WARNING:  This post is more about questions than answers. So be prepared to be confused or if you’re not confused, then be prepared to leave comments so I can become unconfused!

To borrow the format of an old old song, how many words must a writer write before he/she becomes a writer? That is the question of the day.

Last year, my fourth book released (PURSUED, www.whiterosepublishing.com) and am only beginning to  look people in the eye and say, “I’m a writer.”

This is my first book published by a “traditional” publishing company. I self-published my first book, then had two published by a POD publisher. For me, I didn’t feel like I was a writer until I’d been validated by a traditional publisher, but that’s just me.

I know there are plenty of writers out there who haven’t even completed a book but they have no problem telling others they are a writer. And far be it from me to disagree with them.

Does a person become a writer as soon as they decide to become a writer? After they’ve written the first word, first paragraph, or finished their first book? Maybe, they don’t become a “real writer” until they’ve published a book?

Mmm. That could be a good definition. A person becomes a writer after they’ve published a book. Really?

I wrote for at least eight years before my first book was published. I wrote faithfully day after day, before work, after work, on weekends and holidays. Didn’t that make me a writer? And yet, at the time I didn’t feel like I could tell people I was a writer. Crazy, huh?

Let’s see what the dictionary says. Dictionary.com says an author is a person who writes a novel, a poem, or other written work.  Another definition is the maker of anything, the creator of anything.  Mmm.

I don’t see anything in the definition that you are only an author if your writing makes money, or if your book becomes a bestseller, or if everyone knows your name, or even if a publisher decides you are a writer.

Gosh, I guess I was a writer all along and just didn’t know it. To learn more about Lillian and her writing visit: www.lillianduncan.net

What’s your opinion? When does a person become a writer?

God Bless and Good Reading! Lil

BIO:

Lillian Duncan is a book lover as both a reader and a writer. Her tagline on her website (www.lillianduncan.net) says it all STORIES OF FAITH MINGLED WITH MURDER AND MAYHEM.  Tired of having to skip over all the four letter words and explicit sex scenes, she started writing the type of books she loved to read—suspense with a touch of romance.

To learn more about Lillian and her books, visit: www.lillianduncan.net.  She has a devotional blog at: www.PowerUpWithGod.com  Her most recent releases are PURSUED (White Rose Publishing) and DECEPTION (Harbourlight Books).

BOOK BLURB:

DECEPTION: 

Twins are supposed to have an unbreakable bond, but Patti and Jamie have serious “relationship issues.” Patti hasn’t seen Jamie since her twin ruined her upcoming nuptials years before. When a niece she knows nothing about calls, Patti must unravel the yarn of Jamie’s life and her disappearance.

Detective Carter Caldwell takes his job seriously, and it's his job to keep Patti and her adorable niece safe. But Patti is determined to help find her sister. Each step brings her closer to the truth, but pulls her further into a web of danger and deception.

Together, they must find the courage and faith to continue the search for her sister. Her journey will take her down a road of deception where they will have to fight for her life and the lives of countless Americans.