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Michael Chabon

Questions: Answered. Kind Of.

January 27, 2009 by Nathan Bransford 67 Comments

Is there room to play with genres if you’re querying in one and want to write while you wait. In other words, will an agent expect you to stick close to what you’ve submitted? I stay fairly dark, but play in horror, sci-fi and a mixture of semi-literary commercial fare. Also, am I able to […]

Filed Under: Literary Agents Tagged With: Amazon, Cormac McCarthy, How to Find a Literary Agent, How to Write a Novel, John Grisham, Kindle, Michael Chabon, Paranormal, Self-publishing, Young Adult Literature

This Week in Publishing 10/3/08

October 3, 2008 by Nathan Bransford 23 Comments

Are you ready for the most linkerrific TWIP ever?? Yes? No? Oh. Well, here it comes anyway. Be careful with your carry-on items, these links may shift during flight. First off, in philanthropic news, Moonrat is hosting a raffle for a friend who is battling cancer and is offering query and manuscript critiques for your […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Cormac McCarthy, End of Publishing As We Know It, How to Promote a Book, J.K. Rowling, Jonathan Franzen, Michael Chabon, Piracy, Publishing Economics, This Week in Publishing

The query points system and rulebreaking

June 5, 2008 by Nathan Bransford 57 Comments

If you spend any time out there on the internet you will hear many stories of authors who break literally every single “rule” about querying and literary agent etiquette and still find their way to publication. Needless to say, for people who spend months combing the interwebs for information about how to write the most […]

Filed Under: Query Letters Tagged With: How to Find a Literary Agent, How to Write a Query Letter, Michael Chabon, publishing industry

This Week in Publishing 5/18/07

May 18, 2007 by Nathan Bransford 22 Comments

BIG week in publishing. First, some background information. Typically in publishing contracts, when an author’s work goes out of print there is a mechanism in place for the author to ask for those rights back so they can try and place the rights elsewhere. Which makes a lot of sense. If a publisher isn’t actively […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: book recommendations, literary agents, Marilynne Robinson, Michael Chabon, Oprah, publishing industry

How do you feel about creative writing schools?

April 11, 2007 by Nathan Bransford 37 Comments

Thanks to everyone who posted comments about my stilted-fantasy-dialogue and weighed in one way or the other. Survey says: majority of the readers are turned off by stilted dialogue unless it’s done right. There you have it. Just be thankful I didn’t post my re-imagining of life as seen through a romance novel. Or a […]

Filed Under: The Writing Life Tagged With: Michael Chabon, The Hills, Writing Resources, You Tell Me

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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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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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