This week! Publishing! Thursday!
Here’s the schedule:
– The contest is open until today at 4pm Pacific, at which time I will close it to entries faster than you can say “thank goodness no more please thank you mercy.”
– Tomorrow I will announce the paragraphs I have chosen as the Stupendously Ultimate Finalists, most likely in the form of a character in a television show, so as to keep with tradition. Prepare yourself.
– Voting will commence in that thread and will be open until Sunday at 6pm Pacific.
– The winner will be announced on Monday, and I’ll also discuss my thoughts/reasons/observations/errata/postulations for all things first paragraph.
Before we get to the abbreviated week in publishing, a little plea:
I have now conducted enough blog contests to know the life cycle of every contest. At the beginning of the contest: everyone is excited excited excited! Then the finalists are announced, and a vocal minority goes from: excited excited excited! to mad mad mad! Throwing things! Shattered glass! Riots in the streets! I don’t like any of the finalists Nathan is an idiot ZOMG he didn’t choose the Charles Dickens paragraph I slipped in there to test him I think I’ll go eat mud!
So here’s my plea: please remember when the finalists are announced that this is just a contest on a blog, it’s not a referendum on your skills as a writer, it’s not the difference between getting published and not getting published, and with 2,300+ entrants, choosing only a couple out of such a huge number is a laughably difficult task. Let’s not overestimate the importance of a paragraph in the grand scheme of things. Just because previous finalists have a good track record (he brags) doesn’t mean that you also won’t go on to be wildly successful. Remain confident in your abilities! If you’re confident in your own work there’s no need to hate on the finalists. Yes? Okay then.
I trust everyone to conduct themselves with professional decorum. But I’ll be closing anonymous comments when the finalists are announced all the same.
This week in publishing!
Former Collins president Steve Ross penned the rarest of rare species: an article about how book publishers aren’t actually idiots/Luddites (via Pub Rants). He points out that publishers have every reason to want e-books to succeed, even if too-cheap e-books presents quite a daunting challenge for business models.
Everyone in the world pointed me to this New Yorker Shouts & Murmurs piece about a publisher’s fictional marketing plan. If so many people loved it it must be funny!
Galley Cat is breaking out its inner muckraker and is investigating an industry scourge: why isn’t your agent returning your phone calls? Not this one, mind you. I call people back right quick.
Christian publisher Thomas Nelson made big waves this week as they announced a self-publishing program that has many people wondering if it’s the future or simply a head-scratcher. The program is appropriating the name Westbow Press, which up until recently was an actual Thomas Nelson imprint. Thomas Nelson CEO/blogger Michael Hyatt writes that they see growth potential in self-publishing and will be looking for new voices. Rachelle Gardner, Maya Reynolds, Mike Shatzkin, and Victoria Strauss/Writer Beware all have must-read takes on the new venture and the many questions that have so far been left unanswered. Their responses range from cautious excitement to skepticism.
In e-book news, Gizmodo got their hands on some possible images of the Barnes & Noble e-reader, which combines e-ink with an iPhone like display for navigation. Well played, B&N. I wants one.
In other e-book news, JA Konrath peels back the mystery of publishing yet again with another blog post about his royalty statements. Turns out he’s earning more from cheaply priced Kindle books that he self-published than from the ones that are published by Hyperion and have a higher price. THE FUTURE???????????
National Book Award nominees were announced! Congrats to publishing powerhouse Wayne State University Press for scoring a nominee. Take that, NYC!
John Ochwat passed on this really cool article in the NY Times about a woman who read a book a day for a year. That’s pretty intense.
And finally, Esquire Magazine is always there with the pressing questions: are vampires so popular because women love gay men? (via Bookslut, naturally)
Have a great weekend!
I adore several gay men (also really dislike a couple), but I'm more of a werewolf girl than a vampire girl.
Can't help but wonder what that says about me…
Oh, and I promise to vote in a professional manner once the finalists are announced 😀
You're a brave soul. I have tried to read the paragraphs, for education if nothing else. It's an eye-opener about what it means to be an agent.
You have my word to be professional and polite when the finalists are announced. (I may rant and rave in my head, but the words will be better.)
Good luck with all the paragraphs and the choosing!
