I have already written about the ethics of writing more generally on this blog, and about ethical co-authorship. But, until now, I haven’t written about the ethics of writing alone.

In popular imagination the writer is a solo creature, sitting at a desk churning out words (or procrastinating!). There is some literal truth in this but even when someone is writing alone, they are always in relationship with others. Even if you’re only writing a shopping list, solely for your own purposes, you are in relationship with your future self.

If you are writing something professional – a journal article, book chapter, conference presentation, video script etc – you are in relationship with a bunch of other people. Your audience (readers, viewers etc) are an important subset. You may not know who they are, but even so it is helpful to try to imagine a typical audience member and write for that person. And if you do know who they are – or some of them, at least – you can write directly for them. If you are writing for publication you are in relationship with your publisher and perhaps also your peer reviewers. Professional relationships may be relevant for your writing, such as with funders, managers, or supervisors. And personal relationships may be relevant too, such as with friends or family members who care about your work. Then, if you are representing others in your writing, you are also in relationship with them as you write.

So, you need to consider whether you are representing people ethically. Would the people you are writing about be happy to read (or listen to, or watch) your work? Would people you are referencing feel that their work has been used appropriately and cited accurately? (Now that I sometimes see my own work cited, I realise how easy it is to tell the difference between appropriate, accurate citations and inappropriate, inaccurate ones!)

The content of what you write needs to be ethical. This means avoiding plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and defamation. This last has different definitions in different countries, but generally it doesn’t have to be false, just demonstrably damaging to someone’s reputation. In the UK defamation can lead to a writer being sued for libel. And ethical writing also means telling the truth as best you can. Truth is not singular and specific, but multiple and contingent, which is why elements such as positionality and reflexivity are important for ethical writing.

You need to work with others ethically, which means doing what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it, or communicating at the earliest opportunity if that proves impossible. Missing publishing deadlines can cause all sorts of problems for editors and publishers, especially if they don’t get any warning in advance.

And last but very definitely not least, you need to treat yourself ethically. This means practicing self-care: not taking on too much, and looking after yourself in the process. We all live such busy lives these days that it’s easy to finish one task and race straight on to the next. Writing is difficult, and often important, and when we finish a piece of writing we deserve a proportionate reward. It might just be a quick coffee with a friend, or a break to read a magazine or solve a small puzzle, or it might be something bigger like a night out or a day off. Whatever works for you is fine, the point is to take the time to acknowledge our own achievements, which is good for our mental health and therefore – guess what? – ethical!