Difference between a writer and an author

Writing has nothing to do with publishing. Nothing. People get totally confused about that. You write because you have to - you write because you can’t not write. The rest is show-business. I can’t state that too strongly. Just write - worry about the rest of it later, if you worry at all. What matters is what happens to you while you’re writing the story, the poem, the play. The rest is show-business.

Peter S. Beagle

In other words, being a writer is just about writing the story and having fun. While being an author is just about writing stories and getting paid to do it.