How to Be a Professional Author

Video Transcript

"REBECCA SATO: Hi. I'm Rebecca with ExpertVillage.com. We're going to talk about being professional as a writer and how to be a professional writer. Because you can be a writer and get paid and still not be professional, so what I'm talking about is the skills and the attitude and the things that you need to do so that you'll have a reputation for being professional. And everyone has their own interpretation and their own criteria for what that means, but I'll just share to you what's worked for me and what I have observed with other writers. Nobody likes to work with a prima donna or somebody who thinks that they're so talented and so wonderful that they're irreplaceable. Because the fact is your publisher, your client, whoever it is that you're writing for, you are replaceable. And that doesn't mean that you're not a great writer and that your writing is not valuable, it's just that there are very few people who can get away with having lots of attitude and being difficult to work with and still get consistent work. All right, I'm not going to say it because for some people, it does. There's a few people that it works for, but it's very rare and it's not worth the risk of being that person because more often than not those type of people--people don't want to work with them in the future and they have a hard time getting jobs, so don't be that person. Another thing of what being professional is you always want to remember to be conscious and aware of what your publisher or your client needs. And I'm talking in terms of deadlines, in terms what kind of writing they've asked you for. Be respectful. If you get to the point where you realize: You know what, I'm not going to make this deadline, and you have a good reason for it. I mean, don't ever get to that point because you've been partying too much and not working. But if you get to that point legitimately because the project was just bigger than you thought it was, just have the respect to tell the publisher or your client as soon as you can when you notice that you might be going over the deadline. Just tell them as soon as you can and explain why and they will understand. And if you can keep those things down, then you will be known as a professional writer."