4. You write what you want to read. You can't write something you wouldn't want to read, or if you do, it won't be very good. This may not make much sense until you apply it to the "I know! I'll write a crappy thriller/children's book/romance novel and make a pile of money!" mindset. No, you won't, because if you don't respect the genre you're bothering to write, it's a waste of your time and everyone else's. No one wants to read a romance novel by a writer who thinks she's too good for romance novels, because that condescension seeps through: you can't hold your nose and type at the same time.