In December 2023, I launched a series of interviews that was very different than anything Authors Publish had ever done.

We’ve always focused on reviewing presses and literary journals as well as sharing the stories of authors who were submitting and publishing their work. Our focus has never been on the perspective of editors (even though I am one), or agents or publicists.

Still I was seeing more and more of a disconnect in terms of what the writers reaching out to us were saying. Many acted as if editors, agents, and other industry professionals were the enemy. Even though in many situations these individuals they were complaining about were also often (but not always) underpaid, overworked, and/or writers themselves.

The focus here is on sharing what it actually is like to be on “the other side of the desk”. In this collection lots of insight and knowledge is shared in a real and meaningful way.

The original vision for this series was for it to be ongoing and for it to turn into an eBook, or even a series of eBooks. Just to be clear, as someone who is a big believer in editorial transparency, this series never did very well, and yet it was also some of the most valuable information we’ve published, from my perspective.

So I’m trying to share it one more time, in the hope that it resonates with at least a few subscribers.

Below I include the name and the position of the industry professional we interviewed, as well as their answer to one of the questions I personally felt was compelling or educative from their interview. If you click on their name and their position, you will be able to read the full interview.

Megan Fishmann, Vice President/Associate Publisher, Senior Director of Publicity of Catapult/Counterpoint/Soft Skull
The quote shared below is her answer to the question, “Describe a typical day at work?”

“I live on the West Coast so I usually start my day waking up before my kids (around 6:30am), catching up to the East Coast by answering time sensitive emails that had been sent while I was sleeping. I do a quick scan of the news headlines before rushing to get my kids off to school. I then sit at my ‘desk’ (aka my kitchen table, I’m fortunate that I get to work from home) and tackle my inbox. On average I have anywhere from two to eight meetings a day and my inbox usually averages to about 150 emails (at least) per day. Those meetings can be onboarding a future author by walking them through what our publicity/marketing process looks like, a cover memo meeting with our Creative Director, an editorial meeting with our three editor-in-chiefs where we discuss future projects, a weekly team publicity meeting, pitching a celebrity book club some of our upcoming titles or even meeting with a prospective author (and agent) to try and convince them to sign with us. My job as Vice President/Associate Publisher involves weighing in on many things: a book we’re thinking about buying, cover approval, ARC copy, galley quantities, setting pub dates, etc. At the same time, as Senior Director of Publicity, I’m responsible for overseeing our publicity department, making sure that not only are my books getting publicity but also that my amazing team is supported in achieving their publicity goals as well.”

Becky Tuch, the founder of Lit Mag News
The quote shared below is her answer to the question, “What do you think makes you good at your job?”

“When I was a kid, I was always leaving notes for my mom in the kitchen. These were often long and occasionally funny, and would contain all kinds of weird drawings. Also, as a student, when I finished an exam early, I would flip over the paper and write long letters to my teachers. I would tell them all about my weekend, ask them if they had seen any good movies, and so on. (My teachers later told me they thought this was hilarious.)

My mom used to say that when I grew up I should be a professional Letter Writer. Of course, I thought that was ridiculous. No one writes letters for a living!

But, that is exactly what I have grown up to do!

I love writing letters to people. Perhaps because I just love writing, period. But I also love knowing who the reader is on the other side, and writing directly to that person. It makes me feel freer in my voice somehow, and I think that comes through in my newsletter, where the content is always a blend of serious and playful. I make an effort to speak directly to my readers, to really try to include them in what I say, to make them feel like someone is here, listening and responding to their concerns.

I’m also a fairly fast writer. Not, let me repeat, not, when it comes to fiction writing. But for articles, columns and criticism, stuff like that rolls out relatively easily. I think if you are going to build a successful and sustainable Substack, you can’t really be a perfectionist obsessing over each word. A perfectionist, for better or for worse, is something I am decidedly not.

Also, I’m not afraid of confrontation or conflict. Which is not to say I enjoy it, ha. It certainly gets my heart racing in uncomfortable ways sometimes. But, still, I’m not squeamish about writing about lit mags who appear to be cheating writers or whose editors behave in ethically questionable ways. I have a strong streak in me that feels duty-bound to speak up in situations like that, and since I am basically my own boss, then I am in a good position to do so.”

