Folks Worth Working With

Writers encounter a lot of people in the business: editors, agents... hopefully a few readers along the way. These encounters are brief, usually form-letter responses. But a personal word of encouragement or a little business direction can be almost as rewarding as an acceptance letter.
Here are some people in the business I've found extra helpful.

Douglas W. Lance, Editor-in-Chief at FictionMagazines.com

http://www.fictionmagazines.com/

Douglas responds quickly and offers critiques from the editorial readers. I submitted to Under The Bed, one of the magazines Douglas heads. I'm sometimes reluctant to read a page-long complaint list of how someone else would have written my story. However, these responses were brief and included encouragement to resubmit to Under The Bed.

Sarah LaPolla, Bradford Literary Agency

http://www.bradfordlit.com/

Sarah responded quickly to the query for my novel. Her response was also personalized and encouraging. I'd recommend reaching out Sarah if you write the following:  literary, science fiction, magical realism, dark/psychological mystery, literary horror, and upmarket contemporary fiction.

Sarah and Douglas are a couple of the good ones. I'll be highlighting more gracious, friendly and/or encouraging folks on the business side of writing in future posts. Who has impressed you? Make your own recommendations in the comments below.