I am a Writer!

I am a writer!

This might seem self-evident to anyone who’s read my bio, but I make this point for a reason – when do you start calling yourself “a writer”, as opposed to someone who dabbles in words around a day job?

I took the plunge when my first book was published in October 2011 – it seemed silly to call myself a dabbler in words when I was a published author. It still makes me smile every time I say it.

The main response I get? You must be rolling in it!” or “How big are your royalty cheques?”

I don’t imagine many nurses or teachers getting asked those questions. There seems to be something about authors that people think we’re as financially secure as Stephen King or Neil Gaiman.

I wish.

When I explain that, even now, I hold down another job in addition to the writing, as my first love doesn’t pay enough to live on. Having had the good fortune to make friends with a number of indie authors from across the globe, I know this is a common trait – but non-writers I tell this to look at me askance, as if I had grown a second head.

I can understand that that kind of attitude can put people off saying those magic words, but it shouldn’t – be proud of the fact that you are creative enough to put pen to paper, or finger to laptop.

Come on, now, say it with me; “I am a writer!”

Matthew Munson is an Englishman; born in a small seaside town, he finally moved away when he was 24 … to another seaside town, four miles away, and is still there now.

He wrote his first book at the age of 9, about a space-cowboy who was fleeing from the dinosaurs, and often worried if he had peaked too soon – until his first book was published in 2011.

Fall From Grace is his debut novel, published by a British publishing company called Inspired Quill, and he’s currently working on a sequel – albeit interspersed with the odd short story, column and blog.

Matthew is a proponent of autism studies and Deaf Awareness, which he writes about over at his blog (http://vikingbay.blogspot.co.uk/) and occasionally, if he is feeling particularly daring, makes the odd vlog here and there. He finds writing a solitary exercise sometimes, so go and say hi at his Facebook page – www.facebook.com/matthewmunsonauthor