Casey Aimer, Founder and Editor of Radon Journal
The quote shared below is his answer to the question “What is the best part of your role?“

Making authors happy, hands down. And providing a unique community that didn’t exist for radical writers before. Also watching careers take off from authors who submitted to us a year or two ago before making it big. Lastly, getting to revel in the nerdiest of passions with others has been a joy.


Michael Mungiello, Literary Agent at Inkwell Management
The quote shared below is his answer to the question, “What is a common misconception people seem to have about your work?“

It’s difficult for me to fully imagine what people might misconceive about my work (in all likelihood, I’ll just end up misperceiving their misperceptions), but from what I can glean there seem to be occasional worries that literary agents traffic in a purely mercantile logic (risking callousness). In other words, this misconception centers on the purported incuriosity of the literary agent, the impression that the literary agent is jaded.

This misconception, essentially, confuses realism (being realistic behooves anyone in any industry) with cynicism.

I think that every good literary agent, whether or not they’re a writer, ends up having something of a writer within them. Of course, a good literary agent must have something of a reader within them too, a real reader, a reader ready to have their defenses lowered and resistances overcome, a reader willing to be charmed. But too often, I think, we forget that a literary agent has to identify with an author, and you can only do that if you remain sensitive to how it feels to be an author, whether that’s the weight of waiting for a response or the thrill of finding the right publisher. In order to do their job, an agent has to swear by the qualities most in opposition to jadedness or cynicism: persistence, and a conviction strengthened by experience. You have to love the written word as much as writers do.

Andrew J. Wilt, Founding Editor 11:11 Press
The quote shared below is his answer to the question “What is an aspect of your job that might surprise most people?“

It’s likely surprising how often we as a publisher face rejection. It’s common for writers to share how many times a work has been rejected by literary journals or publishers, but we as the publisher also face this same rejection from independent bookstores, reviewers, and media organizations. There have been several times when a prominent media outlet has asked to do a story on us and backed out when other news stories became more popular.

Caitlin Jans, Founder and Editor of Authors Publish
This quote shared below is her answer to the question “What is an aspect of your job that might surprise most people?“

“I’m not sure. As someone who isn’t the editor of a major press or a hot shot literary agent, I don’t think there are as many conceptions about my job at all, so I’m not sure what would surprise people.

I know that in the first five years a lot of people I knew in real life didn’t consider this to be an actual job, and I fielded lots of awkward questions about when I would get a real job, even though I was paying my bills and putting away savings from this one.

Once we started hiring instructors, things seem to shift, and more people considered it to be a “real job”

I also think a lot of people don’t think of this as a customer service job but it very much is.”

Shannan Mann, Founder of ONLY POEMS, Employee at Chill Subs
The quote shared below is her answer to the question “How does your work impact your creative writing?”

Practically, there’s less time to write. But that would be the case with any job. Ultimately, my particular work – because it constantly puts me in touch with and keeps me up to date on what’s happening in the indie-lit world right now – helps me stay focused and on track with my own personal writing. I read a lot of bad writing daily but also some incredible gems. These inspire like none else (the good and the bad, yes!). I love that my creative and professional life can get along like this! 

Isabelle Stillman, Editor of december
The quote shared below is her answer to the question “What do you think makes you good at your job?“
I think my belief in the power of literature and literary community is what really fuels my work. I believe that all writers’ work matters, and I know that our work can feel hard and thankless – having a place to publish makes us more inspired to write, helps us keep believing in and developing our practice. I also believe that people should read writers they haven’t heard of — stories, essays, and poems from far and wide, not just from Barnes & Noble (no shade to B&N!)! I also believe that, because writers are people who crave connection (why else sit down and write another piece about being human!?) but whose work is solitary, we need places to come together as a community to teach, push, and energize each other.

All of this is what literary magazines do — we give writers the opportunity to see their work appreciated, we share art with the world, and we create community for artists to uplift each other. I couldn’t do my job, and I certainly couldn’t do it well, if I didn’t wholeheartedly believe in our mission.