I’ve Got a Theory: What We Call Ourselves

I work at my kids’ school. When I first started a few years ago, I chatted with the principal about writing, and she told me about a couple teachers who also wrote. I already knew about one, but not the other. And she had even been my son’s teacher! I walked into the hall, saw her ahead, and raced up to her.

“Hey, I heard you’re a writer!” I said.

Had she a mouth full of soda, I’d have been wearing it. Since she didn’t, she mostly just choked on her own saliva.

“What?!” she spurted. “No! I mean, I like to write, but I’m not a writer.”

And that’s when I came up with my theory about the hierarchy of how we refer to ourselves.

Level 1: I like to write. This is where you discover that you really do like to create stories! For some people, it happens in kindergarten and never goes away. For others (like me), it might happen somewhere around the time your youngest child starts kindergarten. For others, it might happen when you have a grandkid start kindergarten. (There must be something magical about kindergarten....) This is the stage where you tell yourself and possibly the people close to you that you like to write, but you aren’t about to go around wearing your “I like to write!” pin.

Level 2: I am a writer. You reach this stage the moment you decide you want to take this hobby of yours to a professional level. The moment you decide you want to be published. Whether you announce it to the world, or you haven’t even brought yourself to utter the words to your significant other, you’ve decided you are a writer. Kinda like a job title. Or a Part-of-Who-I-Am title.

Level 3: I am an author. You reach this stage when you get your first book deal or when you self-publish. It’s the stage where you can say, I like to write, I am a writer, and I get paid for it.

(There’s lots of other levels, of course. Things like Best Selling Author, Author of over [insert number here] books, Author with a rabidly loyal fan base, Author with a loyal publisher, Author with over [insert number here] copies in print, New York Times Best Selling Author, New York Times #1 Best Selling Author. Author who can keep up with the laundry. Author with the most wickedly cool hair.)

So what about you? Which level are you on? Are you fine staying right where you’re at, or are you shooting for the next level up?
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