What is the Difference Between an Author and a Writer?

People tend to use the terms ‘author’ and ‘writer’ synonymously. However, these two terms are different and must be used wherever appropriate. Despite the subtle difference, it is important to understand the definition and types of authors and writers. Read through the blog to know more about the difference between an author and a writer. 

Who is a Writer?

A writer is a person who writes a piece of literature, be it books, articles, blogs, novels or short stories. An individual will still be considered a writer if the write up is not their own or even if they write a journal or a script for a movie, you are a writer! You could also be a songwriter or a content writer. The possibilities are endless, in short, any person who indulges in the process of writing for anything is considered a writer.

Check out the Greatest Writers of All Times

Who is an Author?

The word author came into existence in the 14th century from the Latin word ‘Auctour’ which means author in Latin. 

An author is a person who is the originator of the written work be it a book or a play, they may also be considered as writers. Anything they write and publish, they are held accountable for. It is at this point when people confuse both the terms with each other as an author can also be considered as a writer whereas the opposite is not true. The author has the copyright of his work and has ownership of his work whereas a writer may certainly not have that ownership.

Read about the Famous Books and Authors

Difference Between a Writer and an Author

Parameters	Author	Writer
Meaning	An author is a person who is the originator of a written work like an article, a book.	A writer is a person who writes a piece of literature, articles, blogs, novels or short stories not necessarily on his ideas.
Required Skills	A person becomes an author once their work gets published. There are no additional skills required to be another apart from having basic writing skills.	A writer requires certain domain-specific skills or degrees.
Nature of Work	An author develops plots and ideas and narrates them in the form of stories or plays. The writings of an author are lengthier in nature.	A writer writes on specific topics that are brief and precise.
Publishing and Copyright	An author’s books are always published with their name and the Which has the copyright of the author.	The works of a writer are not necessarily published under their name.

Types of Writers

To understand the difference between an author and a writer, we need to break down the different categories of each. Let’s check out the types of writers.

Copywriter

Mostly copywriters work with some kind of an ad agency or business organisation to write logical and convincing information from catchy slogans to digital ads aiming at the audience. They also write website copy, articles for blogs and printed media and even sales collateral. The average annual salary of a copywriter is $60,296 (INR 44,28,108).

Content Writer

Content writers help in the positive image building of the brand as they write alluring content for the company’s site and social media. They also benefit from solid research skills, graphic design experience, and knowledge of SEO best practices throughout their writing career. The average annual salary of a content writer is $48,729 (INR 35,78,633).

Technical Writers 

One of the highest paying writer jobs is that of a technical writer who as the name suggests is a tech-savvy person who understands the technology of the product in-depth and by writing write guides, FAQs, and manuals. The average annual salary of a technical writer is $71,850 (INR 52,76,628).

Ghost Writer

Ghost Writers are not the originators of their write-up, but their ideas come from their clients and companies. They put these ideas into a polished speech, social media post, article, or book. The hourly rate of a ghostwriter is $45.19 (INR 3,318).

Scriptwriters

Script Writers write scripts for movies, television, podcasts, plays, advertisements, movies, short films, etc.

Journalists

Journalists usually cover political or general topics in their write-ups to present to the world. They also write on topics like entertainment, health, international news affairs, finance etc.

Creative Writers 

Creative writers specialize in writing intriguing blogs. Creative writers can be differentiated further into categories namely fashion writers, academic writers, health writers, gender studies writers, travel writers, food writers, literary writers, long-form writers.

Types of Authors

The following are the various types of authors.

Fiction Author

Fiction authors can write short stories, novels, screenplays, dramas which are all fictional ways of write-ups. They are more like non-factual prose texts which let the audience see the point of view of the author which also entertains the people. The subcategories of the same are novelists, playwrights, short story writers, radio dramatists, and screenwriters. Some of the famous authors are Anita Desai, Ashwin Sanghi, Amitav Ghosh, Aravind Adiga, Ashok Banker, Amit Chaudhri, Amish Tripathi.

Non-fiction Authors

Non-fiction authors are those that put out truth and accuracy about information or people. They write collections of essays on topics or write travelogues, cookery books, etc. Some of the famous non-fiction authors are Natasha Badhwar, Sudha Menon, Gurucharan Das, Devdutt Pattnaik, S Hussain Zaidi.

Poet

A person who does poetry and publishes his own written poems is called a Poet. They may also perform their poetry. They communicate through their poetry and express their ideas, usually metaphorically. Some of the famous poets are William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, John Keats, John Milton, Walt Whitman, William Blake, Percy Bysshe Shelley, T.S. Eliot, Edgar Allan Poe, and Ezra Pound.

We hope that now you have gained a clearer idea about the difference between an author and a writer in this blog. If you want to pursue a career as a writer or an author, approach our experts at Leverage Edu for suitable guidance for your career.