When Can You Start Calling Yourself a Writer?

I think that's an excellent point, determining what you are going to do (and not do) when you become a published author - thinking ahead. And remembering how it used to feel.

Theresa, I have always been amazed by your energy and spirit. It took me ten years to complete a B.A. while my 5 young children grew up. I'm attempting a memoir of my experiences and how I incorporated the children in my learning. But Grad School and a writing career and a blog...you are truly wonderful. Published or not, I will always write, and if God's willing, I will publish too. Good luck with everything! ~Victoria Marie Lees

I love Theresa's blog! She's honest, funny, generous, witty, has astute observations about a myriad of topics and makes me feel less alone on this journey. I look forward to reading every new post!

Theresa is a terrific, hard working lady! She is always there to help and support others and to be honest about how tough all of this is. She's someone I know who will succeed because she deserves it all! :)

Theresa's blog is great for many reasons, including the fact that she writes about all the demands and pressures that writers face from outside sources, as well as the pressures that they place on themselves. I can relate to a lot of what she writes, and it's nice to know that I'm not the only one who feels that way about writing and teaching.

I think that you can call yourself a writer when you start writing regularly. A lot of people call themselves writers (or want to be writers), yet they do very little reading and writing. They spend more time talking about what they want to accomplish than actually writing. Theresa's the exact opposite of that. She works really hard as a writer, teacher, and mother, and she's shown that you have put in a lot of effort in order to get what you want.

This poses interesting questions about what it means to "make it."

Theresa is a genuine person, and from reading her posts I see that she's persistent and talented. I also consider her to be a generous blogger, since she returns comments and is very supportive of other bloggers.

Theresa rocks: she faces her challenges with trepidation yet perseveres.

Sure, it might not guarantee success, but without it, you're pretty much guaranteed not to succeed.

There is no one I would like to see fully succeed more than she. : j

Theresa is dedicated at what she does and has a wonderful blog. I think that success and "making it" are defined within the parameters of ones own perception and the view of those who perceive us. The perceptions may come in different levels or be coming from different perspectives. If I build my own house, make my own furniture, and work expertly with wood I might call myself a carpenter and so might those who know me, but some in the carpenter's union may not consider me to be a carpenter--that's their perception, definition or opinion.

Lee

Theresa is an inspiration to keep writing, no matter how crazy things seem to get. :)

Theresa's blog is all the validation she needs (from me, anyway). That woman is a writer. This is one field where how you view yourself is more important than how someone with power and a highly subjective viewpoint does. Hey, that makes me a writer, too!

I guess I would call myself a writer now, but not an author as I am as yet unpublished. It seems the line is rather blurred, but I do agree with Jenna-- it matters what you think, not others.

I agree with Jenna. The hardest part as a writer for me is not worrying about others' opinions, or how much attention something I write receives. I try to block all that out, but it's hard! :)

Always interesting to see what people say when they have "made it" in any field.

"I was where you are and I kept at it. So you can too." So important to help others who are struggling; to pull up someone else who's on the ladder.

When I had my first article published in a magazine and was (rightly) excited about it, one of my (classy!) trolls commented with something along the lines of I was being ridiculous and insulting to all "real" writers out there because my drop-in-the-bucket, piddly article meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. I let that have an effect on me for about a day before I realized that I don't need someone else's opinions to quantify or qualify me. I know we struggle with others' opinions as a whole society, but that was one of the moments that I really said, "Eff it. I am what I am, whether you think I am that or not."

Right now, my biggest obstacle into accepting who I am on a professional level? Is myself. I do qualify myself as a writer, but in doing so, I have to accept that "the next step" needs to happen... and I'm petrified of the next steps. Sigh.