Rachel Dillon of Ploughshares Recommends
“Writing is one of the few careers in which the passage of time is your friend.
Agents & Editors Recommend
A dependable source of professional and creative advice, this regular series features anecdotes, insights, tips, recommended reading and viewing for writers, and more from leading agents and editors.
Chachi D. Hauser of Hunger Mountain
“Each rejection doesn’t have to mean something; in fact, it often doesn’t, since there are many reasons why an editor might pass on your work.
Kate McMullen of Hub City Press
“It doesn’t matter what degrees or fellowships or programs or journals have supported your work. Those things tell me about your network—but your book must connect with me as a reader.
Anni Liu of Graywolf Press
“Writing requires a certain ferality. One of the things I hear my colleagues and myself saying to authors speaks to this wildness: You write it and let us worry about how to sell it.
Megan Cummins of A Public Space
“Remember that every page you write, over the long timeline of hours spent writing, makes you a better writer.
Vivian Lee of Little, Brown
“I always tell writers to find their people and to build a community they trust.
Emily Everett of the Common
“We all want our work to be subtle, but I too often see writers prioritizing that stylish subtlety over simple understanding, which is what readers will really connect to.
Faye Bender of the Book Group
“As you read books by writers you admire in a wide variety of categories, make note of who you think does specific things beautifully.
Patrik Henry Bass of Amistad Books
“I recommend that one write to the human condition. Loneliness. Anger. Vanity. Pride. All universal feelings are not assigned a race.
Amelia Atlas of Creative Artists Agency
“A book is an idea, but it’s also an object on a shelf in a store. You need to give people a reason for your book to be the one they spend their money on.