10. R.E.S.P.E.C.T

You wanna write? Learn to be a professional. Not a professional in whatever field you're just leaving, a professional in your new field.

Respect the rules of your new field. It's been there longer than you. Bucking the system or trying to out-manouvre it is a sure-fire way of outing yourself as inexperienced.

• Understand that everyone has something to learn no matter what their standing in the game.
• Know that writing is 90% craft and 10% art, just because you're talented with words does not mean you can automatically craft a good book.
• Don't be precious about your work, your goals, or your relative importance in the world. Dreams are good but you have to be realistic about them.
• Work with the flaws of the industry (critically slow response times, long ponderous approval periods, excruciating competition) rather than fighting the process every step of the way.

This means one followup phone-call/email and no more. This means declaring honestly if you're shopping your manuscript around to dozens of publishers at the same time (and accepting if some knock you back because of that choice). This means accepting rejection or feedback with grace and maturity. This means thinking three times before you post ANYTHING to a public blog or forum. Your name will be googlable forever. This means taking a step back and a deep breath if you get an unprofessional response from someone working in the industry. That's on them, not you.

Some days its harder than others to be professional. But its your job to do the hard thing. This is your dream, not theirs.

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