I can't imagine why a published novelist--as in someone published by a major press--would apply to MFA programs. Why? And where are these people?

Because publication is NOT the be-all-end-all. Why do you speak as though there were nothing more to pursue, once publication is achieved?

I'll reiterate what I said before -- regardless of how my novel performs, I would consider an MFA, because I'd like to _learn_. There's nobody out in the world willing to _teach_ you if you don't do an MFA. Writing is very _lonely_.

Why are you so focused on the enormous names like Chabon (who almost certainly didn't consider an MFA degree because he _already had one_ before he broke out) and Jonathan Safran Foer (who also took his share of creative writing classes with JC Oates)?

Take instead, for example, Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum, whose first novel _Madeleine is Sleeping_ was published by Harcourt -- and then nominated for the National Book Award. It sold pretty darn well, and she went on to get her MFA from Iowa.

She's not alone.

Ahoy there!

Seth, a quick poll of my own: I notice you've been signing off with 'Best'. My question: did you start doing this before taking workshops? Or after?

Because I think I'm onto a semi-conspiracy here. See, where your common lit professor likes to end things with a 'Regards' or even a 'Sincerely', writing instructors seem favor the 'Best'. It appears to be an impulse -- like sneezing or vomiting -- almost beyond their control. My own teacher, when I cornered him after class one day, confirmed he picked it up during his PhD stint at Mizzou; all his teachers used it. We contacted his teachers, a couple of which admitted they were merely following the lead of their AWP colleagues. Since then, I've asked a handful of speakeasy-ers. It's always the same -- as they wander the halls of their MFA, the 'best' just seems to attach itself like a little bur in their pants leg.

Can you confirm or deny?