| Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | Poll: Have you authored and published any books? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you authored and published any books?".
This poll was originally submitted by Rosa Grau. View the poll results »
| | | | Mary Worby 
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:34
German to English
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But when did writing become authoring?
| | | | | I write books | Apr 4, 2012 |
I don't author them. But then I write them in British English, I suppose.
And all of that is actually hypothetical
| | | | Ty Kendall
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:34
Hebrew to English
| Just because you can, doesn't mean you should! | Apr 4, 2012 |
Just because you can (theoretically) make any noun into a verb in English, it really doesn't mean you should....
"to author" is almost as bad as "to gift" .....
And no, I've never written or published a book.
Usage Note: The verb author, which had been out of use for a long period, has been rejuvenated in recent years with the sense "to assume responsibility for the content of a pub... See more Just because you can (theoretically) make any noun into a verb in English, it really doesn't mean you should....
"to author" is almost as bad as "to gift" .....
And no, I've never written or published a book.
Usage Note: The verb author, which had been out of use for a long period, has been rejuvenated in recent years with the sense "to assume responsibility for the content of a published text." As such it is not quite synonymous with the verb write
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/author
and no, I've never "assumed responsibility for the content of a published text" either....wow! that's one contrived verb! :-/
[Edited at 2012-04-04 08:44 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Yes, a book of poetry, as to the verb, author... well... writing is ok
| | | | Simon Bruni
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:34
Member (2009)
Spanish to English
| Medalling with language | Apr 4, 2012 |
Ty Kendall wrote:
Just because you can (theoretically) make any noun into a verb in English, it really doesn't mean you should....
In a similar vein, I almost stopped watching the Beijing Olympics because of the repeated use of "to medal" by British athletes and cyclists. I'm no purist when it comes to language but that really got under my skin.
| | | | Rosa Grau (X)
Spain
Local time: 21:34
English to Catalan
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I am the author of the poll and I am not an English native speaker, but please look at this reference from the Oxford Dictionaries.
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/author?q=author
It seems that author is a fairly normal English verb.
In any case, I was trying to make it clear that I meant writing as the author. Most of us have materi... See more I am the author of the poll and I am not an English native speaker, but please look at this reference from the Oxford Dictionaries.
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/author?q=author
It seems that author is a fairly normal English verb.
In any case, I was trying to make it clear that I meant writing as the author. Most of us have materially written books as translators, I suppose.
And I have not published any books (yet), neither in English nor in my own language. ▲ Collapse
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Rosa Grau (X)
Spain
Local time: 21:34
English to Catalan
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| Google results | Apr 4, 2012 |
for "authored": 37.300.000
Perhaps they have all been written by non-native speakers.
| | | | | | Simon Bruni
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:34
Member (2009)
Spanish to English
Rosa Grau wrote:
for "authored": 37.300.000
Perhaps they have all been written by non-native speakers.
"Authored" is widely used by native speakers. It's just one of those usages that winds up linguists because it sounds a bit affected (artificial, pretentious, and designed to impress) because there is another word, in plain English, that more clearly describes what an author does.
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 21:34
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| authored, well, actually written :) | Apr 4, 2012 |
I wrote a novel in German which was published by a publisher (vs. self-publishing). Also I wrote poetry books in English and self-published them (2 paperbacks and 4 e-books).
Just recently I wrote 2 German poetry books for hire. Presently I'm editing my novel (part 1 of 2) to present to an agent this summer.
[Edited at 2012-04-04 11:15 GMT]
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I don't think any of us wanted to attack you for using the verb - we are just complaining, as we oldies do, (sorry to tar the rest of you with my brush) about the inevitable advance/evolution of language!
You've clarified that you are really asking about being the original writer of a book, but the definition that Ty quotes from the freedictionary is actually a little bit scary - the responsibility part....
Cheers everyone
Noni
Edited to qualif... See more I don't think any of us wanted to attack you for using the verb - we are just complaining, as we oldies do, (sorry to tar the rest of you with my brush) about the inevitable advance/evolution of language!
You've clarified that you are really asking about being the original writer of a book, but the definition that Ty quotes from the freedictionary is actually a little bit scary - the responsibility part....
Cheers everyone
Noni
Edited to qualify "advance"!
[Edited at 2012-04-04 11:41 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 04:34
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
If "writing from scratch" or technical writing can be included in the definitons of "authoring" and publishing.
I wrote a series of user's manuals for game/exercise software -- tennis, bowling, fishing, aerobics, etc. -- for a software company. This involved planning/writing the book outline, actually using the software and hardware, writing about setup and teaching the reader about how to use and proceed through the software. It was quite fun and I also got lots of exercise. ![]() ... See more If "writing from scratch" or technical writing can be included in the definitons of "authoring" and publishing.
I wrote a series of user's manuals for game/exercise software -- tennis, bowling, fishing, aerobics, etc. -- for a software company. This involved planning/writing the book outline, actually using the software and hardware, writing about setup and teaching the reader about how to use and proceed through the software. It was quite fun and I also got lots of exercise.
Unfortunately, they lost out to Nintendo's Wii, which was a huge shame.
Happy "authoring"! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | yes, co-authored | Apr 4, 2012 |
I used to write about technology, and in 2000 i co-authored a book about B2B electronic commerce. Two actually, we first did a Canadian version, then americanized version.
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