So, I've been thinking about this a lot. I have really been seeing a serious decrease in professionalism in today's society. This doesn't just include publishing but in everything. Let me ramble for a second.
If someone emails you about something, there should be no excuse for taking an extensive amount of time to get back to them. I will say that if (in the case of editors or agents) if they say they have a turn around time for a response on a query, then stick to it.
Making excuses. Sure things happen and we understand that. But when excuses happen on a regular basis then we have a problem.
Gossip and what not. Look, people are on the internet a lot. People talk a lot, but just because you are writing from the comfort of your own home does not give you the right to drop the professionalism. This includes blogs and I am especially talking to bloggers (writers, editors and agents). Conduct yourself in a manner that conveys professionalism. Without this, you have no credibility.
It's coming up to conference season again so I bring this up as well. Conferences are BUSINESS MEETINGS. Being tacky, drinking to excess, and generally treating this as a "get-together" is wrong. If you want to party, then hang out someplace else. I hate to break it to you but people ARE watching. I have seen several established authors behave poorly at conferences and I don't care if their writing is good, I will not support that behavior and I will certainly not buy their book.
The key is, if you are writing and this is business, treat it as such!
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