The Ten Commandments of a
Relatively Happy
and Reasonably Well-adjusted Freelance Writer
1. Write.
2. Know your subject. Know your target audience. Know your competition. Know
your
publishers.
3. Quit talking, thinking, worrying and planning and simply begin by beginning.
4. Stick to your schedule.
5. Remember the way to become a better writer is to write.
6. Remember it takes time -- sometimes years -- to find and develop your own
voice.
7. Go with your best pitch.
8. Tell a good story.
9. Finish it.
10. Send it out. Send it out. Send it out.
And a Little Philosophy/Theology at No Extra Charge
1. Start small; dream big.
2. You will not change the world but can touch a part of it.
3. There is no secret handshake.
4. If you are not yet a professional writer, fake it. No one will know the
difference.
5. The process is not fair; publishing is a business.
6. You cannot guarantee your success but can pretty much ensure your failure.
7. Use it or lose it. The ability to write is a gift, a calling.
© 1993 Bill Dodds