My concept here is applicable for both CD and DVD.

Writer
If you are using a desktop computer, to have the maximum durability of the optical drive, try
a) not to choose a combo drive (for example DVD reader with CD writer combo).
b) to have a drive dedicated for burning only and another for reading only.

Blank disc
Ask for a sample to see. It is good if it
1) is hard to see thru under the light.
2) has clean and even burning surface (for example no glue-like layer, no wave-like pattern due to imbalanced medium).
3) no pin holes on the protective paint surface.
It is even better if it comes with free disc container.

Handle it with care. Any scratch or dirt may corrupt data during burning. It should be stored in hard case. It should not be put in disc wallet because a) it may accidentally slide out when you open the wallet and sustains scratch b) the wallet may have lint that may stick to the disc surface.

File management
For periodical backup, use a rewriteable disc.

Do not zip the files just because you want to squeeze more files into a disc. Note that more time is needed to access zip file.

Do not have mixed content. Be specific. For example do not put MP3 files into an installer disc or do not put English MP3 into a French MP3 disc.

For installer disc, write what you use the software for in a text file on the disc. To have shorter installer name, omit alphabet 'v' in front of the version number. If you always format your computer, you may want to have a disc that contains all essential software that you want to install in a fresh OS.

Change dvanced settings in folder options to show hidden files and folders, just in case any hidden file is missed out.

Before burning
From my personal experience, the "bracketed size on disk" (that is how I name it) of the data to be burnt must be lower than the maximum capacity of the blank disc. The end edge of the writable layer can be of poorer quality than the rest of the disc, which means that read errors can occur at the edge of the disc. The "bracketed size on disk" is not displayed for nothing. Squeezing in more to save disc will eventually waste more discs. The "bracketed size on disk" is shown in the picture below. In this case this bunch of files has 702,529,536 bytes bracketed size on disk, which is just a bit lower than the maximum capacity (703 Megabytes) of a blank CD. It is a perfect example of maximum utilization of blank CD space with minimum risk of corrupted data.

Turn off the screen saver. Set 'turn hard disk off' to never in power management option. It is also good to disable antivirus background scanning.

Configure buffer manually if the system has large installed memory.

Do not run Chinese software when burning. The disc may become corrupt.

Create autorun.inf for the major program in the disc if you want.

Put the applicable installer in for some file types such as RM, RMVB, ASF, MOV etc.

Ensure there is no TMP file. This file may fail the data verification and not able to be accessed after burning (but other files on the same disc have no problem). I have wasted some blank discs to discover this.

If you are burning some MS-DOS programs, you may want to test those programs first by turning their attribute to read-only. This is because after burning, every file on the disc will become 'Read-only' and this may affect the functionality of some MS-DOS programs.

Use a fast USB cable if the writer is external. Remember last time the USB cable was commonly in black? I think it is slower compared to the transparent cable and is only fit for USB printer, scanner etc. (On 27 June 2004, I tried to install Roxio using the ASUS writer in external casing, a black USB cable and a PCMCIA USB 2.0 card, an error message occurred. When I changed the cable to a transparent one, Roxio was installed successfully)

See if the disc has deformity (dots, imbalanced medium)

Do not forget to write disc name. Correct disc name is very important for some computer games. If no specific name is required for the disc, you can write anything for identification for example date of burning or the short form of the software name.

Always set to the the lowest write speed. It gives you the peace of mind. You are not a mass disc duplicator who needs to burn a lot fast. Go read a book etc when waiting. If you burn a disc-R using an external disc writer with USB 2.0 connection, the writing speed should not be more than 8X or else it may fail as shown in the picture.

Select data verification option.

When burning audio disc, besides setting to low writing speed, turn burn-proof off.

After burning
For discs other than the audio disc, to know if the newly burnt disc is good, copy the whole disc onto hard drive with a slow optical drive (like the one on a notebook). You should not try this on the disc-writer itself because you want to know that the newly burnt disc is compatible to other optical drive. If any file cannot be copied, there is a chance that the disc is corrupted. You can further perform the test using a faster optical drive. If in the process of copying the optical drive slows down (indicated by the mechanical operating sound) and some data cannot be copied, the disc is corrupted.

Write a date on the disc.

Care of the disc
Keep it in a plastic envelope or plastic case (not paper envelope) to minimize the possibility of it getting wet (for example rainwater). If it gets wet, the coating around the edge may peel.

The disc must be only either in the drive or in its case. Do not leave the disc unprotected.