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Transition

November 5, 2010 by Nathan Bransford 377 Comments

It’s with a huge mix of emotions (insert: wonderment, excitement, sadness, nostalgia) that I let you know that this is my last day as a literary agent. I am leaving the world of publishing to work at the tech news/review site CNET, where I will be helping to coordinate social media strategy. I’m extremely excited about this new challenge and opportunity (particularly since I’ve been such a fan of CNET over the years), though I will be sad that I’ll no longer be working with my amazing clients and colleagues. It has been truly incredible to work with my clients, who are so inspiring and amazing and I know are destined for very fruitful careers. I am leaving them in supremely capable hands, and I will continue to be fans of their work long into the future.

But! The blog and Forums will live on. The topics will change just a bit as I will no longer be in the query trenches, but I still plan to continue to post about writing, books, and whatever strikes my fancy (monkeys) and hope you’ll stick around for the next phase in the blog’s evolution. One thing that has not changed and will not change is my passion for books and writing and I hope this will continue to be a friendly place where writers come together to talk writing and help each other out. This has become such an amazing, positive community thanks to you, and I feel honored to be a part of it.

Let me also say that I have not lost my optimism about the future of books. I really do believe that the present and future is great. Heck, I wouldn’t be spending so much time writing books if I thought all hope was lost. This is more about me being excited about this new opportunity and being very passionate about social media than it is about the current state or future of publishing.

These last few weeks have been a whirlwind, and I wish I could have taken each and every one of you out for a beer to say thanks and tell you in person. Very sorry if I haven’t had the chance to notify you personally. But this isn’t goodbye! See you here on Monday.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Megan Sayer says

    November 6, 2010 at 5:00 am

    Congratulations, and all the best with the new endeavour. Co-ordinating social media strategy? You've obviously proved your ability with this blog. So glad you're continuing it!

    Reply
  2. GN says

    November 6, 2010 at 5:11 am

    I thought you were JOKING! Wait! Come back – can't we talk about this…really, I'm sure we can…No? You mean it? Your mind is made up? Well. What can I say….

    So long, and thanks for all the fish. Good luck, and please keep posting.

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    November 6, 2010 at 5:34 am

    I'm surprised everyone is so surprised! Why on earth would you stay an agent when you obviously are a social media standout? Good for you.

    With some exceptions, publishing has always been a women's ghetto – a "second family income" job, as if that even makes sense. I don't see the salaries changing.

    Reply
  4. treeoflife says

    November 6, 2010 at 6:14 am

    Congratulations on the new role, although I'm sad to see you go. I don't doubt you'll be a valuable addition to CNET.

    I've enjoyed your blog, and no doubt will continue to in the future.

    Good luck sir!

    Reply
  5. J.C. Martin says

    November 6, 2010 at 7:35 am

    All the best at your new job! No doubt you'll be fantastic! Thanks for all the great advice to us newbie writers!

    Reply
  6. A.R. Williams says

    November 6, 2010 at 7:37 am

    Good Luck in your future endeavors! May they bring you all the happiness you deserve. 🙂

    Reply
  7. Jessica says

    November 6, 2010 at 8:07 am

    Best of luck to you over at CNET. Thank you for all of the time and energy that you've put into your blog. I really value the advice and insights you've shared with all of us. Glad to hear you will still be keeping up with the blog even though you are moving in a different direction.

    Reply
  8. Chloe Adams says

    November 6, 2010 at 8:26 am

    Wow! I wish I'd queried you before you left! 🙂 Take care, and I'll continue following your blog. Best wishes to you in your new endeavors!

