Field Notes.
Getting the Words Out
A few years into editing full-time, I came to realize that the publication process bewildered most of my writers. Not only did they not know what hoops to jump through, they very often didn’t know that editors could help them in the leaping. I was in a similar...
Navigating Writer’s Guilt
Our self-talk is important and writers have a very particular way of speaking to themselves. The words we direct towards ourselves when we fail to put pen to paper are a long way from the ones we would choose after running out a gallon of ink. If you wrote a column of...
The Art of the Publisher
Roberto Calasso has amicable connections among literary luminaries in Europe because, well, that’s what publishers do. They seduce writers. And they seduce them through their wit and intelligence and, above all, taste. All of these are on display in Calasso’s slim The...
The Cure for Contract Vertigo
One measure of arriving as a writer is how many hours you’ve sweated over a legal contract in the brutal process of selling your art. It feels so desperate, so momentous, and yet so futile. Thankfully, some local lawyers felt pity for beleaguered artists and formed...
The Hero’s Buzz: Review and Interview
M. Scott Anderson, client and friend of the collective, is gaining buzz for the audiobook of his fantasy adventure novel The Hero's Brother. On the popular audiobook review site Audiofile Magazine, Anderson's novel received praise for voice actor Mark Bramhall's...
Tommie Whitener’s Wanda and the Watch
I first met Tommie Whitener in Madison Park when he was up from San Francisco visiting family. He told me about a few writing projects that really sparked my interest. But what truly connected us was our conversation about families. Both our kin are from Arkansas, and...