Answering your questions: On calling myself a writer and valuing my work (or not)

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I’ve had two questions about writing in the past week, so I thought I’d answer them both together.

At what point in your life of writing did you become comfortable calling yourself a writer? And do you feel that your status as a writer, in your mind, depends strongly on sales and publications? Or do you have a writer’s mentality that you feel defines you and doesn’t waiver with the ebbs and flows of the business side? I suppose this is related to Imposter Syndrome but also it is to a degree a reflection of how much we value ourselves and our creative work.

This is such an interesting question. I think I've always at least thought of myself as a writer, for pretty much as long as I can remember, long before I was published. (I do remember reading a book about writing and the author said if you say you want to be a writer, you don't. Real writers say I want to write. This made me feel like I wasn't a “real writer” and is also absolute bullshit. Whoever wrote that can eat a bee.)