Paid Professional Writer Signs

Yesterday's list of indicators of a professional apply to all writers, even those just beginning a career. They're solid for writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry or any combination thereof. The more I thought about it, I remembered deeper conversations about the meaning of "professional" among more experienced writers who were selling their work. Some of the signs of professionalism for those farther along in a successful writing career include:

* meets deadlines
* progresses in pay rate accepted
* delivers more than promised
* reads the fine print in contracts
* seldom writes without pay
* produces reliably
* participates in professional group

These qualities may further develop and deepen over a writer's career. For the mature (as in years of writing), often the "pay it forward" principle surfaces. The writer may then offer the benefit of his or her experience to repay the writing community for help received in previous years. In life we can seldom give back to the same people who guided us along when we were starting out. We have opportunities, however, to do the same for other beginners. Herewith this blog.

I'm sure there are other qualities different people consider important to being a professional writer, and they're probably common to all professionals. Please do share those that you admire.