So I've been talking with a friend on twitter about the difference between a writer and an author. It started out as a simple enough tip: he suggested that I should take "aspiring" out of my profile, because if I write, then I'm a writer. I disagree.
Part of it goes back to what I said in this post about not being able to call myself a writer until I've finished the novel, and not being able to call myself an author until I'm published. But I realize now, that in my head, they're two different titles. It's like being called Staff versus Manager, or an Analyst versus Accountant. It's not necessarily hierarchical, and maybe it's pigeonholing, but to me they're entirely different animals (though not mutually exclusive).
In my opinion, being a writer means that you sit down and write pretty much every day. A writer may or may not share that work, but that's not the point. A writer actively writes, and that's a good thing, and a goal in and of itself. You can be a writer regardless of the style of writing (it could be poetry, news articles, corporate brochures, or advertisements), and you don't have to make money doing it. It could be hobby or something you do sitting on a train (which is how I got started). The point is the writing, and going back to my old post again, finishing what you start, even if you don't share it.
An author, however, is someone who writes book-length work and shares that work broadly, generally with the intent to earn money on it, even if it doesn't pay all of the bills. I don't think a copywriter is an author, but both are writers. Similarly, I wouldn't call a journalist an author, but they write too. To me it's a title, and one that's earned through publication, be it traditional or self-publishing.
I am a writer, but I aspire to be an author. It's the next step in my writing career, and that's precisely how I look at my writing: as a career. I enjoy it immensely, and there's a strong possibility that I'll never get rich or famous from it, but being an author is still a career goal.
I don't want to demean anyone who calls themselves purely a writer. Being a writer is a self-defining thing, and something to be admired. I just don't think that the two terms are synonymous.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Slowly but Surely, the Process Moves Forward
It's been a little while since I posted, so I think it's time to give an update on my progress, and the process I went through to get here.
2010 and Prior -Wrote the "Shitty First Draft" (SFD)
The SFD took me a long time, about two years. Of course, I was/am a new writer, still figuring everything out (I'd only seriously been writing for about a year prior to starting 'Pack'.) About six months (and 35,000 words) into the first version, I decided to rewrite everything. The premise was the same, but the cast and initial setup was completely different. The only character I kept was my protagonist, Laila. Even then, I didn't really know what I was doing, and kept going back and changing things around, so I chalk up most of the two years to newbie mistakes and the learning curve. The next one won't take nearly so long. I hope. :-)
January - SFD Complete
My first draft was not good. The basic concept was written, the characters were more-or-less developed, and the overall content was laid out, but it wasn't anywhere close to being published. Which was fine. It's accepted wisdom that the first draft should be shitty. The author needs to write the first draft as fast and as creatively as possible, without letting the internal critic slow the process down. The critic is allowed out to play during the editing process, and that's when you start to have a publishable story.
February/March - Prepared for Beta Readers
This was the first round of edits, and to be fair, I really went through the manuscript two or three times before I sent it out to anyone to read in full. (I'd asked for some feedback on certain sections, but ultimately I decided it wasn't worthwhile to share the novel in bits and pieces.) Even after the edits, the manuscript wasn't perfect. I knew it wasn't ready to go out into the world, but I wasn't able to see what needed to change. Luckily, that's what beta readers are for.
April - Break month.
I sent the complete manuscript to several people to read and give me feedback (my beta readers). These were people that I trusted to give honest, constructive criticism, and they did a great job for me. They all found aspects of the story that they liked, as well as things that needed to be fixed or changed to improve the clarity and cohesiveness of the story. In particular, I found out I'm not so good at the description. Which is great (okay, not great that I suck at providing enough setting and description, but great that now I know I suck at it, so I can pay more attention to it in the future, and fix my problems).
Meanwhile I took a break from 'Pack'. I worked on other things, most time-consuming of which was my day job (it was my busy season). But more importantly, I needed to put some distance between the manuscript and me. In order to see the flaws, I had to be able to read with fresh eyes, and a new perspective. I couldn't be so wrapped up in the story that I took all of the criticism personally.
May - Paper Review
First, I read through an unedited version of the manuscript, making my own edits on paper. I called this the Master Copy. Then I read through each beta reader's comments on their version of the paper copy, adding the changes and comments I agreed with to the Master Copy. Each beta got their own color of pen in the Master as well, so I could keep track of who said what. Have I mentioned before that I'm a bit of a Type A nerd? Anyway, I managed to get all of that done for all five copies of the manuscript, despite the fact that I was still swamped at work and busy with personal things on the weekends.
