Is Everyone an Author?

    Anyone who has communicated any information in the form of writing is by a loose definition, an author. Today the experience of becoming an author is available to almost anyone because of the ability to self-publish anything imaginable. The internet has given the average person to publish their own work, and hyper publish the work of others, through forwarding and sharing tools commonly seen in email and social media. This hazy meaning of the word author; defined as someone whose work has been “published,” truly fades the lines between writers and authors. To answer this question, a book by the affirmative title “Everyone’s an Author,” explains that most of today’s writing is part of what they call a “global conversation.” This is largely due to the fact than in today’s world it is impossible to have truly original ideas. All thoughts are influenced by what you have experienced, read, or heard from things in your life. This is explained by a poet by the name of John Donne in his words: “no man is and island, apart from the main.” This sense of connection is only getting stronger as technology advances. As things like blogs and social media getting more and more attention, our ideas and opinions become more sophisticated and concrete. This ease of access to masses of information gives anyone the opportunity to become an “accredited” author. By simply taking the time to do a little research before publishing your own work, you can appeal to a much more scholarly audience. Why not take advantage of the information, after all “the world is literally at your fingertips” (xxxii). Research is what gives writing authority. Authoritative writing is what makes a statement, in what Kenneth Burke calls “the conversation of humankind.”

    *Many of these quotes and ideas are pulled from the book “Everyone’s an Author” by: Andrea Lunsford, Lisa Ede, Beverly J. Moss, Carole Clark Papper, and Keith Walters.