Timothy's Thoughts

W hat is the difference between a writer and an author ? In a recent comment to Rachelle Gardner’s blog, one person implied that it is pretentious to call one’s self an author until one has a publishing contract. Comments like that leave me feeling a little uneasy because it makes published authors to be snobs. I have four books in print. No one will say that I am not the author of those books, so that makes me an author . That doesn’t, however, make me better than the lowly writer who has no books in print. Either there is no difference between a writer and an author or we need a better way of drawing the distinction. I suggest we go back to the beginnings of the word. The word author comes from the word autor (“father”). An author is the father of a work. An author is the person who began or originated the work. You will recall the use of the word in Hebrews 12:2, which describes Jesus as the “author and finisher of our faith.” As we frequently use the term author , an aut...

E ditor’s Note: Today, I’m talking to Wayne Hiller. You may recall his book, How to Become a Bible Character . If you don’t, I hope you’ll purchase your copy today. For the interview, I met Wayne at Ellen’s Café, during the afternoon, when it wasn’t too busy. We sat at one of the tables next to the large windows at the front of the building. We could see the shoppers and tourists walking past on the sidewalk outside. Ellen brought us blackberry cobbler fresh from the oven with ice cream. I offered to pay, but she wouldn’t hear of it. This is the more interesting parts of our conversation: Timothy Fish: Brother Hiller, thanks for agreeing to this interview. I’m hoping my readers will remember you. Some of my fans said they liked you. Wayne Hiller: I’m glad to do what I can, but I’m not all that concerned about what people think of me. There are too many other things that are important to be concerned with that. Timothy Fish: Now, my readers will likely remember you from How to Beco...