First up, Wiley editor Alan Rinzler interviewed me last week for his blog, so please check that out if you like your info in Q&A form. His blog is a terrific resource for writers, so while you’re there, click around and enjoy its awesomeness.
Now then.
It is on, people. It is definitely on.
I know we have plenty of literary-minded sports fans out there, so in honor of this year’s NCAA basketball tournament (aka March Madness, aka the greatest sporting event in the entire universe), I thought we’d make things interesting. I’m pleased announce our 1st Annual Blog Bracket Challenge!!
Here’s how it works: You’ll fill out your NCAA bracket online by picking the winners of all the games. The winner with the most points at the end of the NCAA tournament will win their choice of a free query critique or a book from one of my clients.
And if I win, I don’t need a prize because I’ll get plenty of satisfaction out of never letting you all hear the end of it.
But don’t worry, I never win.
Oh, and for those of you who don’t know anything about basketball: Congratulations, you have a much, much better chance of winning.
Here’s how to enter:
1. Go to the front page of the ESPN tournament challenge: https://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/frontpage
2. If you have an ESPN username and password you can login, otherwise you may need to create a new user ID and password. But don’t worry, it’s not onerous and you can decline to receive updates in case you’re spam conscious.
3. Click “create entry,” and enter the name of your bracket (such as your blog handle). Choose whether or not you want to sign up for the sweepstakes, and then click “submit entry settings.”
4. Make your picks and enter the tiebreaker score, and when you’re finished, under the name of your bracket you’ll see a link that says “create or join a group.” Click that.
5. Search for “Bransford Blog Challenge.” Enter the password, which is “rhetorical” and then click Join Group.
Then you’re all set! You can make changes to your bracket by clicking on it until it locks on Thursday.
Please limit yourself to one entry.
And keep tuning back into the comments thread of this post for updates and/or trash talk. Good luck!
I had a mighty urge to do a second entry of Obama’s NCAA picks, just to see how he stacked up to Team Bransford – but I figure he probably already knows how to write a query letter. 😉
I picked pretty much at random. Chaos theory ahoy!
Yay! Thanks for the NCAA contest Nathan! It’s fun to be part of a large group again this year. 🙂
Grrr… my kids think it’s horribly funny to hear me yelling at the TV. I played ball in high school, but have never been a big fan of watching (although, of all sports, I enjoy watching b-ball more than anything else). Oh, it’s a barrel of fun here, Nathan. Please send duct tape, I fear I’ll teach my kids not just the right plays to be making, but a few choice words they’re still a bit too young to know!
Good day to you, Nathan. I followed your link and read Mr. Alan’s blog and what he had to say about you. It’s great seeing an agent who takes the time to reach out and speak to all of us aspiring writers that are on the net. Kudos.
Dawn