AUTHOR - Redefined

Don't you think the current definition of "author" needs some revision?  Most of us write because we love to, because we have to, among a myriad other reasons, but the job we love is only a minute fraction of what our calling involves. We Indie authors wear many hats and the workload can be overwhelming, depending upon how much of it you can delegate.

Let's suppose for a moment that you can't (and many of us can't for whatever reason) delegate any of it, then how much of your time is spent in the fun part of actually putting words down? Consider the following hats we have to wear:

             .  Writer
             .  Editor
             .  Cover designer
             .  Book designer
             .  Publisher
             .  Publicity agent
             .  Web designer
             .  Blogger
             .  Social media poster
             .  Marketer 

Now, let's say this is your first book and you can't afford or don't want to risk your hard earned money on delegating any of these chores and you're not an IT guru. The workload that must be waded through before you're ready to publish is overwhelming. There are fountains of information out there to help you, but do you have a year or two to read them all, and how do you decide?  Each item in the list contains numerous other chores that need to be done to complete your project. You are a lone star in a small galaxy, inside a super galaxy, zooming around to find your way home. Of course, if you just want to see your words in print you don't need to do any of this, but most of us at least want to sell a few books. Even traditionally published authors must promote their own work, travel to book signings, make podcasts etc.

Bottom line of all this is that you will only spend about a tenth of your time in the world you create with your writing, at least until you become rich enough to have someone else do it all for you. People who don't write probably don't spend any time considering this. If they think about it at all they will likely assume that you have a cushy life writing for a couple of hours a day and then spending the rest of your time with your feet up and they have no idea of the grit, determination and outright stubbornness it took to get your book in front of their face. Is there any other career that requires expertise in so many different areas? I was told once, a long time ago, "do one thing and do it right".  Would that I could.

So yes, I think "author" definitely needs to be redefined. We are all like single stars, our own one-person publishing house.

---