The line of demarcation between the terms writer and author is a little blurry, so let us clear the fog. If you go through a dictionary, a writer is defined as “one who expresses ideas in writing” or “one engaged in literary work”. An author is defined as “a person who writes a novel, poem, or essay, etc”, or “the composer of a literary work”.
Writer vs Author: The Difference
The difference between a writer and an author is, an author is the one who originally creates his content, whereas a writer is the one who writes any sort of content concerned with the relevant topics assigned to him.
These jobs are exceptionally impacted by the ongoing civilization and the situations connected with it. They are the real knowledge and information providers. Nonetheless, the words “author” and “writer” are synonymous. Both authors and writers play an imperative part in spreading information and knowledge in the public eye. The information industry is not concerned about what background an author or writer belongs to but is only concerned with the type and quality of content that they provide.
Let’s shed some more light on writer vs author, an author is someone whose writing has been published and has been given credit for the same, officially. While anyone who writes can be a writer, he can be writing for someone else or an organization and need not be necessarily credited for his work. While a writer may or may not own their copyright depending on the nature of the work, the author will own the copyright to the work produced. The ultimate point of distinction boils down to this: an author is a subset of a writer. Read on about the types of writers and authors to understand the distinction further.
Types Of Writers
Some of the most common types of writers are which can clear the confusion between authors and writers are:
Content Writers
Content writers can generate content in any form and this is their specialization. It could go from social media posts to other types of articles, they seem to do it all. Content writers are also proficient when it comes to SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
Creative Writers
Creative writers are not much different from content writers, they write within a specific category and write for various platforms instead of their blogs. Some examples of creative writers are:
Fashion Writers
Academic writers
Health Writers
Gender Studies Writers
Travel Writers
Food Writers
Literary Writers
Longform Writers
Ghostwriter
Ghostwriters are those who write articles, papers, and at times even biographies or blogs and have strong writing skills along with impeccable research skills but the original idea is not theirs and they are never credited for their work officially. The client or the agency that they work for gives the ideas or outlines to these writers. They are known to be hired by PR firms to create content that is later published in the names of different celebrities and brands which makes them in demand in the industry.
Types Of Authors
Coming to authors, these are few of the types through which you can understand what is the difference between a writer and an author are as follows:
Fiction Author
Fiction authors can write short stories, novels, screenplays, and dramas which are all fictitious methods of write-ups. They let the audience see the point of view of the author through n-factual prose texts which entertain the people. The subcategories of the fiction author are novelists, playwrights, short story writers, and screenwriters.
Non-fiction Authors
Those that put out truth and accuracy about information or people are Non-fiction authors. They write collections of essays on various topics. So in short Their books are based on reality and the perception of life as we know it and they are experts who enrich the world with their thoughts by sharing their knowledge with their essays.
Poet
According to a dictionary “Author is a synonym for the poet in the writer’s topic. You can use “Author” instead of the noun “Poet” if it concerns topics such as art, rhythmic verse.” or “A writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry).”
Therefore, a person who does poetry and publishes his written poems is called a Poet. They may also perform their poetry. They communicate and express their ideas through their poetry.
Also Read: How to Publish a Book in 8 Steps
Conclusion
Though the difference may not seem to be much, depending on the situation, the difference between these two roles can be more. If you are composing a novel or brief tale in light of a plot created by yourself, you get to be known as the author of the novel. Additionally, if you are writing down another person’s thoughts or stories, you will be known as the writer of the work. Therefore, being a writer is easier than being an author at times. The reason is that an author has to create, develop, and convey an idea, while a writer has to just impart another person’s thoughts.
