In a blatant attempt to keep the discussions flowing, even as I scale back on my net-surfing, here's something I've been thinking about for a while. Take from it what you may.

Ten Things I Know Now That I Wish I’d Known When I Started Writing:

10. START AT THE TOP MARKETS and work your way down from there. Don’t give a story away w/o being paid for it, unless it’s a quality market that people actually read, and you’ve exhausted all other publishing options. Getting it published somewhere is still better than letting it sit in your trunk, never to be read. But try to get PAID for it, regardless of where it's published. That's your hard work there.

9. LISTEN TO EDITORS, AND DON’T ARGUE with their opinions, unless the editor is suggesting you change something that you feel would ruin your story or hurt it in the long run, and even then, think HARD about it before arguing. Editors know what they’re doing.

8. LET YOUR STORY DO THE TALKING. Don’t synopsize your story on your cover letter -- just introduce yourself, give the name of your story and list any publications or workshops or related experience, and sign off. If you’ve enjoyed a story in the magazine or related work from the editor, mention it.

7. IF YOU’RE COLLABORATING WITH ANOTHER WRITER, CREATE A WRITTEN CONTRACT, even if that other writer is your best bud. Bad things happen to relationships, and you don’t want to lose a year’s worth of work because a friendship or collaboration went bad. Split the future profits down the middle and be specific about who owns what and who’s responsible for what, if relevant. Mostly applies to collaborative novels, but may apply to co-written stories too.

6. BE PROFESSIONAL AT ALL TIMES. This doesn’t mean wearing a suit and tie to a convention, though if you’re meeting an editor for a pitch meeting for your novel, at least shave and shower and comb the hair. Leave the jeans in your room (but do wear pants, of course, or a nice dress...). And treat other writers as professionals as well, regardless of their sales or lack thereof. And be professional elsewhere -- online, in person, on the phone. To everyone. It pays off in the end, and really, how hard is it to just be nice?

5. FIND PEERS AT AND SLIGHTLY ABOVE YOUR LEVEL to exchange your work with. Find people who are hard-working and ambitious, and try to keep up with them.

4. YOUR FAVORITE STORY OR NOVEL THAT YOU’VE EVER WRITTEN SHOULD BE THE ONE YOU’RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW. Enthusiasm for your current project is priceless, in my opinion, and you should never rest on your laurels.

3. DON’T TAKE REJECTION PERSONALLY, just put that rejection slip in your files (or wastebasket) and send the story or novel out again. Don’t waste time on rejectomancy, trying to figure out why that editor rejected you. Send it out again and forget about it so you can back to work on your NEXT story or novel!

2. “DON’T BOTHER JUST TO BE BETTER THAN YOUR CONTEMPORARIES OR PREDECESSORS. TRY TO BE BETTER THAN YOURSELF.” William Faulkner.

1. WRITE THE KIND OF NOVELS AND STORIES YOU AS A READER WOULD WANT TO READ. And re-read, and tell all your friends about. I think that’s a paraphrase of something I read a while ago by Stephen King. This quote has guided for me a long time, and helps me whenever I get stuck.

Okay, fellow writers -- what did I leave out?