At What Point Do We Become Proper Writers?

By Rosemary Johnson

At what point can we regard ourselves as proper writers?  At what stage can we regard ourselves as published writers?  Or... deep breath... authors?  

We all ask ourselves this question repeatedly, especially those of us who have wanted to write books since childhood (like me).  I wanted to write books like Enid Blyton, because she hadn't written enough for me to read.  What is the opposite of a proper writer?  Hobby writer is a term I’ve heard banded about recently.  Some writers are very happy to stay at the hobby stage, writing for themselves, their church and families, and I’m sure that any form of writing exercises the leeetle grey cells in ways that other things we do to relax don't.  Watching television and Facebook, for instance.  Most of us do want to be published, though, don’t we?  Bestseller lists, film rights, etc etc.  And, not at all for the money.  If we wanted money, there are many more profitable occupations.

The ACW Writers’ Day in Bath, last Saturday, was geared towards new and unpublished writers. Our speakers, Sarah Grace, of Sarah Grace Publishing, and Nicki Copeland (writer, speaker, copy-editor, proofreader) were tackling the topic of approaching a publisher.  I was there, serving tea and coffee as usual, a job which I always enjoy because I get to meet (almost) everyone.   In the morning, Sarah and Nicki delivered two interesting talks and, in the afternoon, writing workshops.  Some points stood out for me:

• Christian publishers are more likely than others to consider direct approaches from authors (not through agents)




Employing an editor, before submitting work to said publisher, is not always necessary, as all publishers have their house style, and, in any case, they don’t necessarily expect a slick, ready-to-publish product at the submission stage.  However, publishers’ editors will not expend time and energy on typescripts which are sloppy in spelling, grammar, punctuation or in content.  

• When submitting a book to a publisher, writers should be able to sum up their book in a couple of sentences, and also be able to answer these questions in their covering email:

• Who will enjoy the book and why?
• What problem is it solving?
• On what journey are you taking the reader?

We also talked about vanity publishing.  How can you tell vanity publishers apart from the others?  A vanity publisher will accept anything, but a legit publisher will assess whether your book is suitable for his/her list.  He/she will invest time and money in it, although the author may be expected to pay for some aspects of publishing, and/or buy an agreed number of copies (probably at a reduced author rate).  Someone mentioned the site Predators and Editors which attempts to sort out who is who.

The editing exercise after lunch was also fun.  Split infinitives is not wrong!  Me, being old fashioned, I’m shocked.

One of the best things about ACW writers days is the opportunity to network with other writers, and, as we served tea, coffee and biscuits, my friend and I thought about the proper writer question.  Alongside us were three trestle tables groaning with ACW members’ books for sale and a lively trade was being carried out.  When I look at the bookstall, I always feel inadequate, that I should have a book on there too.  I have written a book.  So has she.  Hers is available in electronic form only, and mine is at the beta-reading stage.  This week I have had two short stories accepted, for publication in ezines, one in The Copperfield Review (although it's not on there yet) and one in 101 Words (again not yet).  Publishing a novel (although I’d love to) is not the be all and end all.

Another way for the unpublished to cross that hallowed published threshold is to enter competitions.  Cue, the ACW Short Story Competition, open for another three weeks - deadline Sunday 31 March.  Send your 1000 word entries to me, the Competitions Manager, please.  Free to ACW members (for non-members, 3 for first entry and 2 for second entry).  More information on https://christianwriters.org.uk/competitions/.

Rosemary Johnson has had many short stories published, in print and online, amongst other places, Cafe Lit, The Copperfield Review and 101 Words.  She has also contributed to Together magazine.  In real life, she is a part-time IT tutor, living in Suffolk with her husband and cat.  Her cat supports her writing by sitting on her keyboard and deleting large portions of text.