#IWSG "You're Not A Real Writer" -- RUBBISH!

In the past few years, there has been an unprecedented revolution. These are historic times. Never, in the history of the written word has there been such freedom for writers and readers. Readers have a wealth of choices, and writers now have options other than the narrow route through the traditional publishers.

"Anyone can publish a book these days," I saw a reviewer comment disparagingly.

Yes, that's true. And I think it's great. It was once said that freedom of the press applied only to those who owned one, and now everyone can own a press. Freedom is here, and it is beautiful.

Instead of celebrating the fact that readers have more choice than ever before, and writers do not have to conform to fickle industry whims in order to make their work available to readers, it seems some are eager to throw up walls of distinction, as though the inclusion of others in the writing world somehow detracts from their own accomplishments.

"You're not a real writer unless you're published...." 

RUBBISH! A writer is someone who writes, plain and simple. By that distinction, Emily Dickinson wasn't a "real writer" because she only shared her poems with a few friends and wasn't published until after her death. Nor was Anne Frank, but her words have touched millions.

Other famous authors were rejected dozens of times, not because their work wasn't good enough, but because it wasn't deemed marketable or part of a popular trend. We applaud their tenacity in soldiering on past a multitude of rejections until they finally found someone who saw the value of their book, but that bold fortitude isn't automatic quality of a writer. The world would have missed out on many treasured books if their authors were more introverted. How many other wonderful works were lost to us because their writers were rejected and had no other avenue of getting their books published?

"You aren't a real writer unless you're published by a publishing company."

RUBBISH! Some of these so-called "not a real writers" are on the New York Times bestsellers list, and manyothers are making a comfortable living off their novels. Readers have decided they're "real writers" and are enjoying their novels. In the UK, self-published books make up 12% of ebooks purchased, up to 20% in some genres.

Not everyone will be as successful financially as these authors, but a writer is not defined by how much they make. Every book is a success story in of itself: a battle against the blank page won, and a project brought to completion.

By this distinction, some of our classic authors weren't "real writers," such as James Joyce, Beatrix Potter, Marcel Proust, Anaïs Nin, and many others.

"You're not a real writer if you're not with one of the Big Six."

Sadly, I've seen statements bemoaning self-publishing as a detriment to the world of literature. Some seem to believe readers are incapable of judging the quality of a book themselves from a sample, and need "gatekeepers" to protect them from bad books on the market. ("Bad," of course, being a very subjective term, because some "bad" books have been record-breaking bestsellers.)

In the end, it seems to boil down to a few critics and authors who want to keep up these crumbling walls of distinction as a way of differentiating a select few from the hoi pollloi, like a society matron appalled at the influx of "new money." But their insecurity does not constitute a valid definition.

And, in the end, the only opinion which really matters is that of the readers, and they have spoken. Every day, that voice is getting louder. 

There are real writers everywhere.

They are writing quietly for themselves, or maybe getting up the courage to share their work with friends. They are posting online, or self-publishing and selling their work. They are with indie publishers and big publishers and everything in between.

They are real writers, every one of them. Good, bad, published, unpublished, shared or unshared. They are the dreamers of dreams, the creators of worlds.

Whatever you write: short stories, novels, fanfiction, or simply for your own amusement, you are a writer. Claim the title. Own it. And never let anyone tell you differently.

.¸¸•.¸¸.•´¯`• (¯`•♥•´¯)•´¯`•.¸¸.•.¸¸.

You can see my other posts for the Insecure Writer's Support Group here, and visit the main blogroll here.