Writer's Digest October 2018

1 Thrill Rides A roundtable of reps discuss the peaks and valleys of the suspense genre in “Seeking Thrills” (Page 33). Online, they share the novels that best boost their heart rates, as well as crucial query advice. 2 Teachable Moments Southern Reach Trilogy writer Jeff VanderMeer (“State of Wonder,” Page 8) is more than an author—he’s an advocate. Learn how he manages to inform without pontificating in this extended interview. 3 Sage Advice There wasn’t enough space to include every pearl of wisdom from the agents featured in this year’s annual roundup (“Search Party,” Page 22), so be sure to visit our web exclusive for even more useful tips. To find all of the above online companions to this issue in one handy spot, visit writersdigest.com/oct-18…

PROVEN PITCHES Read the successful query letter that garnered YA author Gia Cribbs a literary agent, followed by commentary from her rep on why it caught his attention among the slush. bit.ly/provenpitchWD BAD ADVICE BOOGIE WD Contributing Editor Jeff Somers writes a regular web column on why clichéd writing advice should make you think twice. In this piece, he reconsiders the maxim “Write Every Day.” bit.ly/writeeverydayWD HYBRID HAPPINESS Jonathan French’s approach to self-publishing played an important role in how editors and agents perceived his book—and persuaded French to re-evaluate his perspective on how authors can, and should, break into print. bit.ly/hybridhappinessWD…

Fact #1: Published in 1974 to widespread critical praise, Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance sold more than a million copies in its first year. Fact #2: The manuscript was rejected 121 times before finally being accepted by William Morrow for a small $3,000 advance. Such stories of authors with the grit to persist are more common than you may realize. Don’t believe me? Read through the past year’s worth of debut author tales in our Breaking In column (Page 20). If I had a dollar for each one saying they queried north of 50 agents before finding a match, I’d have a healthy sum to spend on an assistant whose only job would be to make cappuccinos. The truth is, publishing is a painfully subjective…

JESSICA ALLEN (“Tell Me a Story,” Page 13) is a New York-based freelancer who has written about Harlem for The Boston Globe, the palaces of Rajasthan, India, for CNN, baby personalities for McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, street art for Mental Floss, reading for The Washington Post, parenting for Babble, what to eat on the Trans-Siberian Railway for Serious Eats, and superstitions for The Toast. Find her online at jessallenica.com. BOB ECKSTEIN (“Caption Obvious,” Page 14) is a snowman expert, New Yorker cartoonist and award-winning writer and illustrator. In September, he is releasing both his newest book, The Illustrated History of the Snowman, and a box set of postcard bookstore illustrations based on his New York Times–bestselling Footnotes From the World’s Greatest Bookstores. Find him on Twitter at @BobEckstein and on Instagram…

“I am not a big fan of, in general, saying you have to write every day. But I do think it’s really important if you’re working on a novel or story that it lives in your head every day.” From a writer as industrious as New York Times bestseller Jeff VanderMeer, such a candid admission surprises me. VanderMeer is the author of the Southern Reach Trilogy (including the award-winning Annihilation, made into a movie starring Natalie Portman earlier this year), writing guides like The Steampunk Bible, and dozens of essays and short stories. His musing is distinct from most novelists, who are often keen to cite obsessive work ethic as a key factor in their success. As our conversation continues, it becomes clear that for VanderMeer, the act of writing…

POETIC FORM: RHUPUNT The rhupunt is a Welsh poetic form that has some rigid rules mixed with a little leeway for variations. For instance, rhupunts can be broken down into individual lines or stanzas, and each line or stanza can contain three to five sections. That gives the poet a little freedom. However, there are some hard and fast rules, too: 1. Each section has four syllables. 2. All but the final section rhyme with each other. 3. The final section of each line or stanza rhymes with the final section of the other lines or stanzas. In the following example by a Poetic Asides reader, you can see a rhupunt broken into stanzas with four sections (each section is its own line). Non-Domestic Goddess, by Tracy Davidson…