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Star Wars

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

October 9, 2020 by Nathan Bransford 2 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: This Week in Books Tagged With: Beverly Cleary, Dan Blank, DongWon Song, Jacqueline Woodson, Jessica Faust, Kate McKean, Louise Glück, N.K. Jemisen, National Book Awards, Nobel Prize, Science, Star Wars, Tracy Marchini

RWA implodes (This week in books)

January 3, 2020 by Nathan Bransford 1 Comment

This week! Books! New decade! RIP to legendary Knopf leader Sonny Mehta, whose influence on the world of literature would be hard to overstate. I particularly liked this quote, spotted by Publishers Lunch: I don’t think you can work in this business without faith or optimism. Reading a manuscript, sensing something special about it, and […]

Filed Under: This Week in Books Tagged With: Adam Gopnik, Chris Van Allsburg, E-books, Jennifer Hubbard, RWA, Star Wars

The importance of reversals

May 24, 2011 by Nathan Bransford 43 Comments

This image from the Telegraph inadvertently illustrates one of the most important writing concepts every author should master: The reversal. Storytelling is all about reversals, and we humans are drawn to them like crazies to the Bachelor house. Tatooine farmboys became intergalactic heroes. Greek kings accidentally marry their mother and fall from grace. And in […]

Filed Under: Writing Advice Tagged With: How to Write a Novel, Star Wars, writing advice

This Week in Books 5/13/11

May 14, 2011 by Nathan Bransford 11 Comments

What a week! Thanks so much to everyone for all of your support during JACOB WONDERBAR launch week, I appreciate it so much. Next week we’ll be getting back to regular programming to give everyone a breather from WONDERBAR WONDERBAR WONDERBAR, but there may be a few contests and surprises in store once everyone has […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Amazon, E-books, Future of Publishing, Jacob Wonderbar, Star Wars, This Week in Books, writing advice

In Defense of Dead and Absent Parents in Children’s Literature

September 23, 2010 by Nathan Bransford 120 Comments

There has been some discussion in the book world lately about the prevalence of absent and/or dead parents in children’s literature. In an interesting article in Publishers Weekly called “The Ol’ Dead Dad Syndrome,” editor and author Leila Sales argues that dead parents in children’s literature are not only troublingly common, they can sometimes be […]

Filed Under: Books, Culture Tagged With: Culture, J.K. Rowling, Jacob Wonderbar, Roald Dahl, Star Wars, Suzanne Collins, Young Adult Literature

When dreams become expectations

September 16, 2010 by Nathan Bransford 169 Comments

There is a famous psychological study that shows that people who win the lottery and people who are involved in catastrophic accidents return to the same original base level of happiness after two years. People who make more than $75,000 are barely affected by further raises at all. Success and fortune are normative. When we […]

Filed Under: The Writing Life Tagged With: Life of a Writer, Star Wars, Staying Sane While Writing

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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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