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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 what 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

My guide to writing a novel 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 to me. But hopefully the post below helps you in the meantime! How to write a novel. We should probably first agree…

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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If a writing fairy popped out of an old typewriter and granted me the ability to fix one craft problem in all the unpublished manuscripts across the realm I would probably terrify it by how quickly I'd shout, "PERSPECTIVES!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. How to find a literary agent Here are the basic steps for…

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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:

Horton hears a huh? (This week in books)

March 5, 2021 by Nathan Bransford2 Comments

This week! Books! Your weekly culture war freakout is brought to you by Dr. Seuss. After the Seuss Estate announced that they would let six of his titles with racist caricatures go out of print, quite a few people seemingly lost their freaking minds and opted to stick it to the Seuss Estate by… uh… […]

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Filed Under: This Week in BooksTagged With: Angie Hodapp, DIYMFA, Dr. Seuss, Kristin Nelson, Lincoln Michel

Be precise about a character’s motivation (page critique)

March 4, 2021 by Nathan Bransford2 Comments

If you’d like to nominate your own page or query for a public critique, kindly post them here in our discussion forums: Nominate Your First Page for a Critique on the Blog Nominate 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! […]

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Filed Under: CritiquesTagged With: page critique

What is an author platform?

March 1, 2021 by Nathan Bransford2 Comments

“Platform” is a perennially buzzy term within the publishing industry. Particularly if you’re writing nonfiction and hope to be published by a traditional publisher: chances are you’re going to need a platform. It’s helpful (but not mandatory) for fiction too. In this post I’m going to cover: What is an author platform? Which types of […]

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Filed Under: Book Marketing, NonfictionTagged With: Platform

RIP Lawrence Ferlinghetti (This week in books)

February 26, 2021 by Nathan Bransford3 Comments

This week! Books! Just want to say a quick thing that while the horizon seems to be brightening as many people receive vaccines, it’s also still a deeply strange and stressful time because we’re still in it and a lot of people are still struggling. Hang in there, keep reaching out to your loved ones, […]

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Filed Under: This Week in BooksTagged With: Jonathan Dee, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Lila Shapiro, Viet Thanh Nguyen

Make details vivid in a query letter (query critique)

February 25, 2021 by Nathan Bransford2 Comments

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 Blog Nominate 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 […]

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Filed Under: CritiquesTagged With: query critiques

Describe characters and settings when they’re first introduced

February 22, 2021 by Nathan Bransford5 Comments

An extremely common writing foible I see when I’m editing novels reads like this… “Hey!” Nathan heard a voice say. Nathan turned to see someone approach him on the sidewalk. “What are you doing?” the man asked. “Hey, Egya! Working on a blog post about why it’s confusing when characters and settings are only belatedly […]

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Filed Under: Writing AdviceTagged With: Prose

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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 chase 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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