10 Commandments for Writers

1. Love thy subject.

2. Love thy reader.

3. Love and thank and listen to and appreciate thy editor!

4. Thou shalt research thy subject and shalt knowest it better than thou knowest thyself (not really . . . every writer shalt knowest thyself darn well).

5. Thou shalt write because that's what writers do.

6. Thou shalt cry only briefly if thou receivest a rejection letter; and thou shalt celebrate each page your write.

7. Thou shalt worship the Word, not your words.

8. Thou shalt save thy work.

9. Thou shalt study thy markets diligently and only then send thy manuscript into the world.

10. Thou shalt not brood upon its fate, but set about the workings of thy next project with good will and high heart.