Knopf

Dana Gioia turned down Knopf for tiny Graywolf Press. Gioia guessed the Knopf editor had not read his poems and wanted a name hot from the New Yorker. He expected Knopf would have let his books go out of print within two years, while his poetry books at Graywolf are all still in print 42 years later.

Gioia offers this as evidence when he tells writers to act as their own editor and agent. He also warns against padding a perfect article into a typical non-fiction book.

How I Write▶ 1:40:45