On being a writer

Actually, this isn't about being a writer so much as calling yourself one. Earlier this week, Kimber suggested one of us address this topic, so I thought I'd address it. (I'm always glad to have someone else think up a topic for me. (See the lazy part below.)

I've heard writers at conferences and in articles say things like, "As long as you write you're a writer and should call yourself one," or "If you don't call yourself a writer, you aren't committed," and other such nonsense.

The reason I think statements like these are nonsense is at least twofold.

First, well, who cares what you call yourself? How you label what you do doesn't change what you do or make you more or less successful at it, or make it any less real. So who cares?

Second, I think when to start outing yourself as a writer and when to start saying, "I'm a writer who may or may not have a day job, too" versus, "I'm a whatever who also writes," is totally personal. No one can tell you how you feel about your writing or how to describe it -- which are two separate things anyway.

So, that said, I can only speak with any authority about my own experience, my own decisions. I've been calling myself a writer for about three years now. A turning point was answering the "what do you do" question at a US immigration desk on the way to a conference a few winters ago. Up to that point, I'd been kind of jokey and dismissive of my writing when talking about it with family and friends, and always wrote CA on my immigration and customs forms, but I decided that for me, I wanted to change that. Take it more seriously. And for me, saying it made it feel more serious.

Adding to my personal decision was that I wasn't then, and am not now, working in another paying job. So, while I can still legally say, "I'm a Chartered Accountant," if I want to, (I still pay the dues and do the continuing ed stuff), I haven't worked in a job where I needed to be a CA for over five years. On top of that, my friends and family know I'm not working, so basically if I didn't out myself as a writer, everyone would think I'm totally lazy and have way too much time on my hands. (Well, I am lazy and I do have too much time on my hands... but that's not the point.) As any self-employed person knows, it's hard to protect your time, and without explaining to others what you're trying to do with your time... well, it'd be impossible. For me, anyway.

So, I am a writer.

How about you? Do you call yourself a writer? If yes, when did you start? If no, why not?