Writer’s Desk: Gaming the System

Somesay publishing is rigged. These are oftenthe people who have been shopping their work—whether misery memoir, cozy murder mystery, 11-part zombie erotica series, or finely etched literary short story about quiet people with quiet problems—without success for years and don’t getwhat they’re doing wrong. Unable to get an agent ormagazine to give them the time of day,their conclusion that it’s all a closed loop for insiders is not hard to fault; especially when one considers the quality of m...