This is the first part in the Writer to Author series; a group of blog posts to help writers switch to the mindset of Author and make writing into a business.

I think we can all agree that the correct mindset makes our art thrive.

I used to think “writer” meant you were unpublished, and “author” meant you were published.

I was wrong.

Yes, they both have similar definitions if you look it up, but they are different. The mindset of the Writer is different than that of the Author.

This post by Go Teen Writer, The Writer and The Author, helped clear up these definitions for me. And it sparked the idea for this blog series.

Authors are different.

Oh, they’re most certainly writers, but one of the definitions of the word author, as found in the Oxford Dictionary, is this:

author: someone who writes books as a profession

^An excerpt from the GTW post. We’re going to talk about that ‘profession’ part in this series.

Because I started writing young, I met a lot of other young writers. And a lot of these writers want to be published. They want to be authors.  

Yes, if you want to have your book(s) published some day, then you need to have the Author mindset. The mindset that this whole writing thing is a business. And it takes work. Whether you want to be traditionally published or go indie, you have to work hard to create a proper foundation.

You may be a Writer if…

You just want to write for the fun of it. You’re not interested in publishing, really. You’re just focused on the creative aspect of this craft.

You may be an Author if…

You love writing, but you want to publish your writing, whether that be a novel, short stories, flash fiction, or poetry. And you want to be able to make some sort of income from it.

So which one are you? If you are a Writer, this series may not be for you. But if you’re an Author, then you’re in the right place. 

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Each part of this series will be posted every week on Thursdays, but will be accessible by password only. Email subscriber automatically get this password (NOT WordPress Reader subscribers). If you’re not on the email list, click here to get the password and gain access.

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Okay, so before we continue, let me make something really clear…If you classify yourself as a Writer, that is OKAY. There’s nothing right or wrong about these two mindsets of the storyteller, they just have different goals. If you feel happy about being either one of these, then that is awesome! In no way is the Writer a lower status that the Author.

Okay, Author…

This is a short post for today, but I’m gearing up to bring you the rest of this series over the next several weeks. I want to encourage you to take this time until next Wednesday (part 2 of the series) to really think about which writing path you want to take. How you follow these two paths are very drastic, and it’s a lot of work to take the Author road. But it’s fun. Trust me. 😉 This series will give the advice and tips you need to start doing things like building your platform and starting an author website. You’ll also get tips on how an unpublished author should do social media. And more. There’s much more. 😀

So are you ready to make writing a business? Grow your following? Get noticed by agents or publishers? Have an army of people READY TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD ready to buy your book someday?

Great. I’m so glad you’re with us on this learning journey.

This is a new year, a new opportunity, with new possibilities. I’m ready to take my writing to the next level in 2020, and I’m so glad you are too! The world needs more dedicated Authors like you.

Don’t forget to join the email list to make sure you don’t miss a thing! See you next week!

Are you a Writer or an Author? What do you love about being a Writer or Author? Are you excited about this series?

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