What Kind of Writer Are You?

Jane Friedman, editorial director of Writers' Digest, started her session, Decisions, Decisions: Deciding the Best Publishing Route for You at the conference, with "What Kind of Writer Are You?".

a) The "God" Category
You want to be published by the big six publishers and make millions of dollars. You live and breathe your writing and you may just have the commercial appeal to pull it off. But even though you are the God of Writing, you still need to: promote! promote! promote! (So, apparently even gods have to do some work.)

b) "Growing" Category
People who are starting out and are focused more on the writing and have room to grow in the marketing world. You're on your way (possibly) to acknowledging that rejection is part of the business but you're willing to be persistent.

c) "Authority" Category
Especially for non-fiction writers; you know your audience better than a mainstream publisher or you've created a niche for yourself and you can convert fans of your work into buyers.

I'd define myself as a growing writer, because quite frankly, I'd never consider myself in the "God" category. My critique groups can attest to this, cause I often actually say in my comments to them that I'm not the God of Writing.

I've met enough writers with ego who aim to be Gods and I wish them good luck with it. They have the drive to get there and the single-minded motivation to do it. I had a friend once ask me, if I wasn't aiming for the stars, what would be the point?

While publication is the ultimate goal, if it never happens, I won't stop living. It is one part of my life; a very important part but my success or failure at it doesn't define me.

So, what kind of writer are you?