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In a weird way, there has been a certain theme to what we’ve been reading and discussing this week. On one level, we have the business aspect of writing (Maud Newton’s article, below, includes a quote from a New Yorker editor who hints that authors don’t know as much about the business part of submitting as they should). On another, we have the connections concept. Newton’s interview with Brigid Hughes explores the MFA route to publication concept — if you finish the right program (and the names are limited), an MFA is practically a signed contract. Yes, that was our inner cynic slipping out; we can’t trust her to watch her manners. Hughes goes so far as to suggest that truly serious writers actively pursue MFAs. We must beg to differ. Truly serious writers write. They submit. And, sometimes, they allow their work to be workshopped to death.

• Interview with Brigid Hughes on unsolicited submissions and emerging writers