The Day Job: Being Professional

One of the ongoing arguments in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) concerns what makes a writer professional. A small but influential cadre within the organization defines the term easily: a writer is professional when she makes her living from selling her writing. Anything less makes the writer a hobbyist at best. SFWA itself uses a more embracing definition that identifies a writer as professional by the dint of having sold enough work to markets that the organization has also defined as professional. Between the extremes of calling someone professional because of three story sales at five cents a word, and selling enough writing to pay a mortgage and feed a family is a lot of distance!

For those writers who can’t quit their day jobs, clearly the money argument can’t be the only way to define professionalism. There must be other standards of behavior that mark the professional. Here are some that seem reasonable:

1) A professional consistently produces work. For me personally, consistency means at least 200 words of new writing a day. That may not sound like much (particularly for writers in the middle of a NaNoMo drive), but if I never miss, that’s over 70,000 words of fresh work a year. For others who can’t fit writing into their schedule that way, they might have to look at weekly or monthly production benchmarks, but it would be difficult to claim professional status just by thinking about the great stuff that will appear in the nebulous future. Words must be made.

2) A professional tries to sell the work. That means finishing projects, researching the market—Ralan.com is a good place to start—and sending the work out for consideration. An element of persistence should be a part of this standard too. Once a work is finished, and as long as the writer maintains faith in it, the manuscript should stay in circulation. My personal record for number of rejections of a single piece before it sold is 49. The story made the rounds for ten years before finding a home with a pro market that didn’t even exist when I first started submitting the story. Persistence works.

3) A professional strives to improve his knowledge in the field. Teachers, nurses, policemen, doctors, and even auto mechanics go back to school for more training regularly. Writing can be ferociously freelance, and there’s no certificate required to call yourself a writer, but that doesn’t mean learning isn’t a part of the profession. Fortunately, not only are there an amazing number of classes, workshops, and conferences, like Clarion or Odyssey, there are also books specifically about writing, some of which I talked about in my last column.

4) A professional networks. Although it is possible to write in total isolation (picture a remote cabin somewhere in the Rockies), communicating with other professionals not only is uplifting and inspiring, but it can also open opportunities for sales. The upcoming WorldCon in Denver in August of ’08, for example, is a wonderful event for meeting writers, publishers, editors, and fans. Smaller, local conventions occur regularly in most regions. Paying attention to writing or author events in the community can also provide networking possibilities.

5) A professional keeps up with the field. In science fiction and fantasy, that means subscribing to Locus or checking with Locus OnLine. More news of the speculative writing community can be found in numerous spots, like Speculations, SFWA, or from the many writing professionals who blog regularly, like Jay Lake, John Scalzi, and many, many others.

6) A professional behaves professionally. Professional behavior encompasses a broad range of activities, starting with obvious actions like making deadlines, delivering work that meets professional expectations, etc. Just as importantly, though, a professional is not a jerk. Writing nasty notes to editors who rejected work, berating reviewers who negatively review, instigating or perpetuating online flame wars, bad mouthing other writers/editors/publishers in public forums, etc. are not professional behaviors.

7) A professional “pays forward.” Offering advice and encouragement to pre-professionals or newly minted writers helps to maintain excellence in the ranks. Besides, being a nice person raises your karma.

When I first considered this subject, I added other thoughts, including joining professional writing organizations, corresponding with other writers, and taking on nonfiction related projects. They seem to me now activities that a professional might do, but they aren’t necessarily vital. For example, I think Connie Willis is a consummate professional (although she’d be the first to tell you about the trouble with making novel deadlines). One of the many professional behaviors she exhibits that I admire is how she presents herself at conventions. Connie does not spend her time pimping her books. She doesn’t line them up like a barricade in front of her when she’s on a panel, and she doesn’t constantly refer every question about writing to one of her own titles. She’ll quote Shakespeare and Heinlein, and reference madcap romantic comedies from Hollywood’s early years. What she doesn’t do is sound like a non-stop infomercial about herself.

I admire Connie for that. It strikes me as a wonderfully professional behavior, but avoiding selling yourself is not a prerequisite. Some writers might argue that someone of Connie’s stature doesn’t have to put her books in front of her. People know who she is, so a lesser known professional might do it and not look totally desperate. Writers with a sense of wit, for example, can both let fans know about their books and still retain their dignity. I will admit, however, that some writers are more obnoxious about selling themselves than others.

Which takes me back where I started: money. Being paid for work clearly pushes a writer into the professional ranks, but payment is a small part of the package. A writer who wants to be considered professional needs to think of herself as a professional and act like one.

The one part of a writer’s career that she can’t control is the very part that opens the door into the “professional” ranks, which is selling the work. The writer writes the best she can, finds the most appropriate markets, then sends the work out. What happens after that is beyond her control. But she can control everything else. Being professional is about a lot more than making money.