Nathan Bransford | Writing, Book Editing, Publishing

Helping authors achieve their dreams

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Helping authors achieve their dreams.

I'm Nathan Bransford, author, editor, and former literary agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. I'm dedicated to helping authors find their voice, hone their craft, and pursue successful publication.

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Book Editing You Can Trust

I've been in your shoes.

As a published author and former literary agent who has worked with NY Times bestselling authors, I bring a unique perspective to the book editing process, combining insider industry experience with an author's sympathetic ear.

My services include

Manuscript editing & critiques
Query critiques
Social media & marketing consulting
Coaching on navigating the publishing process
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A few authors I've worked with...
Shadowshaper
by Daniel José Older,
a NY Times bestseller
Rock Paper Tiger
by Lisa Brackermann,
one of Amazon's top 100 novels of the year
Try Not To Breathe
by Jennifer Hubbard,
received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Kirkus
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Recent Posts

My blog is a free resource for everything you need to know how to write, edit, and publish a book.

How to write a synopsis for a novel

Of all the things you will write throughout the publishing process, a synopsis may be what you dread the most. It's not fun to have to shoehorn an entire novel into a relatively brief one-four page summary. But if you follow just a few relatively simple steps and follow the guidance in this post, it may still be a pain,…

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The PRH/S&S antitrust suit gets underway (This week in books)

This week! Books! The antitrust lawsuit over Penguin Random House's proposed acquisition of Simon & Schuster is in full swing. Shira Ovide writes about how the threat posed by Amazon is looming in the background of the trial, and Publishers Lunch ($ links) has some extensive recaps of the testimony so far. The latest prominent writer to insinuate that publishers…

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Style isn't enough (query critique)

If you’d like to nominate your own page or query for a public critique, kindly post them here in the discussion forums: Nominate Your First Page for a Critique on the BlogNominate Your Query for a Critique on the Blog Also, if you’d like to test your editing chops, keep your eye on this area or this area! I’ll post the pages and…

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Try to make your scenes do more than one thing

Particularly when you've reached the messy middle of writing a novel, it can feel like you are keeping a bunch of plates spinning while balanced on a tightrope over the Grand Canyon. It's hard to keep your whole novel in your head and keep things making sense as you careen toward the climax. As a result, sometimes writers can be…

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The PRH/S&S merger heads to court (This week in books)

This week! Books! We're getting into the doldrums of summer, but I still have a few links to share with you this week. First up, there's an auction this weekend to support two great organizations, We Need Diverse Books and NaNoWriMo! There are lots of great items to bid on, and I'm offering a thirty minute chat where we can…

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My Books

Check out my guides to navigating the writing and publishing process!

How to Write a Novel

The most important thing to know about writing a novel is this: you can do it. Here's How

How to Publish a Book

Ready to pursue a book deal with a Big 5 publisher or try self-publishing? Get Started

I'm also the author of the Jacob Wonderbar novels, a space adventure series for middle-grade readers.

Jacob Wonderbar Cosmic Space Kapow Jacob Wonderbar For President Jacob Wonderbar and Interstellar Time
About My Books

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