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Welcome to my blog!

My blog has everything you need to know to write, edit, and publish a book. Can't find what you need or want personalized help? Check out my editing and coaching services.

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Check out a few of my most popular posts:

How to write a query letter

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How to write a query letter

April 4, 2018

In order to have a book published by a traditional publisher, you will likely need to know how to write a query letter to find a literary agent. A query letter is part business letter, part creative writing exercise, part introduction, part death defying leap through a flaming hoop. (Don't worry, you won't catch fire and die during the query…

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The publishing process in GIF form

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The publishing process in GIF form

August 27, 2012

At first you're thinking of writing a novel and you're all... But then you have an idea! And you go... But then you hit page 50 and you're all.... And then you hit page 75 and you're all... But you power through!!   And then you're finished!!! You have finished a novel!! Only then find out you have to start…

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How to write a novel

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How to write a novel

June 21, 2019

Let me preface this article on how to write a novel by saying that my book on the topic has all the best advice I know: How to Write a Novel: 49 Rules for Writing a Stupendously Awesome Novel That You Will Love Forever. And if you need personalized help: Reach out for coaching or editing! How to write a novel.…

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Third person omniscient vs. limited vs. head jumping

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Third person omniscient vs. limited vs. head jumping

August 24, 2020

If a writing fairy popped out of an old typewriter and granted me the ability to fix one craft problem in all the unpublished manuscripts across the realm I would probably terrify it by how quickly I'd shout, "PERSPECTIVES! For the love of Melville fix the broken perspectives!!" You probably know there are three main perspectives to choose from in…

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Everything writers need to know about pitching their book

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Everything writers need to know about pitching their book

May 7, 2018

Like it or not, pitching your book is one of the most important things you'll do as an author. If you're trying to find a literary agent, you'll need to write a query letter. If you're self-publishing, you'll need to write good jacket copy (or at least know what good jacket copy looks like). When you're telling acquaintances what your…

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How to find a literary agent

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How to find a literary agent

March 20, 2018

If you want to have your book published by a publisher, chances are you are going to need an agent. Here's how to find a literary agent. Welcome to publishing, the land of books, writing, and agonizingly long waits. Pour yourself a drink. You're going to need it. In this post I'm going to give you an overview of how…

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Everything you need to know about novel word counts

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Everything you need to know about novel word counts

April 23, 2018

Ah, word count. Few elements of the book-writing process inspire such hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing as trying to constrain your novel within certain seemingly arbitrary bounds. In this post I'm going to tell you: Why word count matters for novelsStandard word count ranges for various genresThe word counts of some famous novels for comparison But before I do that, let me…

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Most recent posts:

If you think writing is easy you’re probably not very good at it

February 6, 2023 by Nathan Bransford 3 Comments

People do not tend to look at a surgeon performing open heart surgery and say, “I could do that!” They do not see an NBA player swish a contested three-pointer and say, “Pssh. The problem with today’s society is that there aren’t any good NBA players.” But they will pick up a bestseller in a […]

Filed Under: Writing Advice

Social media is a dumpster fire (This week in books)

February 3, 2023 by Nathan Bransford 2 Comments

This week! Books! You know it, I know it. Social media just isn’t what it used to be. Approximately 15 years into the social media era, and 8 years after GameGate marked the beginning of the end, we’re at a messy nadir, where the giants (Facebook/Instagram, Twitter, Snap) are earnestly committing suicide, the insurgent (TikTok) […]

Filed Under: This Week in Books Tagged With: ALA Awards, Censorship, Donald Maass, Florida, Hunter Patterson, Judith Viorst, Lincoln Michel, Madelin McIntosh, Martin Riker, Patrick Sauer, Penguin Random House, Peter C. Baker, S.E. Hinton, Social Media, Sophie Vershbow, Writing and Sports

Another mass shooting and another and another (This week in books)

January 27, 2023 by Nathan Bransford 7 Comments

I’m not quite ready to return to full blogging in the wake of the recent mass shooting in California (calling it that doesn’t even narrow it down), which hit very close to home literally and figuratively. I and my loved ones are okay, but I’m going through that heavy time where I’m feeling a lot […]

Filed Under: This Week in Books

The worst sentence structure on the planet (This week in books)

January 20, 2023 by Nathan Bransford 3 Comments

This week! Books! David Owen of The New Yorker and I should absolutely go bowling together because he has written an exhaustive screed against front-loaded, somersaulting sentences, which has a surprising history with roots in journalism and misguided “elegant variation.” David my man, tell it like it is: The awkwardness is obvious if you imagine […]

Filed Under: This Week in Books Tagged With: Dan Kois, David Owen, Jennifer Hubbard, Sam Thielman, Susan Meachen, Ted Goia, Yo La Tengo

Do you want the reader to understand your story? (page critique)

January 19, 2023 by Nathan Bransford 3 Comments

If you’d like to nominate your own page or query for a public critique, kindly post them here in our discussion forums: 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 queries a few days before a critique so you can see how your redline […]

Filed Under: Critiques Tagged With: page critique

Infuse a character’s desires into their observations

January 16, 2023 by Nathan Bransford 1 Comment

One of the most fundamental principles for writing a novel is that characters need to want something and they need to actively go after that thing. In genre fiction, this is often either self-evident (the character needs to defeat the dragon or solve the crime) or translated into something very concrete. It’s fine to simply […]

Filed Under: Writing Advice

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About Nathan

Hi, I’m Nathan. I’m the author of How to Write a Novel and the Jacob Wonderbar series, which was published by Penguin. I used to be a literary agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. and I’m dedicated to helping authors achieve their dreams. Let me help you with your book!

My blog has everything you need to know to write, edit, and publish a book. Can’t find what you need or want personalized help? Reach out.

Learn more about me

Need Editing?

I'm available for consultations, edits, query critiques, brainstorming, and more.
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My Books

How to Write A Novel
Cover of How to Publish a Book by Nathan Bransford
Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapo
Jacob Wonderbar for President of the Universe
Jacob Wonderbar and the Interstellar Time Warp

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