Another habit of effective writers is professionalism.
In other words, take your writing seriously. If you don’t, who will?
Are you one of those who keep saying you’re going to write a book? And years go by without a word appearing on paper or screen. It’s like the kid who cried wolf.
One of the first steps to being a professional writer is to call ourselves writers.
“But I haven’t been published?” you say.
Are you writing? If yes, then you are a writer.
We can’t control getting published. There are too many factors we can’t influence.
There is one thing we can control. The key to being a published writer is to actually have something to publish. We need to write.
And we need to write the best story we can. What makes Tom Brady a professional football player? It’s not the money he’s paid. That’s his reward for being a professional. What makes him a professional is the time and dedication and commitment he puts into being the best football player he can be.
That’s what makes us professional writers. Writing is what we do, it’s who we are. It’s not the sum 
total of us. We are also spouses and parents, church members and citizens. And most of us work jobs outside the home. Or we work inside the home providing for and taking care of our family.
But writing is a huge piece of who we are. Even if we only write a few hours—or a few minutes—a week. When we approach that writing time with the mindset of putting the best words we can on that screen, of learning all we can to improve our craft, then we are writers.
This habit of professionalism will manifest in every other habit I’ll be discussing in this series.
Be a writer.
Jeremiah 29:11
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