work appear in magazines, both as articles and fiction, in advertising, on television, on a bunch of different websites, and even in comics and educational books for children, and been paid every single time. No bouncing checks. What I'm NOT, however, is a novelist, and that's the one I've been chasing for years.

aguywhotypes said:

I'm so embarrassed to tell people when they ask me what I do to say that I'm a writer.
I guess technically I am since I do write but I don't make a penny from it. Hopefully some
day but realistically I think that day to be far away.

Click to expand...

Ever made any investments? Whether you benefited from them or not, you're still an "investor". Just sayin'.

Was Van Gogh not an artist because he barely sold any paintings while he was still alive? I think you'd be branded a heretic if you tried to claim that Van Gogh wasn't an artist.

You're still a writer if you don't get paid (yet). You're still a writer if you have no intention of ever selling your work. You can qualify it with "unpublished" in front of it, or "amateur" (but I'd only use amateur if you're not intending on trying to make money out of writing, but that's just me) or say you're a "writer with a day job".

When people ask me what I do, I'll usually say "I work for (company name)" or "I work for (company name) and do creative writing in my spare time" - that's my serious answer, my less serious answer is "I correct the maths of financial advisors" because that's what my day job amounts to (assessing mortgage applications, including checking that the income declared matches the documents provided). If someone says "are you a writer?" my answer is "yes". I'm still a writer regardless of the day job. I usually specify "creative writing" rather than just "writing" because there are many different kinds of writing. Or I just like to emphasise the creative aspect of it.