I've already passed the "excited excited excited!" and moved directly to "lottery lottery lottery!" The odds might actually better? Plus, I really wanted to pass up the "I'm crap I'm crap I'm crap" stage, which is where I was headed after reading some great first paragraphs in the contest that were not mine. Really, it has been a lot of fun to read the entries.
No ranting and/or raving on the blog. We can all save that for when we're best sellers – then we'll take out a full page ad in the NYT that says:
NATHAN BRANSFORD GOT IT WRONG!
😛
eeeeeeee!!! So excited!
Can't wait to see the finalists.
I can't believe you will have them chosen by tomorrow. Actually, I don't believe it. No way. You must be a machine. Or a vampire.
I'm still excited to see what was chosen. 🙂 There were so many great paragraphs, I can see why it would be such a difficult task!
I'm just surprise you're able to keep your eyes in your head after reading so many…I'm guessing you have a timer going so when it hits 4 PM, you'll be quick to close the comments!
I intend to be perfectly professional…after all of course you'll pick mine!
Seriously, I won't be offended if you don't. There is some fierce competition here and with all the entries you have to read through, its hard not to be sympathetic.
I would like to add that I like gay men as well as the next girl but I don't like vampires because they remind me of gay sensitive men. I like mine edgy and dangerous…thank you, J.R. Ward.
JA Konrath's results don't surprise me a bit. The important take away, I think, is that he built his fanbase through traditional publishing FIRST, and then self-published e-books.
Even though I have no clue what ZOMG is, what you wrote is pretty funny. I'm not leaving my name so that I don't look like a suck up, since I'm in the contest. Hope all goes well and that you enjoy picking the finalists.
Nathan, many thanks for all that you do for us aspiring writers. Keep rockin' out the literary world.
Now that is an interesting take on Vampires *hides the 20 or so vampire fiction novels on her book shelf*
Congrats to all the Natoinal Book Award nominees! And best of luck to all who entered the contest!
Love your weekly round-ups. Thanks, Nathan. Have a great weekend.
Melissa,
Yes, quite true.
And this is something I've thought about before: say you're Stephen King, or someone with about that level of popularity. You could start self-publishing now and leave your publishers in the lurch.
Which would be kinda harsh.
It's feminine men, not necessarily gay. WOW that sounds even worse. Maybe it's men with lots of emotion.
L.J. – I figured you'd love that Esquire article 🙂
Happy weekend to all!
it's danger-kitty.
word verification: etify
I, too, love me my gay men. But I'm not wild about vampires. Hmm. I'm sure my fantasy therapist would have a field day with that one! And, I'm glad to know you're not the agent NOT returning phone calls since one of my blog pals is a client. (Gotta love those double negatives!)
I hereby promise to behave in a forthright manner upon your disclosure of the deserving, talented, and darn lucky winners. I will only scream loudly into my pillow and beat on my mattress. The truth is that if you, in fact, read through all 2000+ paragraphs, you are the real winner. (Or at least a brave, bleary-eyed, dedicated soul.)
Can I just protest your opening para selections in advance and be done with it?
FACT: I am curious which paragraph "Dwight" from The Office would choose. Would he base his selections off of storylines originating from Battlestar Galactica or his expert knowledge from beet farming?
At any rate I am sure his picks would be good enough for bears of any kind.
Re: "National Book Award nominees were announced! Congrats to publishing powerhouse Wayne State University Press for scoring a nominee. Take that, NYC!"
And let me mention also, Detroit's own ML Liebler, maestro of Detroit poetry scene, musician and poet himself, on faculty at WSU, also recently won the Writers' Writer award from Barnes & Noble / Poets and Writers magazine.
Congratulations to both Bonnie Jo Campbell, whose collection "American Salvage" is up for National Book Award,
https://wsupress.wayne.edu/Series/
Made-in-Michigan-Writers
and ML Liebler, website:
https://www.mlliebler.com/
performing at the newly-reopened Alvin's on WSU campus this week, as ML Liebler & The Automatic Mojo
https://www.alvinsoncass.com/
I've only managed to read about half of the entries and I'm shot to hell. Can't imagine how you feel. I still think my entry is fairly unique–not necessarily good, but different. I promise to act professionally when you make the final selection. I'm just not naming the profession I'll be acting in.
