Many years ago, someone by the name of Julia Cameron wrote a book called 'The Artist's Way." In it, she said that if one loved to write, then one was a writer.

Let me draw that further.

So if one loves to paint, then one is an artist.

And if one loves to act, then one is an actor,

And if one loves to dance, then one is a dancer,

And if one loves to heal, then in a doctor.

No, one is only a dancer, if one does it professionally on stage. Dancing in a club does not make one a dancer. And doodling on a piece of paper does not make one an artist. And acting in the school play does not make one an actor.

So, no, if one isn't earn a full time living as a writer, one is not a writer.

I looked up the word in many dictionary.

a person engaged in writing books, articles, stories, etc., especially as an occupation or profession; an author or journalist.

a person who writes books or articles to be published:

a person whose job is writing books, stories, articles, etc.

A writer is a person who writes books, stories, or articles as a job.

These are all different dictionaries, and I've quoted the first and primary meaning.

There is a reason people will use the word 'amateur writer.' It's because writing is a profession, and if one isn't writing as a profession, but as a hobby, one qualifies that by saying one is an amateur writer.

What is true, is that I could have worded that better. "If one has to read articles on how to write, then one can't write."

Writing isn't difficult. It's the easiest thing in the world. That's why I do it for a living - because it's so easy, and I hate stress. What is difficult is getting paid for it, because the market is flooded with writers, and publishers don't need to pay to find a writer willing to work for nothing.

To be published means to have one's writing advertised by a publisher so that the writer becomes known. To post one's own writing on the internet isn't to be published. That said, the word has lost its traditional meaning. That's because the industry has changed.

Again, this is what the dictionary says about the meaning of the word 'publish.'

prepare and issue (a book, journal, piece of music, etc.) for public sale, distribution, or readership.

"we publish practical reference books"

My apologies for offending you, but writing isn't difficult, it's getting paid for it that is difficult.