Poll: What would the barest minimum be to consider yourself or others published?
edit excluding scientific journals
I’m not sure I agree with the series you’ve put up. ‘Published’ is someone else liked your work enough to pay for it. So I don’t consider self-publishing as published unless you sell a significant number of books (like, barf Eragon). However, an article in a magazine or newspaper - as long as it’s a paid magazine, with actual editors - also counts as published. Some guy’s newsletter or zine out of his home office, that’s distributed free and is all volunteer work, doesn’t count.
I would say it’s a multifactor analysis with a particular view to the following:
• Was the author paid for the work?
• Is the publication in which the author appeared typically purchased by consumers or supported by ad sales? Or is it given away for free and has few, if any, advertisers?
• Does the publication retain editors? A marketing department? Distribution channels?
• The size of the readership (circulation if a periodical, units sold if a publishing house)
So, like ST, I don’t think the list you give in your poll represents an ascending sequence of publishedhood, so to speak. I’m not certain that one could do so, given that there are multiple variables in play.
I’ve been published out the wazoo, but never in books, so there’s no poll choice for me. But I agree that it’s the paid part that’s important, not the venue as much.
Side note: publishing is nice, but what really warms my heart is when I’m cited. Somebody actually *used *the thing!
I have a friend who offers the definition for “Author” as : Has made more than $10,000 by selling written words. I think it applies here too, except I would add that of course, an unpaid publication in a peer-reviewed Journal would count.
Having been published as coauthor in a scientific journal, I’m puzzled by your exclusion of journals. Especially when you include newspaper letters to the editor.
Over how many decades?
You’re published when someone pays you for your writing and it appears in print/online. (I’m assuming “guest article in a magazine” is the equivalent to “a short story in a magazine.”)
As one of my favorite movie quotes goes, “In short, when someone else says you’re a writer, that’s when you’re a writer… not before.” And that someone else says it by offering you cash.
My assumption was that the OP figured Journals went without saying, not that they didn’t count.
In many academic disciplines you are peer reviewed up the wazoo, but do not receive payment (I guess TruCelt has gone here, but it’s not just ‘scientific’ journals)
TV Guide printed a letter of mine once. To be exact, they cut everything out of my letter except for one sentence.
So the correct answer is, you’re a writer when someone else edits you beyond all recognition but leaves your name on it.
It would put a gloomy spin on “publish or perish” otherwise, I guess.
Well, since they require a different skillset to all of the others, I excluded scientific journals… I should have said peer-review journals.
And the skillset for a newspaper letter writer is. . .
How about if I’ve received advances for published books, but the royalties and advances aggregate to less than I’d have made working minimum wage for the hours spent writing the books? :smack:
And, although I’ve published in journals (inaccessible via web except pay-per-view), I think the most cited paper I’ve written is a non-refereed on-line paper. :dubious:
I have to ask why you would say that. I can see if he’s some nut case printing odd stories or some such. However, what about the family historian? The one who does a lot of research but doesn’t care if he makes a penny.
It seems to me that I would say someone who’s been published is the person who has written something that’s been researched if it’s non-fiction, which would include newsletters or even self published books. I’m not so sure about a fiction book since I’ve written the worst novel ever, though wasn’t foolish enough to have it printed.
Do e-books count? Apparently there are some people making good money on publishing Kindle books.
That’s common for most writers. You’re still published.
Oh, and I agree that academic publishing in a peer-reviewed journal is being published. Otherwise, most academics would perish.
It sure as hell is. Unless those MacArthur schmucks cough up some of those Genius Bucks, this next book may have to be my last.