When you hear people talk about being a real writer, what do they mean by that?

Do they consider you a real writer when you have a book with your name on it?

But what about people who only publish their writing on blogs and platforms like Substack or Wattpad?

And what about people who write for other publications, then?

Are they NOT real writers since they have nothing tangible like a book?

According to Steven Pressfield, you are a writer when you write.

If we’re basing our answer here on Steven Pressfield’s definition, then we’re all writers in this regard.

And it doesn’t matter if you don’t fit into the traditional mold of being a writer.

You are still a writer even if you only publish your work on Substack or Wattpad or other people’s publications.

So, what is it that causes me to ponder into the real author rabbit hole?

Am I not considering myself a real author at some point?

Well, my friend, we have Colleen Hoover to thank for that.

What does Colleen Hoover have to do with being a real writer?

Some of you must be wondering: What does Colleen Hoover have to do with our quest for truth here?

Sure, she’s a popular author whose book is the center of controversy as of now.

But what does our quest for truth here have anything to do with her then?

To be frank, it has many things to do with her.

As you can see here, the movie adaptation of her book, It Ends with Us, sparks a lot of drama, with the movie behind the scenes riddled with all sorts of scandals.

And yes, the lawsuit.

What caught my attention about the It Ends with Us debacle isn’t so much to do with Colleen Hoover being a part of the mess.

But what caught my attention the most is people calling her for not being a real writer.

As an author, it sure does pique my interest, of course.

Why do people accuse her of such a thing?

Did she do something illegal by any chance, as far as her books are concerned?

As someone who knows nothing about Colleen Hoover’s work and never cared to read any of the books, I can’t help but wonder.

After all, we don’t want people to accuse us of something we aren’t even aware we did.

I can’t say for sure if she’s aware of people’s accusations of her.

Even if she does, I doubt she would even care when she is raking the dough.

Why do people think that way about Colleen Hoover and her work

Since I don’t know anything about her work, I let Gemini do the investigation work for me.

The result?

Sadly, it’s not as straightforward as I thought.

If anything, I have to dig deeper to find the real reason behind the accusation.

After all, there’s no way for such an accusation to appear out of nowhere.

There must be something that she did that rubs people the wrong way, to the point where even her biggest fans can’t deny it.

So, what causes people to accuse her of not being a real author then?

While the reason that makes people think less highly of her has a lot to do with her writing lacking nuanced storytelling and in-depth characterization, it’s the way she markets her work that people find problematic.

The slimy thing that she did, book-marketing-wise

Whether you’re a fan of hers or not, we all know that Colleen Hoover is a romance author.

But her work isn’t the normal, fluffy type of romantic story akin to the Harlequin novels.

Rather, her books tend to revolve around dark and serious topics such as domestic violence.

Just to be clear, it’s not unusual for a romance author to wander into the dark side, considering that dark romance is a thing.

There are plenty of authors whose books revolve around dark themes such as stalking, obsession, and forbidden love.

So, Colleen Hoover isn’t the only person who ventures into such a genre.

And there’s nothing wrong with her wanting to write this kind of story if it’s the thing that brings her joy.

What’s problematic about her writing hasn’t so much to do with her penchant for writing dark romance per se.

The issue here has more to do with her portrayal of those behaviors as being a sign of passionate love in her work.

That’s not a good way to go about it, considering some of her readers are mainly young and impressionable.

And then there’s this argument about people finding her writing lacks substance and how shallow the characters in the story are.

While it’s clear to say her Wattpad-style writing is the reason that causes people to think less of her as a writer, it’s the misleading portrayal that people have the most beef with.

How we can avoid the Colleen Hoover pitfall

It goes without saying that you need to learn as much as you can about the writing craft.

Find the one that works best for you, since there are many of them, and hone them to perfection.

Fiction or nonfiction, it doesn’t matter.

Good writing draws people in, and bad writing repels people like a plague.

If you need to rely on AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini and AI writing tools such as ProWritingAid, then use them if they help to make your craft better.

And, of course, it’s important to know your audience and the genre you’re writing in like the back of your hand.

Not only does knowing your audience and genre help with your writing craft, but it also makes marketing the book a whole lot easier.

Sure, you can use something like Publisher Rocket to find a best-selling genre before you even begin writing your first word.

But whatever approach you use, the key here is to not mislead readers.

If you write something twisted, say so in your book description, list your book in the right categories, and have a book cover that reflects the genre you’re in.

Etch these rules in your mind, and you’ll have a peaceful writing career.

Will people call you a pretend writer if you do all these things?

To be honest, I don’t know.

But I do know people won’t accuse you of that if you’re so good at what you do.

You are already one

Not going to lie the Colleen Hoover situation sure does make anyone nervous.

After all, you certainly don’t want people to call you a fake writer when you put so much effort into becoming the best writer you can be.

While Steven Pressfield already made it clear that we’re all writers when we write, it’s worth mentioning it again that we’re already one.

It doesn’t matter whether you choose to publish your writing as a book or through platforms like Substack and Wattpad.

We’re all writers, real ones, I should say.