    Reply
  9. agatha82 says

    November 6, 2010 at 8:33 am

    Transition is good for the soul. Best of luck Nathan. Thank you for taking the time to create this blog for all of us aspiring writers. It's been a pleasure to read. Glad you will keep it going. Looking forward to reading about whatever you feel like writing about 🙂

    Reply
  10. Talei says

    November 6, 2010 at 10:10 am

    All the best with your new endeavours. Always great to make some changes. Thank you so much for sharing your brilliant advice on publishing and writing!! 😉

    Reply
  11. Mariam Maarouf says

    November 6, 2010 at 11:29 am

    Oh wow.

    Sure didn't see that one coming.

    Anyway, Nathan: congratulations and BEST OF LUCK! You're going to ace it 🙂

    Reply
  12. Jen says

    November 6, 2010 at 12:02 pm

    Best of luck, Nathan.

    You will be sadly missed! I can't begin to tell you how helpful, useful, encouraging and welcoming I've found your blog and the forums.

    Reply
  13. kangaroobee says

    November 6, 2010 at 12:04 pm

    Good luck!

    Reply
  14. Joan Kremer says

    November 6, 2010 at 12:27 pm

    So I skip one day of checking the writing/publishing blogosphere, and what happens? An earthquake! I wondered why I felt a rumble yesterday. Then this morning I open up my Google Reader and read the shockwaves spreading across the land of publishing blogs! Hell of a way to begin the weekend.

    Seriously, Nathan, you've been a real blessing to writers, and we all have much to thank you for. I wish you the very best over at CNET (one of my own Internet staples) and will be excited to see the release of your book next spring (the first of many, I suspect). Thanks for everything you've given to the writing community so far!

    Reply
  15. Kate Campbell says

    November 6, 2010 at 1:10 pm

    Congratulations on your new job and career transition. Hope you'll be in a position to send dispatches back to the townspeople about life on the tech frontier, offer insights into how to build networks, audiences and platforms for our work. How to build a better fire.

    Joan Didion said: "We tell ourselves stories in order to live." Once we told those stories around the campfire. Then they moved the logs to the e-tech forest. The spark is the same, but maybe, in your new position, you'll be able to tell us where they put the matches. Thanks for your dedication to the stories and good luck in your new job. Best wishes. Kate

    Reply
  16. Natalie Aguirre says

    November 6, 2010 at 1:11 pm

    Good luck with your your new career move and with your book. It's really surprising though that you've leaving. You seem like one of the most successful agents.

    Reply
  17. CCC says

    November 6, 2010 at 1:14 pm

    You are truly a writer's friend.

    Reply
  18. Anonymous says

    November 6, 2010 at 1:25 pm

    WTF

    Reply
  19. Khanada says

    November 6, 2010 at 1:36 pm

    Did you know you're not supposed to go through huge "transitions" like this during NaNoWriMo as some of us are not keeping up with our blog reading???

    Best of luck to you, Nathan. I think very highly of CNET and always head there first for my techie advice. Someday, maybe you'll tell us the story of how this happened!! I bet it's a good one.

    Reply
  20. Kristi Bernard says

    November 6, 2010 at 1:42 pm

    Best of luck to you.

    Reply
  21. JDuncan says

    November 6, 2010 at 1:52 pm

    Bit late here, but if you feel like adding your tribute to Nathan's blog and his general awesomeness, you can comment for a chance to win a query crit from Nathan or a new YA title from another client of my new Agent, Ginger Clark, Girl Saves Boy by Steph Bowe. Come on over to jnduncan.wordpress.com and put in your two cents worth for Nathan.

    Reply
  22. Jil says

    November 6, 2010 at 2:03 pm

    What a surprise! I wish you all the good luck in the world and look forward to hearing your new adventures.

    Reply
  23. reader says

    November 6, 2010 at 2:06 pm

    Good luck with your new job, Nathan. I promise I'll continue to procrastinate by reading your blog, as usual.

    All best! 🙂

    Reply
  24. crow productions says

    November 6, 2010 at 2:08 pm

    Good luck. Just know we your fans love you. When my novel is published I wish to acknowledge the constant help and information I received from you. I'm looking forward to hearing about your new direction.

