A novelist is a writer of novellas, novels, short-stories, and often writes in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Professional novelist, thus make a living writing. As a novelist with a wide variety of backgrounds and social classes, which frequently shapes the content of their works and the novelists' incorporation of their own experiences into works and characters can lead to the author's personal life and identity being associated with a novel's fictional content.

For this reason, the environment within which a novelist works and the reception of their writings by both the public and publishers can be influenced by their demographics or identity. Similarly, some novelists have creative identities derived from their focus on different genres of fiction, such as crime, romance or historical novels.

While many novelists compose fiction to satisfy personal desires, novelists often ascribe a particular social responsibility or role to their writings and use such moral imperatives to justify different approaches to writing, including activism or different approaches to representing reality "truthfully.“