June (forecasted) - Finish Major Rewrites
My goal this month is to finish incorporating the written edits into the digital file, so that I have a completed work of fiction by July 1. I think it's doable, but I will have to knuckle down and work hard to get there. I need to add a couple of scenes, revise the ending, and generally make a lot of changes. But I really think it's coming along. Once the major rewrites are done, I'm going to send it to a couple more people to read, to see if it's (finally) ready to go out the door.
In the end, this has been a long and involved process. Now that I've gone through it (or will have gone through it soon) I'll do better on the next novel. I now know where I tend to get stuck, and what steps I'll have to go through to get it all finished. Plus, I'm a much better writer now than I was when I started, so the SFD should go faster next time.
I want to emphasize, however, that the writing process takes as long as it needs to take. I'm not going to rush through everything and send a piece of crap out into the world. If I need to go through another round of edits on 'Pack' to make the story sparkle, I will. Good things are worth waiting (and working) for.
2010 and Prior -Wrote the "Shitty First Draft" (SFD)
The SFD took me a long time, about two years. Of course, I was/am a new writer, still figuring everything out (I'd only seriously been writing for about a year prior to starting 'Pack'.) About six months (and 35,000 words) into the first version, I decided to rewrite everything. The premise was the same, but the cast and initial setup was completely different. The only character I kept was my protagonist, Laila. Even then, I didn't really know what I was doing, and kept going back and changing things around, so I chalk up most of the two years to newbie mistakes and the learning curve. The next one won't take nearly so long. I hope. :-)
January - SFD Complete
My first draft was not good. The basic concept was written, the characters were more-or-less developed, and the overall content was laid out, but it wasn't anywhere close to being published. Which was fine. It's accepted wisdom that the first draft should be shitty. The author needs to write the first draft as fast and as creatively as possible, without letting the internal critic slow the process down. The critic is allowed out to play during the editing process, and that's when you start to have a publishable story.
February/March - Prepared for Beta Readers
This was the first round of edits, and to be fair, I really went through the manuscript two or three times before I sent it out to anyone to read in full. (I'd asked for some feedback on certain sections, but ultimately I decided it wasn't worthwhile to share the novel in bits and pieces.) Even after the edits, the manuscript wasn't perfect. I knew it wasn't ready to go out into the world, but I wasn't able to see what needed to change. Luckily, that's what beta readers are for.
April - Break month.
I sent the complete manuscript to several people to read and give me feedback (my beta readers). These were people that I trusted to give honest, constructive criticism, and they did a great job for me. They all found aspects of the story that they liked, as well as things that needed to be fixed or changed to improve the clarity and cohesiveness of the story. In particular, I found out I'm not so good at the description. Which is great (okay, not great that I suck at providing enough setting and description, but great that now I know I suck at it, so I can pay more attention to it in the future, and fix my problems).
Meanwhile I took a break from 'Pack'. I worked on other things, most time-consuming of which was my day job (it was my busy season). But more importantly, I needed to put some distance between the manuscript and me. In order to see the flaws, I had to be able to read with fresh eyes, and a new perspective. I couldn't be so wrapped up in the story that I took all of the criticism personally.
May - Paper Review
First, I read through an unedited version of the manuscript, making my own edits on paper. I called this the Master Copy. Then I read through each beta reader's comments on their version of the paper copy, adding the changes and comments I agreed with to the Master Copy. Each beta got their own color of pen in the Master as well, so I could keep track of who said what. Have I mentioned before that I'm a bit of a Type A nerd? Anyway, I managed to get all of that done for all five copies of the manuscript, despite the fact that I was still swamped at work and busy with personal things on the weekends.
June (forecasted) - Finish Major Rewrites
My goal this month is to finish incorporating the written edits into the digital file, so that I have a completed work of fiction by July 1. I think it's doable, but I will have to knuckle down and work hard to get there. I need to add a couple of scenes, revise the ending, and generally make a lot of changes. But I really think it's coming along. Once the major rewrites are done, I'm going to send it to a couple more people to read, to see if it's (finally) ready to go out the door.
In the end, this has been a long and involved process. Now that I've gone through it (or will have gone through it soon) I'll do better on the next novel. I now know where I tend to get stuck, and what steps I'll have to go through to get it all finished. Plus, I'm a much better writer now than I was when I started, so the SFD should go faster next time.
I want to emphasize, however, that the writing process takes as long as it needs to take. I'm not going to rush through everything and send a piece of crap out into the world. If I need to go through another round of edits on 'Pack' to make the story sparkle, I will. Good things are worth waiting (and working) for.
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