The debate about whether a person is an author or a writer seems to come up frequently. There are those who insist that there is a distinctive difference between the two, something that I have discussed before on my personal blog.

For those who can't be bothered to delve into the depths of my personal blog, according to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, a writer is one that writes (I still want to change that to one who writes, but we move on). Whereas, an author is one that originates or creates or is the writer of a literary work (as a book).

Based on these definitions, I'm stand strong by my belief that a writer is a person who writes. I despise the term aspiring writer, because there is no aspiring about it. You either write or you don't. It's that simple.

However, the transition to the author title is not as clear cut.

Exactly when does a writer become an author?