Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Wow, imaginary me is really violent. Happy bday, Sommer. No wonder we're so alike. I'm Aug 7; you're Aug 8. Too much awesome in too short a span. Yes, it is 1:46AM my time, and I'm up working (lest anything think being a fulltime writer is all fun and video games). A little insight for my fellows. T...

The spam is getting really annoying. I second the suggestion of putting posts from brand new users into moderation. I think I've flagged (multiple) spam posts from five different users this evening alone. More than half of the posters listed as the most recent contributors on the forum front page ar...

Congrats, Margo Some day, you must tell us how you did it (OK, line stolen from 1776) I put in my million-word apprenticeship. I write commercial, escapist reader-based fiction instead of writer-based projects (meaning that it's more important to write what they want to read than pander to my own e...

It wasn't until Brandon Sanderson just said "I got my 12th book published rather than my 3rd because I was writing 200K books" that I thawed a bit on the whole thing.... This makes a huge difference. I do wonder how many writers have that level of commitment, almost two and a half million...

I provided 8 writers of varying experience with very specific guidelines. Only two were able to follow those guidelines. One of the others left me hanging by waiting until he was supposed to submit a finished product before telling me he had gone in a DIFFERENT direction. I think that's somewhat of...

Mark.W.Carson wrote:Margo,

You have no idea how much that sort of response teases those of us who have to have answers to everything . You literally had me going "Gah, say it already."

Mwhahahaha

Almost there, polymath. Unfortunately, I'm coming up on some majer deadlines and will probably be disappearing again for at least a couple of months.

Margo, you make valid points, but I think you're also making an assumption: That the aspiring writer with a 200K manuscript is going to be happy if they get it published but have to cut 40% of it to do so. If they are, then great -- that 40% probably needed to go anyway. But if they're not? Which i...

Not only illegal but DISRESPECTFUL of the author and his/her right to determine what is done with THEIR work. If the writer wanted the book to be distributed for free, the writer would have done so. I should also mention, if you do this, and the book is from one of the big publishers, the writer is ...

LizV wrote:He's got a few books out -- small press, obviously, but well-received critically -- so I expected better of him.

This explains a lot. And now I'll shut up before I say something I shouldn't.

(Of course, this author was of the opinion that the only reason anyone would covet a Big 6 contract was if they were a money-grubbing fool who thought they'd be the next JKR. You see why I wanted some other voices?) Sounds like he doesn't know very much about the industry. Plenty of people have leg...

If that's a priority for a writer, then that's a valid reason they might want an agent. True. But there are plenty of reasons to go with an agent. Many of them form a mentor relationship with their authors, and that guidance has resulted in some truly brilliant collaborations. Plus, there is someth...

I don't think it qualifies as agent love, but let's not forget that if a writer wants to be published by the Big 6, no one without personal connections gets through the door without an agent. Love them or hate them, a writer isn't getting published by a big house unless they have an agent or a perso...

Hillsy. Interesting. Before quitting my job because writing was paying my bills, I was an analyst as well (for 12 years). Your numbers have some assumption in them that don't add up, considering that the number of publishing houses you assume includes the smallest of the small indie presses, which u...

Thanks Mark, Sommer, Hillsy, Margo, and Liz ;) . I always value intelligent input covering multiple perspectives, especially in areas where I'm rather new. As for the WiP, I'd written the first draft purely for myself, then came upon the idea of trying to get it published once I was into the editin...