1. Make money

If we find we can make money writing books, by telling stories, we have the responsibility…of doing it as well and as profitably as we can.

2. Protect language

If human beings can protect the climate, we can certainly affect the language, and those of us who use it professionally are responsible for looking after it. 

3. Have tact

We who tell stories should be modest about the job, and not assume that because the reader is interested in the story, they’re interested in who’s telling it. A storyteller should be invisible, as far as I’m concerned.

4. Service the story

As the servant, I have to do what a good servant should. I have to be ready to attend to my work at regular hours…. I have to keep myself sober during working hours; I have to stay in good health.