Kate McKean of Howard Morhaim Literary Agency
“Do what’s right for your book, not what worked for another writer.
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.
Sonali Chanchani of Folio Literary Management
“One of the questions I’m often asked at conferences is when a writer should start querying their work. I always recommend waiting until you’ve taken the material as far as you possibly can on your own.
Kayla Lightner of Ayesha Pande Literary
“Don’t just read, but read widely.
Declan Spring of New Directions
“I encourage writers to take writing classes with authors they respect, who can support and back them, and also to submit to literary magazine and prizes.
Rachel Dillon of Ploughshares Recommends
“Writing is one of the few careers in which the passage of time is your friend.
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.