Writing a Book Doesn’t Make You an Author

The first of my hopefully long-running contributions to Phil Jourdan’s Slothrop blog is now live. The title, Writing a Book Doesn’t Make You an Author, isn’t meant only to be an attention grabber, but is actually true. I know, truth, right. Here’s a taste:

The role of author has transformed almost as drastically as has media distribution support system. Authors can no longer be expected to simply produce content. Anyone with $10, a manuscript, and access to the internet can get a book listed on Amazon within minutes. Rather, the role of the author is to be an active, participating member of a book-loving community—by both consuming and creating content—and most importantly by legitimizing the importance of the literary community itself to those who may not be a part of it.

Head over to Slothrop to read the post. Leave a comment. Let Phil know how much you love the article. Maybe he will have me back.

Also, as a bonus, this article can act as a glimpse of what I’ll be teaching for June’s Tallgrass Writing Workshop at Emporia State University. If you like the article and will be in Kansas in June, sign up for the workshop.