What does it mean when a book gets optioned? (This week in books)

This week! Books!

Quick note that I’ll be away on a brief holiday the week of October 12 and back with fresh content on October 19. Feel free to contact me if you need editing!

It’s book award season, and congrats to American poet Louise Glück for winning the Nobel Prize, to this year’s MacArthur fellows including N.K. Jemisen and Jacqueline Woodson, to the National Book Award finalists!

It’s a strange time in the world and in publishing, and Tracy Marchini has a great take on what it’s like being an agent right now.

So what exactly does it mean when a book gets optioned? Agent Kate McKean explains the ins and outs of book to film options.

Really loved Dan Blank’s newsletter today, where he talks about not getting so hung up on metrics that you lose sight of what’s really important when you share.

In writing advice news, what Ramona Quimby tells us about writing from a child’s perspective, agent Jessica Faust talks about the importance of choosing the right idea for your book, how good paragraphs support your story, and a reminder from agent DongWon Song that you have to decide on the writing advice that is useful to you.

If you have some time over the weekend, check out this panel on the Star Wars literary franchise:

And it has come to my attention that “Snapewives” are a thing.

This week in bestsellers

Here are the top five NY Times bestsellers in a few key categories. (All links are affiliate links):

Adult print and e-book fiction:

1. The Return by Nicholas Sparks
2. Battle Ground by Jim Butcher
3. The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett
4. Violent Bent Backwards Over the Grass by Lana Del Rey
5. The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. The Meaning of Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey with Michaela Angela Davis
2. Rage by Bob Woodward
3. Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
4. Killing Crazy Horse by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
5. Trumpty Dumpty Wanted a Crown by John Lithgow

Young adult hardcover:

1. Stamped by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
2. Dear Justyce by Nic Stone
3. Crush by Tracy Wolff
4. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
5. Shine by Jessica Jung

Middle grade hardcover:

1. A Tale of Witchcraft by Chris Colfer
2. Rowley Jefferson’s Awesome Friendly Adventure by Jeff Kinney
3. The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate
4. Wonder by R.J Palacio
5. Refugee by Alan Gratz

This week on the blog

Don’t forget that you can nominate your first page and query for a free critique on the blog:

• Nominate Your First Page for a Critique on the Blog
• Nominate Your Query for a Critique on the Blog

In case you missed them, here are this week’s posts:

• How to format a manuscript
• Try to be precise about what motivates your character (query critique)

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

• Follow me on Twitter
• Follow my page on Facebook
• Join the Facebook Group
• Check out the Bransforums

And finally, science is completely incredible. Check out this breathtaking and comprehensive visualization of the coronavirus by the NY Times.

Have a great weekend!

Need help with your book? I’m available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and coaching!

For my best advice, check out my online classes, my guide to writing a novel and my guide to publishing a book.

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