When do you become a writer?
When I received my contract for THE BLESSING SEER the first line identified me as "the author." I squealed. Finally, I was a true writer. Thinking back, I was wrong. I was a writer long before that. I was even a writer before I had two articles appear in a national magazine.
I became a writer when I put my pencil to that first spiral notebook and penned my first novel, an historical fiction. That novel is stacked with fifteen others in a file under my desk.
So often I feel I need the validation of an editor or publisher to assure me that I am truly an author. Not true. I became a writer when God inspired those first words. I became a writer when God continued to teach me through the stories He has written through me. I became a writer when I obeyed the calling God placed upon me. If God calls me one of His authors, then I'm a writer.
Now comes the part where I live up to the calling. I not only sit and write, but I hone the craft by taking courses, reading books, and learning from other writers.
Jerry Jenkins says, "Study, do the research, develop a thick skin, work hard, learn to take editing, and learn to edit yourself. Have you arrived yet? Neither have I."
This reminds me of growing as a Christian. Have I perfected my Christian walk? No. That won't happen until I'm in Heaven. But, I am still a Christian.
Will there be a time that I "arrive" as a writer? No. There's always more to learn and improvement to be made. But, I'm still a writer.