    Reply
  25. alaskaravenclaw says

    November 6, 2010 at 2:25 pm

    Best of luck with your new endeavor, and with your book. I enjoyed reading your blog.

    Reply
  26. Kathryn Magendie says

    November 6, 2010 at 2:40 pm

    Best wishes and good luck – and now that explains what I kept wondering/feeling as I read your blog lately! 😀 or I'm a psychic …either one *laugh*

    Good Journies to you!

    Reply
  27. Ellen Shriner says

    November 6, 2010 at 2:57 pm

    Congratulations on your new gig! I can certainly understand you might want a new challenge, but Wow. I'm going to miss your smart, funny, wise and most of all, kind, perspective (yeah I know the blog will continue in an evolved form, but still . . . ). I've learned a ton from you. Thank you!

    Reply
  28. Lisa Schroeder says

    November 6, 2010 at 3:12 pm

    Nathan, to me, you've been the calm voice of reason in this wild and wacky world of publishing. You will be missed!

    But wishing you the very best in your new endeavors. I'm guessing you will have more time to write with a regular 8-5 job. I don't know how agents do it – it seems to me to be a job where you must work all the time!!

    Many, many thanks and best wishes!

    Reply
  29. Danette Haworth says

    November 6, 2010 at 3:22 pm

    Nathan,

    Your blog has been a fantastic source of insight and information, as was your thread on Absolute Write.

    Good luck to you in your latest venture and all your future writing. I really appreciate the knowledge and assurance I've gained here.

    Reply
  30. Robena Grant says

    November 6, 2010 at 3:32 pm

    Thank you for the years of fabulous advice. Good luck with your new venture. Change is good!

    Reply
  31. Sarah Laurenson says

    November 6, 2010 at 3:41 pm

    Nathan – I wish you the best on this new journey. It sounds exciting and I'm sure it'll keep your life interesting.

    I'm glad you'll still be blogging. Your posts are a great source of information, fun and eye-opening experiences.

    Reply
  32. Kia Abdullah says

    November 6, 2010 at 3:43 pm

    Whaaaat?

    Reply
  33. Jon Bon Benjamin says

    November 6, 2010 at 3:43 pm

    Good luck with the new challenge. Sounds very exciting

    JB

    Reply
  34. robinC says

    November 6, 2010 at 4:09 pm

    Wow! Congrats, Nathan. This blog has always been so inpsiring and informative. Can't wait to see where else you take it.

    All best 🙂 Always.

    Reply
  35. Angelica R. Jackson says

    November 6, 2010 at 4:43 pm

    Say it isn't so, Nathan! You've been my go-to guy for the lowdown on queries, the latest publishing news, and general publishing etiquette. I know that sometimes I didn't get to your posts everyday, and I didn't always give my comments freely, but can't you give me (us all) another chance?

    You say your mind is made up? Well, I will have to comfort myself with the knowledge that you will make wonderful contributions no matter where you focus your energies.

    Buena suerta!

    Reply
  36. Thalia Chaltas says

    November 6, 2010 at 4:50 pm

    Way to walk through the doorway when the door opens, Nathan! May it be wonderful.

    Reply
  37. A3Writer says

    November 6, 2010 at 5:32 pm

    I'd just like to add my voice to these others to thank you for all of your hard work beyond your job as an agent in helping authors. Thank you, Nathan, and may the Schwartz be with you.

    Reply
  38. J. T. Shea says

    November 6, 2010 at 5:58 pm

    I had the strangest dream. Nathan had stopped agenting!

    Good grief! It wasn't a dream!

    Seriously, let me add mine to the hundreds of well-deserved expressions of gratitude and good luck in these comments, Nathan. Thank you and keep on monkeying around!

    Reply
  39. demery bader-saye says

    November 6, 2010 at 6:12 pm

    Thank you for making such a positive contribution to the world of query writing! Your enthusiasm and joy for writing is contagious. Best of luck to you in your new venture.

