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.

William D. Waltz of Conduit Books & Ephemera

5.20.26
Headshot of William D. Waltz, wearing sunglasses as he hikes in the sun
“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?
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Juwon Jun of Wendy’s Subway

5.6.26
Headshot of Juwon Jun, reading at a podium
“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.
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Jeremy Schraffenberger of North American Review

4.8.26
Headshot of Jeremy Schraffenberger, who wears a maroon colored shirt and sits with half his face in shadow and half in sunlight
“When you feel stuck or uninspired... seek out an old teacher or mentor—not for the sake of asking their advice or picking their brain, but for the sake of remembering and reconnecting with a past version of yourself, a self inspired and eager, someone who didn’t know what they didn’t know.
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Sara Lippmann of Epiphany

3.25.26
Headshot of Sara Lippmann, who sits with her head resting in her hand as she sits before a window
“Embrace the space around the work, whatever that looks like: running, glass blowing, cloud watching. Let it fill you with wonder. Allow yourself fallow periods. That’s life, too.
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Emma Dries of Triangle House Literary

2.11.26
Headshot of Emma Dries, smiling in front of a window
“At its most rewarding, writing and art more broadly involve other humans engaging creatively with your work, and to outsource the other part of that equation to a machine is a betrayal of the creative contract.
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Sarah Seltzer of Lilith Magazine

1.14.26
Headshot of Sarah Seltzer, who gazes at the camera while seated before a wall of greenery
“One way you can distinguish yourself from other writers is being easy to work with. That doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your integrity to be published, but it does mean taking a beat to really think about edits, suggestions, helpful rejections before you object to them on principle.
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