I still have a letter from John Ware when he was an editor at Doubleday. I'd sent him the ms from my first novel, unagented, and he sent me a personal letter praising the writing, encouraging me, and even suggesting a couple agents to send the book to. Nothing came of that first book, and it was many years before anything came of any book, but a letter like that is priceless spiritual food that keeps a writer writing, and I'm still grateful for it.