    Reply
  40. Rebecca Stroud says

    November 6, 2010 at 6:35 pm

    Almost a year ago – after spending many months researching agents – I sent a query to you. It was quickly, yet very nicely, rejected. I never sent another one. Instead, I moved on to publish independently.

    However, I continued to follow your blog because, IMHO, you are the quintessence of agenting. Smart, polite, funny, insightful, knowledgeable, humble, encouraging, forthright…a really good guy.

    SO, my very best to you, Nathan. You are truly an asset to your profession and – along with everyone else here – I thank you for the time and patience you've taken to help all writers. Be they aspiring or already published, you've never been condescending or smug in your advice or replies.

    Again, from the bottom of my heart, I wish you the ultimate best. To put it mildly, we'll miss you…

    Reply
  41. Chuck H. says

    November 6, 2010 at 6:49 pm

    Damn!! Next thing you know someone will try to convince me that there's no Santa Claus. And this close to Christmas, too.

    Oh, well. It's only two years til 2012 and then all this will seem small potatoes in comparison.

    Good luck, Mr. Bransford. Thank you for the rejection, the honorable mention in the first paragraph contest and the page critique. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go cry my eyes out over my shattered dream of having you for an agent.

    Reply
  42. Terri Coop says

    November 6, 2010 at 6:54 pm

    I just get over the election day results, and now this!

    First, all the best to you and Alison. I read her blog about some of the decisions that went into moving from NY to SF and the most telling was the phrase that started out "tired of being soul-sucking . . ."

    CNET is lucky to have you and so is social media. You are one of the folks who get it and a blogging uber-natural. It is time the industry recognizes and compensates you for that talent. Here's to reasonable workweeks and weekends off (do not let yourself get sucked in too hard, establish work-life boundaries now that you are on the payroll rather than commission).

    Our loss and our gain. You can only be an agent to a few of us, but in the realm of social media, you will be reaching out to all of us.

    Now, we can haz maybe an occasional "Week in Publishing"? and maybe the occasional itty-bitty contest for a critique? Just to help us all with our withdrawals.

    Terri
    http://www.whyifearclowns.com

    Reply
  43. Victoria says

    November 6, 2010 at 6:56 pm

    No….this is so…upsetting. Now who do I query…?

    Reply
  44. Anonymous says

    November 6, 2010 at 7:45 pm

    What do you call twenty dead lawyers at the bottom of the sea?

    Answer: a good start.

    Reply
  45. B.E.T. says

    November 6, 2010 at 7:55 pm

    That's sad, but good for you at the same time. I'm glad the blog will still keep up, though! I've gotten a lot of really good advice from this and I'm glad it's not going to stop coming, despite the career switch. Congrats on the change in life, I hope it all works out well.

    Reply
  46. Anonymous says

    November 6, 2010 at 8:14 pm

    Best of luck, Nathan. I'm sure you'll be a success.

    Sam

    Reply
  47. Kathryn Paterson says

    November 6, 2010 at 8:55 pm

    I'm sure you're not reading this far, but I just wanted to say thanks, and I totally applaud your decision. You have your own career as a writer to think of, and you need something that provides a better balance. I get it. And congratulations!

    Reply
  48. kea says

    November 6, 2010 at 9:15 pm

    I can't wait to follow you into your new life!!

    Reply
  49. Deborah Blake Dempsey says

    November 6, 2010 at 9:23 pm

    Congratulations. I can feel your excitement for the new endeavor and wish you the very, very best. Change is good, especially when it pumps your blood and throws excitement in your heart.

    Reply
  50. JM Leotti says

    November 6, 2010 at 9:41 pm

    Best of luck at CNET. Glad you will be continuing to blog as I love to hear you opine. Thanks for all your sage advice, I've learned so much! Looking forward to Jacob W.!

    Reply
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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!

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