I think the big mistake most writers make is thinking that becoming involved in your community is something you do after your book is published. Instead, I urge writers to become involved as early as possible, in a genuine, non-book-related way… It’s a small but old truth, but the more you give, the more you will receive. And this isn’t any kind of slimy networking. This is every writer’s responsibility, and the writers who create the most buzz for the good work of others will find that same energy waiting for them, when their own excellent book finally comes out. —Matt Bell, author of the novels In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods, Scrapper, and others
The State of Literary Publishing
George Packer’s “Cheap Words” (The New Yorker)
Reyhan Harmanci’s “Literary Journals Thrive, On Paper and Otherwise” (New York Times)
Nathan Scott McNamara’s “American Literature Needs Indie Presses” (The Atlantic)
Sean Bishop’s “Small Presses & Self-Publishers: Enemies? Or Half-Siblings?” (VQR)
Chris Fischbach’s “Literature is Not the Same Thing as Publishing” (VQR)
Claire Vaye Watkins’ “On Pandering” (Tin House online)
Roxane Gay’s “Lessons I’ve Learned Starting a Micropress” (HMTLGiant)
Ilana Masad’s “Spread the Word: On Small Presses and the Fight for Publicity” (Lit Hub)
Literary Citizenship
Cathy Day’s Literary Citizenship course site
Becky Tuchs’ “Why I Detest Literary Citizenship” (Salon)
B.J. Hollars’ “A Place to Live: A Call for Literary Citizenship” (Pleiades)
Literary Journals
Aaron Gilbreath’s “Working with Editors” (Kenyon Review blog)
Lee Martin’s “Ten Tips for Handling Disappointment” (author blog)
Lynne Barrett’s “What Editors Want” (The Review Review)
Zinzi Clemmons’ “What it Means to be an Inclusive Literary Journal” (Lit Hub)
“Full Disclosure: What to Include in Your Cover Letter” (Hayden’s Ferry Review)
Dan Chaon’s “What Writers Can Learn from Rock Stars” (The Review Review)
Book Reviewing and Interviewing
Maggie Galehouse’s “How to Write a Book Review: A Pie Graph”
David Ulin’s “For a Critic, Niceness is Beside the Point” (Los Angeles Times)
Hannah Rosefield’s “No More Questions” (The New Yorker)
Paris Review‘s interview archives
Copyediting
New York Book Editors Guide to Copyediting Marks
New York Times copyediting quizzes
Professor Amy Monticello 