When Can You Proudly Call Yourself a Writer?
Are you scared of calling yourself a writer? When you sit in front of a blank screen, do you question your skill, your commitment, or your passion? I know I do.
I also call myself a professional writer wherever I need to introduce myself. I gave myself permission to do that, but only after a friend pointed out that I’m good at it. This was four years after my first paid copywriting gig. This was two years into being a full-time technical writer.
I still sit in front of a blank screen worrying about my career. I deliberate whether I’m a hack who has been lucky with his success, and that any day now people will discover my fraud. My anxiety ensures I think about this every time I stop typing on my keyboard.
Many days, I won’t write because of this crippling fear. It’s always the worst mistake I make those days. I don’t have any published novels or books of fiction. My blog doesn’t have tens of thousands of visitors or views. My subscriber base on Medium is a collection of polite friends.
And yet, I call myself a professional writer, because if I didn’t, my anxieties would multiply. I’d write less than I do, I’d be unhappy, and I would meander from hobby to hobby. I would give in to the fears of writing, and be unfulfilled as a result.
The Three Types of Writers
There are three types of writers in the world. You are surely familiar with the first and most common — these are the ones who will write their super-successful and life-changing novels someday. They are the ones just looking for an opportunity to write and become the next Stephen King or J.K. Rowling. Ignore these people.
The second is the more active writer — the ones who attend book clubs, publishing launches, meet-and-greets, writing classes and all sorts of events. They schmooze and drink wine and laugh about the state of their draft of the first two chapters of their book. They turn their nose up at copywriters and other “lesser writers”. Be politely diffident with these people.
The third type of writer is the one who writes. These writers write regularly. They finish their blog posts and articles and book chapters in a time limit they set for themselves. If they publish an article, they are not deterred by the 12 views a post gets. They write again the next day. They face the fears of writing head on. Be one of these people.
Your Success is not Your Identity
You are a writer when you are aware of the fears and excuses that stop you from writing, and you fight them. You acknowledge the difficulties you personally face as a writer and you march on anyway.
Choose to call yourself a writer. Understand that it is not the number of published books, the blog metrics, and the escaping muse that make you a writer. It is the willingness to push yourself beyond your own mental limitations and generate an impact.
Writing is not a twinkle in your eye when you push up your glasses or the applause you get when you grandstand for your latest article. Writing is dirty and grimy, and requires you to claw through the murk of your own mental fortitude to produce something beautiful.
Own it. Appreciate the mud. Conquer the fear, and then, rake towards your personal success.
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