Word Ver: thdor – what I'll be shown after you read my entry.
I excited to see what you chose, Nathan!
My opinion is that anyone who entered wins – maybe not the contest, but for participating. It's not easy for everyone to join even informal contests.
You learn, you grow. That's the real purpose of life. So thanks for the contest and for giving people an opportunity to baby-step closer to mass writing exposure. 🙂
Just thanks for the fun of getting to throw mine out there. Really liked reading all the others whether they were my cup of alphabet soup or not. The discussions you created are priceless. I'll still put my pencil to paper (and then paper to keyboard, I can't 'write' from a keyboard) with my goal to hear someone say, "This is really good."
I look forward to your picks, regardless of genre and my tastes.
"Isn't fun just the best thing ever?"…Arthur Bach
Great idea to close for anonymous for the weekend!
Look at all these wonderful links. Nathan, that you took the time to do this while trying to do your regular job plus the contest -you are so dedicated. I hope your bosses know how incredible you are. Thank you!!
I'll read the links over the weekend – they look really interesting.
So, yes, I'm one who was taking this too seriously. I'm on overwhelm in general, so I probably should have sat this one out. But I was so worried you wouldn't feel supported, Nathan, and there wouldn't be enough contest entries without mine…..you know, like when you throw a party and no one shows up. The difference between 3,000 and 3,001, well I didn't want you to feel unappreciated.
So, in terms of losing – I was thinking about a kid's book I love, called Juniper. It has this chapter where the little girl goes to a special meeting. She gets picked to be the Princess. She loves all the attention and being special. She says: I want to be the Princess next year. And the adult says to her: No, everyone wants to be the Princess (or Prince). So, we have to take turns, so that everyone gets a chance.
So, we all have our own path right? And they are all going different places, so they look different. So, for the finalists who get the chance to be Princess (or Prince) of the day tomorrow, well, it's their turn, right? 🙂
I also think it is so cool that you give people a chance to shine like that, Nathan. Thanks.
I am down to 254 characters, yet get a max of 300 characters flag to block my entry. Why??
I can't wait to see the finalists! Even if I'm not one of them, it has been a great experience. I don't know about everyone else but I've learned a lot about what to do and what not to do already.
I'm looking forward to hearing more about what draws you to the ones you choose.
word verification: misti. Which is ironic because I knew a gay man named Misti once and, yes, I loved him.
Let's all sleep well tonight, full of hope and excitement. Sadly, it will only feel like Christmas for a few, but it' always fun to play the game!
Good luck to everyone!
I love with JA Konrath. He's a badass. His salty, no-holds-barred commentary has made his blog one of my favorites.
Last month, he decided to do an "e-book experiment" where he allowed authors to add a snippet of their books to HIS e-books for a fee. I gladly paid. Don't you think that in-book advertising is the future of publishing? Authors might hate it– but loathsome product placement is already becoming the norm WITHIN tv shows, as people turn to TiVo and fast-forward through all the commericals.
I have fought converting my textbooks to e-books– but Konrath knows the future of publishing, and I think his prognosis is correct. Publishing is going to change– A LOT; it's already happening.
And he's the first author I've ever seen disclose all his sales/revenues/profits.
I'll admit I was a little frustrated after the last first paragraph contest. But, after a few days of mulling it over, I was able to reread the winning paragraphs in a new light, and I think I learned a lot from the contest.
Hoping the selection goes smoothly, Nathan.
I WAS lobbying for a Kindle for Christmas… but now I totally want the B&N e-reader. Way cool.
Oh! *raises right hand and puts the other hand on her currently in-progress novel* I swear to behave admirably, and nothing but admirably when the results come out, so help me.
And… good luck! ^^
Ye-ah. That last article doesn't present many persuasive arguments.
Vampires = gay men because Neil Gaiman discovered how many Twilight fans there are? Faulty logic.
Vampires = gay men because Lord Byron was maybe bisexual? Faulty logic.
Vampires = gay men because vampires became a little more popular when AIDS began to get scary to the mainstream? Faulty logic.
Vampires = gay men because True Blood draws parallels between being gay and being a vampire? Much better, but still faulty logic.
It's not like a person couldn't make a strong case. The article could have talked about all the homoeroticism in Anne Rice's books.
