People commonly speak of “wearing different hats,” indicating playing different roles in different contexts. I might describe myself as a wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, pianist, retiree, gardener, artist, singer, author, or writer, depending upon what I was doing at the time. My business card says “Research and Writing Consultant.”

Many years ago, I collaborated with someone who had a doctorate in history to write a high school US history textbook for a major publisher.  He resigned from the project before it was finished, and the senior editor combined that man’s contribution and mine, and added a great deal of her own, and published the book with no authors, just herself as editor. I felt slighted at the time, but she was right–for that book, I was a researcher, not the writer. Later, personal experience articles I wrote were published in Guideposts and elsewhere with my tag line, and academic articles were published online and in professional journals; but none of the six or eight books I’ve written has been published–yet.  🙂

So do I have a writer’s hat or an author’s hat? Does it depend on what I’m writing, or if it gets published or not?

I don’t know, and I don’t know if it matters.  I just need to make sure I show up with the right hat at the right place.  At 11:27 last night, I sent off a 99,968-word manuscript of a novel I wrote, to be considered by a publisher.  At that moment, I felt very much I should go out and get a hot fudge sundae and wear my author’s hat.

But today is Mother’s Day, and I’m happily calling myself a mom. Get out the biggest hat!

What are you doing when you “wear your biggest hat”?