Thou shalt not plagiarise
So easy to do in this world of information at the touch of a button. Don’t, please don’t yield to temptation and pass off someone’s work as your own. The time of reckoning always comes round, if not sooner then most definitely later.
Thou shalt be proud of thine craft
Now this presupposes a few things. It means you can write, maybe write well – or rather hopefully write well. It means you have to say the same things better than most people would say them. It also means that you are proud of what you do so you make sure that only the best goes out. Treat your writing like it is a craft and you’ll be proud of every word you write.
So you’re an online writer now. It’s so easy after that first break to think you’ve arrived. However, if you want to go down that road to writing heaven with success in every stride, you’ll need to do a lot more than just write well. You need to move forward with dignity and integrity. Here are the 10 commandments that will hopefully make you do just that.
Thou shalt be proud of thine craft
Thou shalt not plagiarise
Thou shalt be self critical
Thou shalt not miss deadlines
Thou shalt not add on fluff
Thou shalt be loyal to thine clients
Thou shalt not pass work to others without permission
Thou shalt not over promise
Thou shalt not venture into unknown areas
Thou shalt not hold the client to ransom
What do these 10 commandments do? They don’t help you to write better. They help you to just be a more professional writer. With that comes better paying jobs. Give a client a brilliant writer who never bothers about deadlines, number of words, confidentiality and give him a good, disciplined, trustworthy writer and there’s no question of him choosing brilliance over the steady – maybe for a one-off piece but not for the long haul. So follow these 10 commandments and go forth to have a great writing career.
More about those commandents in the posts to come.