A couple of years ago I copyedited and indexed a wonderful book that gives an intimate look at the "good old days" of publishing: The Sons of Maxwell Perkins
These letters reveal the intensely interactive process these literary geniuses went through with their brilliant editor—including his specific suggestions for many of their masterpieces, as well as their responses.
Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Wolfe were three of the giants of early twentieth-century American literature. Their styles and subject matter were wildly different, and their fierce competitiveness affected their relationships with one another. Reading their comments about their own writing, as well as Perkins's suggestions, provides insight into some of the great literary minds of modern times.
You might not think a collection of letters could be so powerful, but I found them very inspiring, and so moving that I actually cried over the manuscript a couple of times!
I highly recommend this book to writers, editors, and publishers.
(Yes, all of these writers had incredibly messed-up personal lives, but they were brilliant nonetheless and have a lot to teach us about writing.)
Mary Jo Tate