Today begins a new feature on The Writerly Life, Monday Discovery. Each Monday I’ll offer a writerly find—a blog, a quotation, a writing tip, a book I love.

I’ll begin with K. M. Weiland: Helping Writers Become Authors, a website chock full of writing tips and links to two writer-centered blogs: Wordplay, which she describes as featuring “writing tips to enlighten and encourage,” and Author Culture, a smorgasbord of articles related to writing and publishing.

I was struck by her phrase, “helping writers become authors,” and it led me to look up author and writer. In my mind I probably equate the two, but the dictionary reveals a subtle difference: an author is a writer who has published professionally. A writer is one who, well, writes (oversimplified a bit!).

Here’s a powerful message from Ms. Weiland (offered free on her website) that I’ll post on my desktop to remind me, when the writing gets hard or a rejection rolls in, of who I really am.

What’s your opinion? Is there a distinction between author and writer? Which do you call yourself, and why? Weigh in with your thoughts in a comment, please. 

A Wordplayer’s Manifesto—K. M. Weiland