The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now (#154) -- Me Llamo "Author"

I was recently on a panel at a convention with several writers. Each of them introduced themselves as “a dark urban fantasy author” or “a hard science fiction writer” or “a pulp writer.” This got me wondering about how we as writers present ourselves to readers. How do you introduce yourself on a panel at a convention, for instance? What type of label do you attach to yourself as a writer? Or do you attach a label? (Question courtesy of Table Talk)

I just call myself a writer. Occasionally, depending on the venue, I may introduce myself as a comic book writer or a pulp or action writer.

Bobby Nash gets a kick out of the fact that I used to introduce myself (all in one breath) as "Hi, I'm Sean Taylor, writer of Gene Simmons Dominatrix" as if my name was tied to Gene's apron strings.

But now my writing life is so varied, I'm perfectly fine with just being a writer. Or sometimes a writer of stuff.

I have friends who call themselves "urban fantasy novelists" or "supernatural romance authors" and so on, but for me, I don't want to get stuck writing one type of genre and pigeonhole my career into it. So, for now, whether it's the best marketing decision or not, I'm just a plain ol' writer, and I'm happy with that.