Dawn Davis of 37 Ink
“Invest emotionally in the secondary characters. They don’t have to spend as much time on the stage as your main players but they have to be compelling.
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.
Ander Monson of Diagram and New Michigan Press
“What I want to see when reading work for Diagram or my other literary projects is evidence of an essential, irreducible, even uncomfortable human weirdness.
Krista Cox of Sundress Publications
“Because your voice is singular, you have a responsibility to it. Take your writing seriously. Learn how to hear what it’s trying to say.
Julie Stevenson of Massie, McQuilkin & Altman Literary Agents
“Pursue publication and recognition, but don’t make recognition your purpose.
Paloma Hernando of Ayesha Pande Literary
“I think that a day job is one of the most important tools you can give your writing career. Reject the lie of the starving artist and give your writing the benefit of stability.
Samantha Shea of Georges Borchardt, Inc.
“The books that stay with me—be they fiction or nonfiction—are the ones that continuously pose questions.
Joanna Volpe of New Leaf Literary
“What is the feeling a reader gets after they finish the last page of your latest novel, or after they see you deliver a keynote speech? Better yet, how do you want them to feel? That description, right there, is the start of how you articulate your brand.
Midge Raymond of Ashland Creek Press
“You want your book to align with a publisher’s strengths not only to increase the chances of being published but most of all to successfully promote the book once it’s published.
William D. Waltz of Conduit Books & Ephemera
“Blurbs are funny things that can cause excitement, worry, or annoyance to all involved. Some presses eschew blurbs while some authors would rather rototill a railroad than to bother. But, are blurbs an effective sales tool?
Juwon Jun of Wendy’s Subway
“I am in awe of anyone who continues to write, who cultivates a practice that can only come from their own inner world, who is attuned to what their body and heart have to say.