Difference between 作家, 著者, and 作者?

[MamaMiki]

I see these words used interchangeably around the net. Heck, one website I know of even uses all three on the same page! Does that mean they're synonyms?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Majestic]

作家 > Writer, as in, "I want to be a writer".
著作 > Author. May be the author of a self-written book, may be the author of a book that is derived from the works of other people (textbook, dictionary, encyclopedia, etc...).
作者 > Author of a book, novel, etc...

作家 is a generic term for writer - or could be any artist who creates something, but by itself it generally means writer. 著者 and 作者 are both used to identify a work with a particular person, and start to take on a more specific meaning, including legal meanings. 著作権 for example is "copyright", and so the 著作者 will be the copyright holder.

The words are not interchangeable, but there are similarities.

 

[MamaMiki]

作家 > Writer, as in, "I want to be a writer".
著作 > Author. May be the author of a self-written book, may be the author of a book that is derived from the works of other people (textbook, dictionary, encyclopedia, etc...).
作者 > Author of a book, novel, etc...

作家 is a generic term for writer - or could be any artist who creates something, but by itself it generally means writer. 著者 and 作者 are both used to identify a work with a particular person, and start to take on a more specific meaning, including legal meanings. 著作権 for example is "copyright", and so the 著作者 will be the copyright holder.

The words are not interchangeable, but there are similarities.

Thank you so much for such a detailed explanation! Just to clarify though...

著作 > Author. May be the author of a self-written book, may be the author of a book that is derived from the works of other people (textbook, dictionary, encyclopedia, etc...).

You meant 著者 here, right? If not, then is there a difference between 著者 and 著作?

 

[Majestic]

Yes - you are correct. It was a mistake - should have been 著者.