Quote:
Originally Posted by Catlady
Instead of criticizing my criterion, give me yours. Seriously, is it anyone who has ever put pen to paper, for any reason, anytime, anywhere?
If someone introduces himself as an author, what does that mean to you?
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I know that I call myself a singer/songwriter because I do that. I'm quite comfortable with the label even though I don't perform the task professionally.
However, I do get what you mean about the title of author. I am actually the author of many things. I've authored hundreds of professional documents which you could say are published within the confines of the organisation in which I've worked. These documents clearly label me as the author. I have my review site where I publish reviews of indie/self-pubbed ebooks. I was once author/maintainer of a user manual/guide for some music software. I've written two or three magazine articles for a UK music magazine. I've even had some poetry published (on a site that no longer exists). You could argue that the writing and publishing of professional documents (requirements documents, designs, deployment plans, discovery documents, support documents etc..) actually make me a professional author as I obviously derive an income from that activity. And yet, it has never occurred to me to identify myself as an author.
Of course, this isn't a proof of anything and probably says a lot more about me than about the correct use of the word. But it's interesting that I'm happy to use the terms "singer" and "songwriter" literally, but subconsciously narrow the definition of the term "author" - at least when applying it to myself.