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Self-publishing

From a self-published debut to bestsellerdom (This week in books)

February 11, 2022 by Nathan Bransford 2 Comments

This week! Books! You may have noticed that Colleen Hoover is dominating the top of the adult fiction bestseller list, often with three titles in the top 5. Lily Herman profiles her rise from her bestselling self-published debut to becoming the third most followed author on Goodreads. RIP to the prolific author and illustrator Ashley […]

Filed Under: This Week in Books Tagged With: Andy Hunter, Ashley Bryan, Colleen Hoover, Jules Verne, Lily Herman, Porter Anderson, Self-publishing

How to write a novel in three days (This week in books)

June 25, 2021 by Nathan Bransford 1 Comment

This week! Books! Summer is upon us, and I’ll be taking a blog break next week, returning on Wednesday July 7. I’ll be checking email though, so don’t hesitate to reach out to me for editing! In the meantime, summer tends to be a very slow time for publishing news, but I found some good […]

Filed Under: This Week in Books Tagged With: Adam Gopnik, Ambrose Bierce, Brad Frazer, Dan Sheehan, Lincoln Michel, michael moorcock, Mike Shatzkin, NFTs, Self-publishing

Marketing tips for reaching your first readers from David Gaughran

July 14, 2020 by Nathan Bransford 2 Comments

It’s very daunting to launch a book in the current climate, but there are opportunities as well. I reached out to one of my favorite book marketing experts, David Gaughran, to talk about how authors can utilize digital ads to reach their first readers, the importance of Amazon metadata, the importance of your newsletter, and […]

Filed Under: Book Marketing, Self-publishing Tagged With: Amazon, Bookbub, David Gaughran, Facebook, Self-publishing

Stephen King’s turning his house into a writers retreat (This week in books)

October 18, 2019 by Nathan Bransford 4 Comments

Photograph of a rice harvester

This week! The books! You still have until 7pm tonight to enter the 6th Stupendously Ultimate First Paragraph Challenge! There is pride at stake. Also prizes. Enter now for a chance to win a $100 gift certificate from your favorite independent bookstore! Meanwhile, the publishing world did not grind to a halt for our contest […]

Filed Under: This Week in Books Tagged With: Aleksander Hemon, Jandy Nelson, Nate Hoffelder, Self-publishing

Have superfans gotten out of hand? (This week in books)

September 13, 2019 by Nathan Bransford Leave a Comment

Photo of Nyhavn in Copenhagen

This week in books! First off, thank you so much to everyone who chimed in with feedback on our community. One thing I learned: people didn’t really know about the discussion forums! Oops. I’m going to endeavor to make those more visible going forward. But seriously, thank you to everyone who chimed in. (And I’d […]

Filed Under: This Week in Books Tagged With: Fandom, Goodreads, Self-publishing, William Faulkner, Writing and Sports

How authors make money

July 16, 2019 by Nathan Bransford 11 Comments

Yes, yes, we all want to write books that move people and change the world. But, uh, how exactly do authors get paid? Read on, friends. Here’s how authors make money. In this post I’m going to cover all the different ways authors make money from their books: Traditional publishing Advances Royalties Subrights (through a […]

Filed Under: Business of Publishing Tagged With: Publishing Economics, publishing industry, Self-publishing

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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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