Over the thirty years I’ve been at New Directions, I’ve been lucky to work on books by so many interesting fiction writers and poets: Anne Carson, Inger Christensen, Guy Davenport, Jenny Erpenbeck, Forrest Gander, László Krasznahorkai, and Fernando Pessoa to name a few. All of these writers have been influenced by great artists who wrote before them; then they tried to make something of their own. They identified particular writers that inspired them. So many found fellow artists and thinkers (not only in the literary field) with whom to build community, whose works would serve as wellsprings for their own efforts. And these writers always write powerfully out of their own experience.
At New Directions, we used to accept unsolicited manuscripts. One or two I found early in my career, and I still remember the moment that “the light went on” and I was able to convince my colleagues that we should publish them. Now New Directions doesn’t have the time or resources to read manuscripts coming in over the transom. We take on authors who come recommended by our own authors, or by a handful of literary agents and fellow editors and publishers whom we trust. We also listen to “taste-makers” (reviewers, writers, booksellers) who are in the New Directions orbit. I think most book editors acquire in a similar fashion, and for this reason, I encourage writers to take writing classes with authors they respect, who can support and back them, and also to submit to literary magazines and prizes. Publishers take previous publications and prizes into account. It’s always worthwhile to attend readings and book events where you can meet people and build friendships.
But most of all, I recommend to unpublished writers just to write, to work at it always, revising only after sufficient time has passed for things to sit for a while, and to find joy in the process, discovering your unique style and voice with time and patience, trying not to compare your work too much to that of others.
—Declan Spring; executive vice president, senior editor, and director of foreign rights; New Directions