MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - just because you have written a book does not make you an author

mcrow · 03-13-2014, 06:43 PM

I think there is a difference in grade in authors.

There are world famous authors.
There are regionally famous authors.
Authors who do well enough to make a living.
Authors who supplement their day job, with dreams of bigger things.
Authors who self-publish simply to say they make money writing (more of an ego thing)
Authors who write just for their own enjoyment.

All are authors but they are not the same thing.

Now Stephen King and Braine Keene are not the same sort of author. King makes a fortune is world famous, Keene makes a living but isn't rich and is sort of a cult following type of guy. Both are equally respectible authors, IMO.

Then you have self-published authors like Scott Nicholson and Blake Crouch who do very well selling their books and they are of good quality. Are they any less authors than Stepehen King? I don't think so, in fact, I've enjoyed some of their books more than some of King's books.

Of course, there are those people out there that just want to say "yeah, I wrote a book. Just go on amazon and search my name". They want more than anything to be accepted as an author. Then there are those that write just for fun, maybe for friends, maybe to add color to a roleplay game campaign. They are authors as well but not the same thing as Keene, King, Crouch or Nicholson.

1-There are authors (that's pretty much anyone who writes anything)

2-Semi-pro Authors (ones that write but have not achieved a level of success that gets published or doesn't make enough to live on)

3-Professional Authors (Ones that may make a living but are not rich from it, may still work another job as well)

4-World Famous Authors (We're talking about the ones that not only make a living but make a very good living and may even be rich on top of it)

I think most of the authors that hang out here are probably in the #1 or #2 group, maybe we have a couple that might fit into #3.

I really hate it whem people say self-published people are not real authors. Granted maybe the majority of self-published stuff isn't very good but there are also a lot who are very good as well. Still, there is a difference between me and Stephen King so you could say compared to King I am not a true author assuming he is the standard. However, I like to think that I'm a better writer than the average joe on the street so maybe compared to Joe I look like Stephen King?

It's all relative, I guess.

I don't call myself an author simply because as soon as you say that people ask how many books you have published or sold. If you don't have a good answer, you will be dismissed. So, I simply say I'm an author in the the works.

03-13-2014, 06:43 PM	#315
mcrow Zealot Posts: 145 Karma: 1486256 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: Kindle 4/Kindle Fire HD/Kindle Fire HDX 7"	I think there is a difference in grade in authors. There are world famous authors. There are regionally famous authors. Authors who do well enough to make a living. Authors who supplement their day job, with dreams of bigger things. Authors who self-publish simply to say they make money writing (more of an ego thing) Authors who write just for their own enjoyment. All are authors but they are not the same thing. Now Stephen King and Braine Keene are not the same sort of author. King makes a fortune is world famous, Keene makes a living but isn't rich and is sort of a cult following type of guy. Both are equally respectible authors, IMO. Then you have self-published authors like Scott Nicholson and Blake Crouch who do very well selling their books and they are of good quality. Are they any less authors than Stepehen King? I don't think so, in fact, I've enjoyed some of their books more than some of King's books. Of course, there are those people out there that just want to say "yeah, I wrote a book. Just go on amazon and search my name". They want more than anything to be accepted as an author. Then there are those that write just for fun, maybe for friends, maybe to add color to a roleplay game campaign. They are authors as well but not the same thing as Keene, King, Crouch or Nicholson. 1-There are authors (that's pretty much anyone who writes anything) 2-Semi-pro Authors (ones that write but have not achieved a level of success that gets published or doesn't make enough to live on) 3-Professional Authors (Ones that may make a living but are not rich from it, may still work another job as well) 4-World Famous Authors (We're talking about the ones that not only make a living but make a very good living and may even be rich on top of it) I think most of the authors that hang out here are probably in the #1 or #2 group, maybe we have a couple that might fit into #3. I really hate it whem people say self-published people are not real authors. Granted maybe the majority of self-published stuff isn't very good but there are also a lot who are very good as well. Still, there is a difference between me and Stephen King so you could say compared to King I am not a true author assuming he is the standard. However, I like to think that I'm a better writer than the average joe on the street so maybe compared to Joe I look like Stephen King? It's all relative, I guess. I don't call myself an author simply because as soon as you say that people ask how many books you have published or sold. If you don't have a good answer, you will be dismissed. So, I simply say I'm an author in the the works.