My writer's self-contract - join the meme!

There's a new meme going around, where writers are posting contracts with themselves. Kathy Kehrli cheated and tagged everybody who reads her blog (tsk, tsk), so I am posting my own self-contract.

I, Katharine Swan, do hereby agree to the terms of this contract with myself, effective immediately upon posting.

I will hold myself to be a professional writer, and act accordingly in all dealings with clients and potential clients. I will strike the word "employer" from my vocabular, and remember that the only person I work for is myself. I will endeavor to uphold my own standards of pay and the quality of my work at all times.

As a professional, I also understand that my goal must be not just to write, but to grow. I will endeavor to take every opportunity to challenge myself, to improve my writing, and to perfect my business. As part of this, I will actively market my services, maintain my website and blogs, participate in the writing community, take jobs that challenge me to build new skills, and pursue the things I want to do as well as the things I have to do.

I will remember that the first and foremost reason why I am a writer is because I love to write. This does not mean that it is acceptable to work for little or no pay, but that it is unacceptable to perform work that does not contribute to my overall happiness in some way.

Well, I think that's about everything I can think of. I'm tagging Harmony, scriptgirl, and Julia.