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Welcome to my blog!

My blog has everything you need to know to write, edit, and publish a book. Can't find what you need or want personalized help? Check out my editing and coaching services.

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Check out a few of my most popular posts:

How to write a query letter

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How to write a query letter

April 4, 2018

In order to have a book published by a traditional publisher, you will likely need to know how to write a query letter to find a literary agent. A query letter is part business letter, part creative writing exercise, part introduction, part death defying leap through a flaming hoop. (Don't worry, you won't catch fire and die during the query…

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The publishing process in GIF form

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The publishing process in GIF form

August 27, 2012

At first you're thinking of writing a novel and you're all... But then you have an idea! And you go... But then you hit page 50 and you're all.... And then you hit page 75 and you're all... But you power through!!   And then you're finished!!! You have finished a novel!! Only then find out you have to start…

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How to write a novel

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How to write a novel

June 21, 2019

Let me preface this article on how to write a novel by saying that my book on the topic has all the best advice I know: How to Write a Novel: 49 Rules for Writing a Stupendously Awesome Novel That You Will Love Forever. And if you need personalized help: Reach out for coaching or editing! How to write a novel.…

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Third person omniscient vs. limited vs. head jumping

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Third person omniscient vs. limited vs. head jumping

August 24, 2020

If a writing fairy popped out of an old typewriter and granted me the ability to fix one craft problem in all the unpublished manuscripts across the realm I would probably terrify it by how quickly I'd shout, "PERSPECTIVES! For the love of Melville fix the broken perspectives!!" You probably know there are three main perspectives to choose from in…

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Everything writers need to know about pitching their book

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Everything writers need to know about pitching their book

May 7, 2018

Like it or not, pitching your book is one of the most important things you'll do as an author. If you're trying to find a literary agent, you'll need to write a query letter. If you're self-publishing, you'll need to write good jacket copy (or at least know what good jacket copy looks like). When you're telling acquaintances what your…

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How to find a literary agent

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How to find a literary agent

March 20, 2018

If you want to have your book published by a publisher, chances are you are going to need an agent. Here's how to find a literary agent. Welcome to publishing, the land of books, writing, and agonizingly long waits. Pour yourself a drink. You're going to need it. In this post I'm going to give you an overview of how…

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Everything you need to know about novel word counts

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Everything you need to know about novel word counts

April 23, 2018

Ah, word count. Few elements of the book-writing process inspire such hand-wringing and teeth-gnashing as trying to constrain your novel within certain seemingly arbitrary bounds. In this post I'm going to tell you: Why word count matters for novelsStandard word count ranges for various genresThe word counts of some famous novels for comparison But before I do that, let me…

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Most recent posts:

How publishers are mining the backlist (This week in books)

June 2, 2023 by Nathan Bransford Leave a Comment

This week! Books! No posts next week as I’m headed to NYC for a round of lunching with publishing professionals and meeting up with friends. I aim to be back blogging later on in June, but I’ll be checking emails in the meantime, so continue to reach out for editing. In my update on the […]

Filed Under: This Week in Books Tagged With: Alexis Gunderson, Censorship, Elizabeth A. Harris, Lincoln Michel, Open Road, Peter Jamison, WGA, Zara Raheem

Careful with teenage petulance (query critique)

June 1, 2023 by Nathan Bransford 1 Comment

If you’d like to nominate your own page or query for a public critique, kindly post them here in the discussion forums: Also, if you’d like to test your editing chops, keep your eye on this area or this area! I’ll post the pages and queries a few days before a critique so you can see how your […]

Filed Under: Critiques Tagged With: query critiques

How to write sharp action scenes

May 30, 2023 by Nathan Bransford Leave a Comment

Along with physical description, clear, sharp action scenes have become a bit of a lost art in the manuscripts that cross my desk. So many writers are more focused on their characters’ snappy banter than showing characters moving seamlessly through the physical world. Precise action will turn a vaguely confusing jumble into a gripping scene. […]

Filed Under: Writing Advice

The key to creative breakthroughs (This week in books)

May 26, 2023 by Nathan Bransford 1 Comment

This week! Books! Last week I brought you news of Sudowrite’s new service that will help you write a (seemingly) terrible draft thanks to AI, and in a very 2023 news story, a fictional sex act created by the Omegaverse fandom has resulted in the the AI service being caught plundering material. Yes really. Penguin […]

Filed Under: This Week in Books Tagged With: Artificial Intelligence, Bertelsmann, Creativity, KC Baker, Rumsey Taylor, Sudowrite, T.J. Newman, Thomas Rabe, Zachary Small

Give your protagonist something to do (page critique)

May 25, 2023 by Nathan Bransford Leave a Comment

If you’d like to nominate your own page or query for a public critique, kindly post them here in our discussion forums: Also, if you’d like to test your editing chops, keep your eye on this area or this area! I’ll post the pages and queries a few days before a critique so you can see how your redline […]

Filed Under: Critiques Tagged With: page critique

How to write a killer one sentence pitch (or logline) for novels and memoirs

May 22, 2023 by Nathan Bransford 109 Comments

A while back I outlined the general necessity of whittling down your plot to one sentence, one paragraph, and two paragraph pitches in order to give yourself a head start on the literally thousands of times you are going to need to summarize your work over the course of a book’s lifetime. Today I want […]

Filed Under: Book Marketing, Query Letters Tagged With: How to Find a Literary Agent, Jacob Wonderbar, writing advice

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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!

My blog has everything you need to know to write, edit, and publish a book. Can’t find what you need or want personalized help? Reach out.

Learn more about me

Need Editing?

I'm available for consultations, edits, query critiques, brainstorming, and more.
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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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