Can You Say You're a Writer If You Don't Make Money From Writing?
A question I don't know how to answer
“If you want to be a writer, you have to write.” Okay, that’s clear. “If you write, you’re a writer.” Hmm, I’m not 100% sure about that.
The definition of ‘writer’ is a person whose job is writing books, stories, articles, etc. Stephen King, J.K Rowling, journalists, (paid) bloggers, ghostwriters and copywriters — these are all writers because they get paid for their writing. Money is indeed in the definition of the term. So when I hear, “If you write, you’re a writer,” I never know what to think.
Once my cousin said that being a writer isn’t necessarily a profession. A writer is a person who writes to think. To him, if you use writing to make sense of life, you’re a writer.
So I’m wondering: can you say you’re a writer if writing isn’t your main source of income?
I’m asking a genuine question. Please feel free to email me to let me know your thoughts.
