An author is a chronicler and creator of works of fiction or facts in book, electronic, or document form. It took American authors nearly 200 years after setting foot on the new continent to develop their own style and set standards to be followed by future generations.
Initially, the style was more of a colonial carryover, relying on historical and religious writings. The change came with the American War of Independence, giving a sense of belonging and opportunity. We had classics like The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and authors such as Washington Irving. The great authors of nineteenth century—Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Edgar Allan Poe—gave way to post-Civil War trendsetters or mega authors like Mark Twain (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Adventures of Tom Sawyer) and the birth of realism in American writings. It was also a period of thinker authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, an ex-minister who published a nonfiction work called Nature.
Social themes were the hallmark of twentieth-century writings, and authors Henry James, Edith Wharton, Upton Sinclair, Jack London, Sinclair Lewis, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald brought out impressive characterizations of the period. Another important event of this era was the emergence of black authors finally breaking away from the slavery mold. They soon worked towards crossing the racial line and entering mainstream publishing.
Every century has its icons, and the present is cluttered with aspiring authors and celebrities like Hillary and Bill Clinton and Dan Brown of The Da Vinci Code fame and with autobiographies of political or theatrical figures. Other first-time success stories are book authors or information spreaders who market the written word through specific topic books, audio programs, fiction, history, home-study courses, computer programs, seminars, or newsletters. Certain subject areas like electronic media, research papers, blogs, e-zines, or how-to books restrict the creativity of authors. Some authors get lucky with first-time books and follow them up with a series that could be how-to books, suspense, detective, family drama, or humor series. Trinity authors have unique content and established platforms, which they refurbish to their advantage. Whatever the subject, success depends on the sincerity of purpose and of words.