As I prepare to leave About.com after five+ years of writing and editing this site, I've been reflecting on all the things I've learned -- from writing articles and blog posts and, more importantly, from comments and messages contributed by all of you. For my last post, I wanted to share some of these lessons, the things that have come to seem most important about the writing life.

Humility: We all make mistakes, and it takes guts to let other people see them. Don't be afraid to join a writing group, take a class, or post work on the forum. I was consistently impressed with the people who shared work in the monthly challenges: they understood that getting feedback is more important than any temporary fear or discomfort. It's a necessary part of becoming a better writer.

Writing Is Hard: I'm not saying it's always hard, but if you strive for excellence, there will be times when it is. For instance, it's hard to revise a novel for the third or fourth (or fifth) time. It's hard to get up early on a cold morning to write, or to head to a cafe when coworkers are going out for drinks. It's hard to be rejected by magazines, journals, or agents. These things are hard for everyone.

It's Worth It: Moderating this site, I'm constantly reminded of why we do it: of the satisfaction in dreaming up new stories or characters; in hearing that something we wrote meant something to another person; in spending a quiet afternoon lost in a story. It's satisfying to feel that your life has a purpose. And it's an amazing way to connect with other people.

There Are So Many Supportive Writers Out There: You've all been so generous with your time and energy -- you've been the best part of a very good job. I've witnessed writers all over the world helping each other with advice or criticism, taking time to write comments in the blog or on the forum. On a personal level, I have hundreds of emails, printed out or saved on my hard drive, so I'll always remember the people I got to know through this site, or who took the time to reach out to me.

Thank all of you for some very stimulating years. Whoever replaces me is very lucky: they'll have the best readers in the world. Good luck to all of you on your writing. May you have all the satisfaction and rewards possible from this writing life of ours. I hope to continue seeing your names and your work as the years go on. Thank you for letting me be a part of it here!

A Romanian writer named Mariana, who seeks a U.S. agent for her translated novel, wrote in with a question regarding journals and contests. Mariana has been applying to contests, but recently had an offer from a literary journal to publish one of her stories. She wonders if she should reject the offer, which offers pretty generous compensation, and apply to their contest instead. "This is not about money, but about finding an agent. And once published, the short story cannot be considered for a future contest," Mariana writes.

Because we've already explored the question of whether contests or regular journal submissions are generally better for writers, in this post I'm going to stick with Mariana's more specific question: what do agents pay more attention to? While it's true that agents may hear more about high-profile contests, agents do troll literary journals looking for new authors. If they're aware of a journal's prize, they probably also have a subscription to that journal. Several writers I know have been approached by agents after publishing stories in mid-sized literary journals, so I can say for a fact that this is one way to noticed. If the journal is paying what she told me they are, then it's a good journal, one agents are reading. While Mariana is right that a contest may bring an author more attention than a story publication, she has the publication offer in hand. Don't reject a firm offer for something that may or may not happen.

So in my opinion, if a reputable literary journal has offered her money for a story, she should accept it. It's an immediate opportunity to 1) get her work out there and 2) build a relationship with someone who obviously likes her work. The fact that they want to publish her story doesn't guarantee that she'll win the contest: The editor who likes her story may not be judging the contest, and even if they are, she may have lost their goodwill by rejecting their offer. My advice: publish the story now, add the publication credit to query letters, and then send another story to the contest.

Anyway, that's my opinion. Do you have firsthand experience with contests, journal submissions, or agents? What do you think Mariana should do?

In my mind, this is the most important resolution, the bedrock for everything else, making it the perfect way to close our month on writing resolutions. After all, without carving out time to write, there's no novel to send to agents, or stories to submit to journals, or rough drafts to offer a writing community. But as we all know, finding time to write is easier said than done.

Last year, Teresa R. wrote in asking specifically about time management techniques, ways to make time to write. The most important time management skill for me is the ability to say "no," though it's something I have to continually work at. Sometimes I have a hard time separating out what I want to do and what I feel compelled to do. It makes it easy for people to take advantage of my time, so I've gotten good at knowing who my real friends are. So "yes" to the rare babysitting request from my best friend. "No" to coffee with the passive-aggressive frenemy. Instead, I haul my laptop to the coffee shop and work on my novel. (I keep the poem, "The Art of Disappearing" over my desk to remind myself that it's OK to say "no.")

Of course, it's not always so cut and dried. For that reason, I try to write first thing in the morning. It's a time when people don't generally ask you for favors, when the phone doesn't ring. It causes my paying work to extend a little later each day, and this means that I'm not always available for other things in the evening. I try to order my day around my writing; this way I don't have to think about making writing a priority: it's built into my life. Anyway, this is what I aim for.

Other people have suggested writing by hand to avoid the Web, or working in a place that doesn't have the Internet. Friends who write in the evenings turn off their phones while they work (could this be more important?). A poet I know negotiated with his employer to work longer every day and take Fridays off. A novelist friend worked out the same deal for Wednesday mornings.

But there are so many practical ways to make better use of time. How do you save time? Share your favorite time management tip below.

As self-publishing becomes easier and more acceptable -- and traditional publishing contracts become ever more elusive -- many people are choosing to circumvent the traditional publishing industry. However, with so many companies to choose from, it's actually harder these days to tell the difference between legit presses and opportunistic ones.

I've long felt that the best way to help writers who are considering print-on-demand or self-publishing is to provide stories from people who have done it. If you've self-published, or used a print-on-demand service, please review the company you used. What did you think of your experience? What would you do differently? And if you're considering going this route, see what other writers have to say about the companies they've used.