If it was a crime to be a writer, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

There's a great new blog written by a literary agent who calls herself Miss Snark. It's funny and authoritative; what she says certainly fits in with everything I've heard about the publishing and agenting biz. The other day someone asked her how to distinguish a dilettante (or "hobbyist," which is a pretty execrable term) from a real writer. I was relieved to find I passed the test, to wit:

1. You have an agent; OR
2. You have sold work, for cash money, to a publisher who is not your mother and the work is available in brick and mortar stores with an ISBN number and Library of Congress cataloging information; AND
3. You file, or will file for this year, a Schedule C form with your taxes that shows income and expenses from your business of writing; AND
4. You've invested time and planning in your writing career by attending workshops, graduate school or professional development seminars and workshops, or by subscribing to, or reading professional publications like PW, Kirkus, Library Journal...

Strangely, the one I'm weakest on is probably the last. But I am in a writing group, and I did go to Squaw this year (which regular readers of this blog are no doubt sick of me mentioning).