What is the difference between an author and a columnist?

Answer 1

Well, columnist is just a subcategory of author. A columnist is an author who writes a regular column for a newspaper... like Ann Landers, or that type of thing. Other authors might write novels, or poems, or short stories, or personal essays. They are all authors, but words like "novelist," "poet," or "essayist" would also cover some of the subcategories.

Answer 2

There is no difference. An author usually writes his own compositions (poetry, stories etc.) While a writer, in addition to authoring his own works, could simply write brochures, technical papers or instruction manuals. In another words, a writer is a all encompassing word or a generic term if you will, while "author" is specific to one's own work. An author is someone who has written anything published. Even someone who writes something in the high school paper is considered an author because their work was published. A writer, however, is anyone who writes. For example, I am a writer right now because I am writing. Please check the 'Merriam-Webster Dictionary' New Edition and you will see that an author is one who originates, creates or composes. having anything published has nothing to do with authoring something and the definition of 'Writer' in the same dictionary ends with 'Author'. Of course, my dictionary could be wrong, but since it's based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, I think it's likely to be correct. I would never be so crude as to strike out your answer since I respect your opinion, but anyone can simply just check their own dictionary and they'll see that my answer stands as above: There is no real difference (published or not)!

Answer 3

An author typically writes books, articles, or other literary works, while a columnist writes regular opinion pieces or articles for newspapers, magazines, or online publications on a specific topic. Authors may cover a wide range of subjects in their works, whereas columnists often focus on a particular area of expertise or interest.