About Me

Friday, January 9, 2015

Juggling the Writing Hats

No one ever told me when I first began to write how many different hats I'd be required to assume. I'm still trying to decide if I'm a writer or an author. Can anyone tell me what exactly is the distinction? I know once you have published a fiction book you are allowed to call yourself an author.

I started my career by writing nonfiction---articles for magazines, devotions, even published a newsletter for a period. At the time I always referred to myself as a writer.

But with the publication of a novel, a memoir, and a collection of short stories, the number of hats I've collect increased dramatically. In this day and age, with the publishing industry undergoing such tremendous changes, a published author of fiction has to learn to wear so many different hats, especially if you plunge into the self-publishing arena.

I've had to learn to be a researcher, an editor, a proof-reader, a book cover designer...all before the book even takes on life. Once you've got a completed book, the hats multiply. Then you need to become a publicist, a promoter, a public speaker, and a marketer. And that doesn't begin to include the skills you ought to acquire if you plan to use social media to help sell your book.

Let's face it...this writing obsession automatically opens the door to a lifetime of learning and acquiring new skills. That's not such a bad thing, is it?

A few years back I gathered articles of mine that had been published in The Writers' Journal magazine and others I'd written for some writers organizations' newsletters and compiled them into a book I entitled Some Write Thoughts. My intent, hopefully, was that by sharing what I'd learned and experienced in my twenty-five years of writing it would in some way smooth the path for others journeying this road. It's available on Amazon in both paper and Kindle format:  http://www.amazon.com/Some-Write-Thoughts-Gay-Ingram/dp/1461167078/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

If you've been bitten by the writing bug, you might glean a few gems from my book.


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