To Be or Not to Be…A Writer

Do you consider yourself an aspiring writer or a writer? Why? What’s the difference in your definition of each?

Dreams

Let’s take the example of my six year old who will start off sentences like this: “When I grow up to be king….”

Notice how there’s no doubt. It’s going to happen. He doesn’t say, “Someday if I’m king,” or, “It sure would be nice if I could be king someday, but I can’t see that happening.”

Okay, granted the chances of him becoming a king are about as good as my dreams of becoming a princess when I was little.

Reality Check

But your dreams of becoming an author have a huge chance of success. It’s something that can be done more easily now than ever before.

Now with retailers such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Draft2Digital, and more, publication is at the fingertips of anyone with access to the internet. Since you’re reading this, that’s you.

Are you a writer?

• Do you write? (Even if no one else sees it.)

Congratulations, you’re a writer.

A writer…writes.

An aspiring writer thinks about writing. Wants to write. Doesn’t write.

It’s a mind-shift that makes all the difference

I remember when I started writing my first novel in April of 2012. I was excited, but I was also scared to tell anyone. Saying it out loud made it real and opened me up for ridicule.

The first time that I told someone, I was so nervous. My heart was pounding and when I told my friend, and I whispered it so quietly that I had to repeat myself.

But then after I said it…I felt liberated. I had actually told someone! Then I told someone else, followed by someone else. The reality eventually set in and before I knew it, I was looking for a cover artist and beta readers.

A funny thing about being a writer

When I published my first novel, Deception, I didn’t suddenly feel like a writer or an author. It was actually very anti-climactic.  Becoming a published writer was the culmination of many tiny steps along the way because I was a writer all along. Those tiny steps include:

• Choosing the idea for the story
• Writing the first words
• Reading books about writing fiction
• Telling others about my writing
• Going through the editing process
• Working with my graphic designer
• Learning to think of myself as a writer and author
• Creating a website and/or blog
• Finally, uploading the book to Amazon

Publishing your writing, whether a book or blog post, is really only one small step in the process of being a writer. It may actually be the smallest step, believe it or not. Everything else up to that point is a major milestone building up to the one push of a button.

Are you a writer?

Again, I ask if you’re a writer. If you are…tell someone. Start by leaving a comment! Tell me that you’re a writer. I want to hear from you!

Next, call your best friend or join a writing group. If you’re not sure where to start, check out my Writer’s Resources page. Check out the author interviews, one question that I ask authors is what advice they would give to aspiring authors. Most importantly, change your mindset!

I am participating in the ‘Writing Contest: You Are A Writer’ held by Positive Writer.