1. Watch far too much CNN — A political cartoonist must keep up on current events, and TV news channels such as CNN, MSNBC and Fox News are excellent sources of information. And by “excellent,” I mean “rage-filling,” as you will soon learn to hate all news anchors and pundits.

2. Read your competition — Not only should you carefully study your opponents in your hometown paper (you better watch out, Peter Daniell and Jennifer Sovey), but also your more widely published opponents. Soon, you too can become the next David Horsey rip-off. Really.

3. Put some measure of thought into your political analysis — Believe it or not, having a point that isn’t hackneyed or tired is kind of encouraged.

4. Try not to be biased — Look, nobody in comedy is an equal opportunity offender, but you don’t have to be super obvious about what side you’re for. Be able to make fun of yourself. If you won’t, somebody else will.

5. Draw like you’ve never drawn before — Political cartooning requires copious amounts of sketching, as that is where ideas come from. If you cannot draw, please stay far away from the field, because one more bad Bush caricature is going to drive me over the edge.

6. Know how to tell a joke — Or better yet, make sure to include one. This is a mistake Mallard Fillmore makes on a regular basis.

7. Discover the glory of whiteout — Whiteout is an artist’s best friend, as it allows you to eliminate all of those terrible errors you make when inking a cartoon, but as you will make many terrible errors, don’t worry.

8. Learn to hate yourself — You know that sense of self-loathing you get after you turn in an essay, thinking you did a bad job. You get to feel that every waking moment of your political cartooning life.

9. Learn how to deal with criticism — For instance, after groups you made fun of, such as Ron Paul supporters or 9/11 conspiracy theorists, attack you, don’t angrily write back to them or challenge them to a fight. That almost never works out (it’s worth it when it does work out, though).

10. One final tip — Know how lucky you are to be paid for doing something you love that few people ever get a chance to do. And making people angry — that’s a plus.