3. TAKING YOUR WRITING PERSONALLY. Now, don't confuse what you just read with the idea of making your writing personal, or using your personal experiences in your writing. Depending on what kind of writing you do, both can be very effective. The pitfall is when you mistake your writing for yourself, a common factor that has so many writers not be able to deal with rejection well. When you mistake your writing for yourself, every rejection letter or request for a revision feels like a personal insult. And boy, I've seen some writers with pretty thin skin and some editors who are masterful at making cutting remarks.

CLIMB OUT OF THIS PITFALL BY: first noticing when you are taking something personally. We all know what it feels like when we think someone is criticizing us. Use that feeling as a signal to make a switch to a more positive response. One way to make this switch is to think of every rejection or comment from an editor as the Universe coaching you in how to be a successful writer. Suddenly, what at first occurred as criticism, becomes constructive coaching.

4. NOT REALIZING THAT WRITING IS A BUSINESS. This can be difficult for a lot of people to learn, no matter what the profession. I had to learn it as a veterinarian, and relearn it as a writer. Luckily, I learned much faster the second time. If you expect someone to pay you money for your services, whatever that service is, then you're in business. Therefore, it's important to not only develop your technical skills as a writer, but to also develop your business skills. I've found that most writers are much better writers than they are business people. That's why in my workshop, FROM SPARK TO FLAME: Fanning Your Passion and Ideas into Money-making Magazine Articles, the focus is on the business skill of how to market your writing effectively.

CLIMB OUT OF THIS PITFALL BY: investing at least equal learning time to developing your business skills as you do your writing skills. Seek out books, workshops, and courses that teach business skills such as time management, marketing, business planning, and accounting, to name a few.

5. TAKING YOUR WRITING CAREER TOO SERIOUSLY: Most writers who want to become professional writers do so because they love to write. But all too often, the fun and love of writing disappears under a cloud of "serious significance." Invariably, when a naturally creative person starts taking life too seriously, their creativity suffers.

CLIMB OUT OF THIS PITFALL BY: lightening up for starters. As the recent best seller attests to, "Don't sweat the small stuff, and it's all small stuff." I also encourage writers to always include in their writing schedule fun and recreational writing. If it ends up somewhere and brings in a few bucks, fine, but the point of such writing is to keep the fun in.

This report is one example of fun writing for me, which shouldn't lessen its value to you. I simply enjoy passing along some of the pitfalls I've discovered (and fallen into from time to time) along my own writing path in the hopes they may be helpful to you.

The ideas in this article are from FROM SPARK TO FLAME - a proven, systematic process for fanning your ideas into money-making magazine ideas that make a difference.

Dr. Brad Swift founded Life On Purpose Institute in 1996 with the vision of creating a World On Purpose by assisting people like yourself to clarify their life purpose & live true to it. Determine how on or off purpose your life is with the fun & insightful Self Test at:Inspire yourself with a fr.ee subscription to Purposeful Pondering Ezine: