Professionalism As A Public Writer

I get that this business is about casual working conditions. As writers, we work with our sweats on, we wear our comfy clothes, and for many writers, make-up and hair is an option. However, this is something ONLY for when you are working at home. Once outside, in public, it is time to be professional. I will also add that this level of professionalism extends to the digital and virtual world. If you want to be taken seriously, you have to be a true professional.

For me, this is something that really bugs me when I go to professional writing conferences. I am sorry to say this guys, but you are often one of the number one offenders of this concept. When we attend these conferences and are sitting in workshops, I get that we want to be casual. We're listening to lectures and taking notes. But here is the problem. There are editors and agents also in the room with you and we are watching you! I can promise you that! While that funky hat you wear that gives you motivation, or is "part of your thing" might be something you are used to, this is far from professional. Conferences are about BUSINESS CASUAL.

Now, when it is time to meet with those editors and agents, it is time to move into the full business mode. Head to your hotel room, change and make your appearance showing the person you are truly a professional.

When you show up looking like a piece of garbage, I really don't care how good your story is, you will not be taken seriously.

My daughter and I were talking about this on a recent trip up to the stables. In the Hunter division of equitation, show coats and nice shirts are part of the, for lack of a better word, uniform. Her trainer always demands that she really doesn't care how hot it is outside, or even if the show coordinators have said "coats are optional" she wants the coats on when the rider is by the arena and on their horse. Why? It looks good. Why? It looks professional.

In the digital world, professionalism is still a must. The tone of your query letter, the type of font you use, the way you discuss things with people on social media all play a major role in how professional you look to those editors and agents. Here is another one that most people don't think of - your email address. With your friends, froglicker@msn.com might be a funny term, but certainly not the professional tone you want us to see when your email pops up. Again, I know this might sound like we are getting picky here, but these do play a major role in how we see who you are as a writer.

You cannot simply argue, "this is just who I am." It may be, but that image says a lot about how others see you.