The World of Writing
What Do You Call Your Writerly Acquaintances?
We writers are connected in many ways. Some have pretty straightforward labels.
The Writer-Friend. Not that they need to be set aside from friends in general, but they meet extra qualifications. They know the lingo like “querying” and “form rejection” and the accompanying angst.
The CP (Critique Partner). Like the Writer-Friend squared, they don’t just wish us well in the trenches—they help us get the right gear, find the best paths.
The Author-with-a-Capital-A. The rock stars of the writing world. The multi-published, best-selling authors. Those people the rest of us can’t quite bring ourselves to equate as being in the same profession we’re trying to weasel our way into.
Then there are other connections, a little more nuanced, and that’s where the labels get a little head-scratching for me. Most specifically, writers with an agent or publishing imprint in common. I often see such writers referred to as agency-sisters, for instance.
But what about the guys? My agent represents several male writers (and illustrators!), but I’ve never seen anyone say anything like, “Yeah, Jimmy’s my agency-brother.”
Is it because as females, we’re more likely to establish and define relationships in this way? For guys, are we just all writers and that’s enough?
Does it matter? Probably not. But this is the way my brain works.
I guess I’ll just stick with the labels for myself … a happy AQCer and member of the Literaticult.