What Do You Call A Writer Who Hasn’t Been Published Yet?
Wednesday, September 30, 2009Posted in: some people have no idea, The Romance Blogosphere Aint It Grand?
I always thought they were referred to as ‘unpublished’, but apparently, that’s a derogatory term these days.
No, apparently the more politically correct term is ‘pre-published’.
Yeah, that’s what I thought too.
M E 2
September 30
2:49 pm
LMAO! If you are NOT published you ARE UNpublished. @@
It is not derogatory, it’s a fact. Sheesh.
Amanda
September 30
2:53 pm
I don’t find it derogatory. It’s what I am. What’s with all the PC crap?
Christine Rimmer
September 30
2:59 pm
I always hated that pre-published crap. They’ve been saying that since the 80’s at least. I really don’t mind it if an unpublished author wants to call herself pre-published. I consider that a mindset thing. She’s teaching her subconscious that she’s going to be published. But don’t expect me to call her that. It *is* just too PC. Getting a book published is a major milestone for an author. I think it takes away from the real accomplishment of publishing a book to call everyone and her sister “pre-published.” I mean, think about it. Anyone who has not published a book (or a magazine article or a poem or whatever) would then be considered pre-published. Anyone. Every unpublished person in the world. People who are not even writers are, essentially, pre-published, in that they are not published *yet.*
Tuscan Capo
September 30
3:32 pm
Of course its not derogatory, its reliably stating a fact. And shouldn’t the pre be applied whenever and wherever appropriate: Pre-employed, pre-married, pre-divorced, pre-fired, pre-impoverished, pre-literate, pre-informed, pre-deflowered, pre-laid, pre-parental, pre-born, pre-dead? Yep, if you don’t have a well defined sense of self-worth, folks, you’re just begging for therapy down the road.
vein
September 30
3:50 pm
Unpublished is fine. One cannot assume that everyone unpublished will eventually be post-published.
theo
September 30
4:34 pm
Um…excuse me? PRE-published?? Bwahahahahahaha
Devyn Quinn
September 30
5:19 pm
I always called myself a “wanna-be writer” before I was pubbed, because that’s what I wanted to be, LOL. Guess that would be insulting to some, but kept me going until I achieved the goal.
Candice Gilmer
September 30
5:21 pm
Yep. I’m pre-dead. I’m breathing, therefore, I’m pre-dead. 🙂 bawhahahaha
Shiloh Walker
September 30
5:39 pm
Oh for crying out loud.
Whoever thinks that, I really am not trying to be mean, but you need to get a grip. “PRE-PUBLISHED” sounds rather pretentious to me. Coming off as obnoxious when you introduce yourself isn’t the way to help get past that ‘pre’ step.
Plus, it also makes it sound like there is some guarantee you will get pubbed. There isn’t.
I don’t even call myself an ‘author’. I’m a writer. It’s as simple as that.
Now…it’s still pre-lunch for me, so I’m going to address that and make it post-lunch. I’m hungry. 😉
Nadia Lee
September 30
5:48 pm
Pre-published has a very specific meaning, and no, it doesn’t mean “unpublished”. It refers to 1st time novelists who are contracted but don’t have their debut novels out yet. Refer to Nephele Tempest’s comment on this here.
So calling yourself “pre-published” when you’re really “unpublished” makes you sound uninformed in addition to pretentious.
BTW — if you’re on diet, you’re pre-thin.
jmc
September 30
7:03 pm
The word itself sounds a bit silly, frankly. But beyond the sound of it, pre-published means (to me) that you’ve sold the book and the publisher is doing whatever is done in the time it takes to get the work published/released to the public. Calling yourself pre-published when you haven’t sold is ridiculous.
Amarinda Jones
September 30
7:28 pm
What’s so bad about being called unpublished? We will politically-correct ourselves to death one day…call it what is and get on with it.
Tara Marie
September 30
10:01 pm
*snort*
K. Z. Snow
September 30
10:14 pm
I’m trying to recall the labels I put on myself, other than “loser” or “reject.” 😀 (That grin was for my own mindset. Seriously, I harbored no illusions about my unpublished status.)
“Pre-published” is just plain stupid, unless one has, as Nadia said, a book under contract.
How about aspiring author? Or is that too uncomfortably close to wannabe?
(Sorry. I’m feeling droll today.)
Fae Sutherland
September 30
10:32 pm
Bah, unpublished is so not derogatory. It’s just what you are if you haven’t sold a book. I agree with everyone else that pre-published only applies if one has sold a book that isn’t yet released. It’s a term that makes sense to designate those who are in the waiting room, so to speak because those people aren’t unpublished, they’re simply waiting for their release date to arrive.
Basically, imo, have contract = prepublished, have no contract = unpublished.
Melissa
September 30
10:37 pm
That’s just silly.
I write, so I’m a writer. One day I hope to be published. If that doesn’t work out, I will not be published. It’s simple.
Whoever insists on this “pre” nonsense –Please, stop it.
Lori
October 1
1:03 am
I’m a pre-thin, pre-dead, post-young … aw screw it. Old, fat and wanna-be. Works for me.
Anya Howard
October 1
1:23 am
Before being published I thought of myself as K.Z. said, “aspiring author”. Then I was published, and I became pre-forgotten, lol.
Monica Kaye
October 1
2:18 am
I always thought of myself as unpublished. At RT, I was called ‘Aspiring’. Although now I guess I am prepubbed cuz I got the contract. Pfft. Whatever. I think people just want to feel good about themselves. What’s a naranja in Spain is still an orange in America.
Lydia Harlow
October 1
2:21 am
People who label themselves pre-published are pre-tentious.
MichelleR
October 1
10:25 pm
“Pre-published” does have such optimism to it. 🙂
Jane Schmoe
October 4
4:42 pm
What Do You Call A Writer Who Hasn’t Been Published Yet?
I always thought they were referred to as ‘unpublished’, but apparently, that’s a derogatory term these days.
No, apparently the more politically correct term is ‘pre-published’.
Yeah, that’s what I thought too.
~~~~
To answer your question, a person who is unpublished is called a writer.
A person who has been published is called an author.
Anyone who writes is a writer, only those who have been published are authors.
It comes down to the idea of being a professional as in writing is your job. An author is a paid professional.
Anything can be written; a laundry list, a diary entry, a blog. Those who write these can call themselves writers. Those who are PAID to write same are authors, because once you have been paid, you are deemed a professional.
So to any of the spoiled brats who want to refer to themselves as “pre-published”, let it be known that they are also thus referring to themselves as “pre-professional”. Not a very attractive moniker and it is doing just what they don’t want it to do, it is signalling them out as someone who is unpublished, as in NOT an author.
Better to refer to yourself as a writer and keep people guessing than referring to yourself as “pre-published”. There is no guesswork in “pre-published”, you are immediately summed up as what you are; an unpublished non-author ie UNprofessional.
That will open you up to any author raising an eyebrow and thinking you may need to get back to that laundry list you’ve been working on.
Payment is the definition of an author. Not writing.
Any professional knows that.
Marie Harte
October 10
10:11 pm
Are you serious? Bad enough the world is overblown with PCness left and right. Pre-published? That is taking a lot for granted, isn’t it? As Shiloh said, there’s no guarantee anyone will ever be published. Yeah, stick with “writer.” Of course, that might offend those who don’t “write” but “type.” ack
Marie