Mira,
today =:(
Usually = : ) or even LOL.
We're not all bad.
Anon – sorry, no idea what you mean. I didn't say anyone was bad…..?
Sorry it felt like I did. 🙁
Re: publishers want e-books to do well.
THE STRAIN by del Toro/Hogan costs $19.50 in E-BOOK format.
THE STRAIN on Amazon.com in HARDCOVER costs $17.81.
I know e-books have costs like regular publishing, but they do not have paper production costs.
For an ebook to cost MORE than a paper book is lame.
-Kaneya Naran
I find it funny how much your "followers" number jumps every day when you do these contests.
Just FYI, we had a pretty vocal nay-sayer of this contest spout off on the Writer's Digest forum yesterday. Needless to say, myself and quite a few other people (who actually know what they're talking about) jumped all over it. It's one thing to state your opinion, and it's quite another to state lies as if they are facts in an attempt to bring down someone who has helped so many people in his UNspare time (uh, that would be you). We gotch'yer back, Nathan!
p.s.
The E-Book price of $19.50 I got off of fictionwise.com
-Kaneya Naran
Oh!!! You meant closing for anons!!!
Oh, I know. I'm a strong supporter for anons. But I do understand for this weekend while the voting is going on.
I've seen these contests, too, and the winners can be targets. It can get really nasty. Really. Wars and battles and insults.
I'm sorry if that leaves you out though – that sucks. Sorry.
I'm not even entering, but I wanted to say this before the madness ensues: you are such a good guy, Nathan, and you should take SO much pride in all of the above-and-beyond work that you do.
It's okay Mira. You're always such a sweetie.
I'm still trying to read all the comments, but I don't know how well that will go.
😛
As far as vampires go … I hate all the "sensitive" vampire junk. I prefer a murderous-bloodsucking-creature to act like a man.
🙂
And finally, I'm happy I didn't fall into the catergory of "blood, dead bodies, Running, ect." But the contest has some AWESOME entries/competitors. I wish the finialists best of luck!
Nathan,
I don't know how you do it. YOu're great!
Do you personally like Dialog close to the begining of the novel, or does it bother you?
Well, it's definitely gonna break 2,500 entries…dare we hope for 3000???
Thanks, Lydia!
As a result of this contest, I realized that my fourth paragraph is really my first. Wins aside, I'm a little bit closer to a better piece of writing. No whining here.
I must be totally missing the vampire/gay men connection. I think it's more about the "bad boy" thing. I'm a sucker for bad boys.
Yeah I said it.
The paragraph contest was another means to learning the craft. Not only so we see the great work of our peers, which we could learn from as we do from the work of published authors, we get the opportunity to peak into the mind of an agent. The finalists Nathan chooses will give great insight to what stands out in the overwhelming in box of an agent in the form of specific examples. Everything in life is a learning experience.
Nathan, here's a bit of interesting news for you and everyone else:
I just learned of a company called alphascript publishing, which directly lifts Wikipedia articles and repackages them as books, some costing as high as $94.
My money's on it not lasting very long.
As for the paragraphs, I wish you good fortune. I skimmed a few, and just couldn't bring myself to read them all. I really did like most of what I read though, and even though I could pick a winner out of the twelve or thirteen I read, I don't know that I could pick runners-up, fellow finalists, etc. And there are thousands of comments, some of which will probably have to be scrapped right off the bat, so there's definitely no envy from me there.
And in looking at the comments to the left of me, it only confirms something of a trend I've been noticing lately. Maybe it's just the on the ones I end up deciding to comment on, but it seems to me the majority of your readers/commenters are female. Pointing this out mostly because I'm bored, and partially because I find it slightly interesting.
And here I go with my rambling again. Must learn to shut my e-mouth.
Recall your rule: No angst.
I will obey. At least outwardly.
Is that supposed to mean vampires are gay? Don't really get that one. I mean, look at Edward Cullen for cryin' out loud! 🙂 Gay? I don't THINK so…
New Yorker Shouts & Murmurs piece about a publisher's fictional marketing plan. If so many people loved it it must be funny!
Oh, it is, it is!
We can send you a list of bookstores in your area once you fill out the My Local Bookstores list on your Author’s Questionnaire.
Truly.