"Publishing is kind of a little reward for your labor, if you think about it in a strictly utilitarian way. For me it was about six years before I got something published. And I’m talking six years of pretty consistent submissions to places big and small, and all of them came to the consensus that I wasn’t ready to be published. It was despairing, but at the same time there were nice notes and handwritten critiques from editors and to me that was enough. Somebody put their eyes on it, read it, and at least made an intelligent decision not to print it. It’s a lot of work and you’ve got to a develop a sort of alligator-like hide to stomach all those little notes coming back in those same little envelopes with your handwriting on them. The horrible part is you’re getting a rejection but it’s in your handwriting. A writer doesn’t need any more self-loathing in their life but you get it and think, ‘Oh, here’s some bad news, and it’s sent to me by me!’"

I’m proofreading for Hot Metal Bridge’s Best Of book, and this interview with Kevin Moffett from 2007 is just really, really good.