Demystifying the Manuscript: Our Interview with Kelli Russell Agodon and Susan Rich
Plus, Events with Sarah Browning, Alixen Pham and Tresha Faye Haefner
Hi poets, writers and friends,
This month (May) we will skip our workshop, “Publishing and Promoting Your Poetry” and “Memoir Made Easy” due to scheduling conflicts and Mother’s Day. Don’t worry, they will be back next month!
Meanwhile we invite you to our free reading and open-mic with Sarah Browning, author of Killing Summer (Sibling Rivalry, 2017), and Alixen Pham on 5/19/24 .
If you are a paid subscriber, you get access to Sarah Browning’s workshop “The Republic of Motherhood” on 5/26/24. Get details and register at the end of this post.
Demystifying the Manuscript: Our Interview with Kelli Russell Agodon and Susan Rich About Their Helpful New Book
Please enjoy our interview with Kelli and Susan above! If you don’t have time to listen to the whole interview, here are the key take aways I got from our discussion.
Key Take-Aways from Our Interview
When putting your manuscript in order, you don’t necessarily need to go in chronological order. Instead, start with the juciest parts, maybe even the most vulnerable poems, even if they are out of order.
Get an outside perspective. It’s the best way to be objective.
Can you identify more than one theme in your manuscript? Try organizing and titling your book after one of the sub-topics so that it becomes a main topic. How can you use the same poems to tell alternative stories?
Take writing advice from a ghost, not a muse. Make your book talk to another book by an author who has passed away, even if they have nothing to do with you.
When you get a rejection letter, it doesn’t mean your book isn’t publishable. Kelli often has to reject 75 books that are publishable per year. Small presses can only choose so many books per year. They often reject many that are worth publishing.
Don’t think the book you send to the publisher needs to be the finished project. You will edit it even after it is accepted.
Your title needs to make people want to read it. Try using titles with images that pull people in. Find a title that opens possibilities rather than shutting them down.
Don’t assume you know what the judges want or don’t want. Don’t assume that because your work is different from theirs that they won’t like or choose your manuscript.
There are no direct rules. Experiment. Do what you think is right for your manuscript insteady of following the “norm.”
The more you say something, the less power it has. Avoid repetition when possible.
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This spring study with Kim Malinowski, Jon Pearson, Tresha Faye Haefner, Jen Gupta and Robbi Nester. We have workshops that meet most days. Come to the ones that fit your schedule.
References Mentioned in This Interview
Chanel Brenner, Smile or Else, published by Press 53
Join us for A Free Reading and Open-Mic, May 19th.
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