I recently read an article that basically stated if you were an Indie author, (which is another way of saying self-published), that you were not a true author. The article went on to say that if you didn't make money for your books you were not a professional author. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and no matter what you call yourself, it's not about labels, but the work.
Yes, I'll admit that anyone with knowledge of the self-publishing process (through whatever publisher) can publish a book, good or not. That's not the issue. In my opinion, it's where the work comes from. Yes, I am a published author. I have used a publisher and I have self-published my work. Yes, i even make a buck or two off some of my books. If someone asks me what I do, I consider myself a storyteller who writes. Yes, I am an author, but that's not the focus. I write. I have stories in my head, and then, to release them, I write. That's what I do. Sometimes my stories are in forms of fiction. Sometimes, they are in the forms of fiction so creepy and morbid, I write them under another penname (Royal Henry Bleu) and sometimes, they are very erotic so I write them under another penname (Alex Tempera). There are even times, when the stories are more of a mixture of thoughts or feelings and they come out as poetry (usually free verse). I don't control them, they just happen.
Not everyone will like my stories. Not everyone will like the way I write, how I write or what I write, but others will love it, others will like it and others will love and like it and beg for more. The stories in my head are never ending, and I put them on paper and share with the world, so that they will always exist.
Whether you're a writer, author, storyteller, poet, artist, whether you make one dollar or million, if it's in your soul, it's worth it, no matter the medium of how you share it with the world.
I write because I have to. It's like breathing. It's like my heart beating.
