Quote, unquote: Freelancers should be nice, deliver on time and write well. Pick at least two

"You get work however you get work, but people keep working in a freelance world (and more and more of today’s world is freelance), because their work is good, because they are easy to get along with and because they deliver the work on time. And you don’t even need all three! Two out of three is fine. People will tolerate how unpleasant you are if your work is good and you deliver it on time. People will forgive the lateness of your work if it is good and they like you. And you don’t have to be as good as everyone else if you’re on time and it’s always a pleasure to hear from you."

-- The "secret freelancer knowledge" shared by author and comic book writer Neil Gaiman as part of his commencement address at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. [Thanks to David Hayes for alerting me to this.]