What's the difference between a new and old writer?

SF/F and horror writer James Van Pelt ponders the difference between being a new and old writer on his blog. As Pelt notes, despite being first published in 1990, some people still call him a new writer. This prompted him to explore the differences he's noted between being a new and more established writer. One big benefit: his confidence is higher. Ironically, this creates a new concerns--that an editor will give him the "literary equivalent of a mercy kiss, which is a girl kissing a totally inappropriate guy goodnight at the end of a date only because he was so needy, but she never plans on kissing him again." As Pelt says, there is some deep neurosis at work in that statement.

Probably the best part of Pelt's rumination is when he says "Being an old writer means that I feel more like a Walmart greeter at the writers' gate of literature rather than someone in the parking lot hoping to get in."

Classic!