That's me.  Pissed off and unpublished. 

I've been seeing messages with "I'm now officially a published writer!"  from a few people I know.  Not to take away anything from them, but what makes a writer "officially published" ?  Where does it officially become official?

When a blog is posted publically?
When a commentary is posted on a personal website?
When a commentary is posted on a well-known site?
When you receive your first payment for something you wrote?
When the WGA asks you to pay your union dues?
When your book is self-published?
When your book is published by a major publisher?
When Stephen King and Tom Clancy kidnap you, blindfold you, take you to an undisclosed location, and initiate you into a secret society of writers?

I did a short search, and the definition I found was having a name credit attached to the work along with payment for the work.  The term "author" is more broad, describing any writer of an original work. 

So, you can call me an author for now...but not a published writer.  You can also call me a wannabe, hack, newbie, poser, D-lister, outsider, and so on - but a rejection letter is not a "cease and desist" letter to stop writing. 

The only thing that forces me to stop writing is when my lunch hour is over here at work.