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.
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.
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.
Naomi Gibbs of Pantheon Books
“It could be that the one agent or one publisher raising their hand right now is indeed the perfect partner and advocate for you—all you need is one. It could also be that they’re not, and if your gut is telling you that’s so, hold true to that instinct.
Catherine Cho of Paper Literary
“What’s most important to agents—and the thing that we’re all working toward—is finding great work. It is also the one thing that’s in a writer’s control. The rest is noise.
Christine Stroud of Autumn House Press
“My advice boils down to this: Don’t send your work to presses you don’t genuinely love or that don’t align with the kind of writing you do; your book deserves better.
Suzanna Tamminen of Wesleyan University Press
There is a deep joy, for me, in drawing close to language and breathing with the rhythms of a text.
Luke Hankins of Orison Books
“This is a list of just a few things on my radar that are going right in the literary world right now—each of which involves resilience, perseverance, or recovery of some kind.
Amanda Orozco of Transatlantic Agency
“Look at the organizations and spaces where the agents you’re interested in querying are active, as this can tell you a lot about them and their values.