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First and foremost you are in public. Now, if your skirt was caught in the back of your pantyhouse and you were walking around the mall and you had on those underpants, you know the ones that live in the back of your drawer for when you are low on laundry and stuff? Anyhoodle, you'd hope your friends or even a passerby would say, "Hey, psst, your butt is showing."

Same goes here. Don't show your butt in public. It's not cute. In public is where we have BOUNDARIES and FILTERS. Boundaries and filters are like making sure your lawn is mowed and you don't use that big saw in the garage at 2 am in a neighborhood.

I have a rule - when I get mad about something I see online, I make myself wait an hour before I reply. And then I make myself edit at least twice and usually I just hit the back button and not comment. What you say reflects on you and it never goes away. The internet is forever. So when you get a bad review, suck it up and know everyone gets them. If you talk about it on your blog in a whiny or angry way you come off as thin skinned.

When you get rejected, eat some chocolate and call a friend. Buy some shoes. Watch your favorite movie, IM your friends or call your mom. DO NOT write an angry blog entry calling out the editor who rejected you by name. And if and when your friends do it, tell them to knock it off.

Your blog is like an open house. As an author, you're inviting potential readers into your home to check you out. Clean off your counters, dust, make sure the yard is picked up and the trash has been taken out. Don't let your online persona be a messy, embarassing pit that turns readers off. Keep your blog, if you have one, updated regularly (be it daily, weekly, whatever) and keep in mind what is appropriate to blog about (as in, not your money problems, your fungal infections or your sex life in great, graphic detail). Do you want people to think you're a whiner? That you're thick skinned or angry all the time?

When you're promoting, think about what you say and where. Don't spam the loops you never particpate on. Don't subscribe people at random to your newsletter. Don't spam blogs and myspace comment pages with your new releases unless you've been given permission to. Promotion shouldn't feel like an intrusion.

Professionalism just isn't about how you are online but how you are in your working relationships as well. Be prompt. Answer emails and phone calls. Turn in your manuscript clean and ON TIME. Be professional with edits. You don't need to be a doormat but by being wise about what you object to and when, you're saving up your power for an appropriate battle. There are very few authors who can get away with being jerks to their editors and publishers. You're probably not one of them. I'm not. And if you look around at those who probably could be, they're not. People like Nora Roberts are not out in public showing their behind and I'd wager they turn in their work on time and behave professionally as well. You don't get to be Nora by being an idiot.

And make no mistake, I want that kind of career. Oh sure, chances are I will not have a million books and all those best seller slots, etc, but I want that kind of longevity and reputation. This is something I mean to have a stake in for a long time to come. Everything you do from your daily wordcount to ads in magazines, counts in some way so don't just think readers will somehow intuit your book is available and buy it 'cause you're so awesome they'll be magically drawn to you. And don't assume you can be the biggest turd ever online and it won't count.

In the end, it's not that hard. Be smart about what you do and say and where you say it. Your reputation is important. Treat it like you'd treat anything you own that you want to keep in good shape.

Thank you all for reading this week!

Lauren