Pre-published v. Unpublished
I hope people would just STOP using the term “pre-published” to describe their “unpublished” status. So many unpublished writers use it, like it somehow makes them more special or something to call themselves “pre-published”.
Pre-published is a very specific word describing a very specific situation in publishing. Nephele Tempest, a literary agent, explains:
Pre-published implies that an author has sold a book, but it hasn’t actually hit the shelves yet.
I don’t understand why people think that calling themselves “pre-published” when they’re really “unpublished” is affirming and positive.
Do you call your friends on diet “pre-thin”? Do you call your single friends “pre-wives” or “pre-husbands”? Do you call people with cancer or other terminal illnesses “pre-dead”?
Surely not.
Calling yourself pre-published when you’re not only makes you sound pretentious and stupid, like you don’t know what the word really means.
