Poets & Writers

Reconnecting After a Silence

1 BECOME an open door. This can mean different things at different times. It might mean: Clear your calendar of other obligations, even if for only an hour or two, or a day or two, a week. It might mean: Find the courage to say—even as privately as to a piece of paper—what is in you to say. It might mean: Don’t be afraid to write badly. It might mean: Welcome the silence; think of silence

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Poets & Writers

Poets & Writers5 min read
When It Happens to You
ONE part of my job (and a part that I am constantly trying to find more time for) is e-mailing prospective authors. While the majority of my clients do come to me via the “slush pile”—the unsolicited queries writers send to me—sometimes I write to th
Poets & Writers9 min read
Fair Expectations
WRITERS expend so much time, energy, and sanity trying to land an agent that they often forget to consider what happens if they succeed. Sure, the basics of the business arrangement—the percentages, the exclusivity, and so on—are right there in the c
Poets & Writers8 min read
Persistence, Partnership, and Keeping the Faith
AFTER years of writing, revising, and submitting, after loads of rejections and months of self-doubt, the miracle has happened: You signed with an agent. Your book is one enormous step closer to publication. Most likely there is more revising to conq

Related Books & Audiobooks