•If you want to be treated as a professional, you must act like one. This goes from checking spellings and grammar (and not relying on your computer here) but, more importantly, in terms of attitude. It’s a question of being confident but never arrogant and not thinking of yourself more highly than you ought or being a doormat.
•You can never have too much paper, stationery, ink or toner cartridges or information. In most professions there are journals for that market. Writing is no exception. And to be taken seriously as an author you need to know what’s going on out there. I use Writers’ News, Writing Magazine and Mslexia.