Nathan Bransford - The Forums

I'm procrastinating today, so I'm dreaming of the day that I have an agent - which makes me wonder: What is the agent-author relationship like for subsequent novels? Do you automatically represent/read work from your client? Do they still have to pitch the idea to you and sell you with a query /syn...

Hello Nathan, I was wondering, if you're writing a novel in several volumes, similar to Lord of the Rings, would you query publishers and agents after the first volume is complete, or after all the volumes are complete? Thanks! Query with the first one, and make sure it can stand on its own. Here's...

I know, I seem to have far too many questions, but I mentioned this over in the Publishing forum and someone suggested I put it over here as well. I'm going to make this simple and sweet. I'm fluent in Japanese and interested in working as a translator. I've written some samples, but have no idea r...

I learn from unpublished authors all the time, and I've been doing this for a living for 7 years now.

To me it's a difference between a character being sympathetic and unsympathetic: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2009/02 ... cters.html

Yes, yes, and yes.

Dear Nathan, My book does not fit into a genre. It is not a romance, though romance occurs. It is not historical, though looks like one. It is not a fantasy, though paranormal events occur. It is not YA. When I query you first, what shall I say it is? Thanks, Ellis47 Pick which section of the books...

Hi Nathan. I've got a query about the market, hot topics, zeitgeist....that sort of thing. Obviously from successful query, to publish, to release takes much much longer than expected (about 12 Months and up is it?). So how much of that "This is hot, I can sell this" quality of a query le...

Hi Nathan, I have another question about publishing and queries. What I was wondering was how do you react to strange names in query letters? Do they turn you off? My protagonist in my YA Fantasy has well, a somewhat strange name, but it fits his personality so well. Meaning faulty and sinned and y...

Before the holidays I went to a friend's Wii party , and between that and the release of Beatles Rock Band..... let's just say much of my relaxation time over the holidays involved a fake guitar and drum kit. Evidence: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/4244559027_6bed08172d.jpg Clearly I have the ...

Hi Nathan, I don't see this addressed in FAQs, and maybe it's a silly question but I'll ask anyway. My MS is a YA Fantasy. When querying agents, should I stick with those who represent both YA and Fantasy, or if an agent reps. YA should I assume that encompasses all genres? Thanks for answering thi...

Hey Nathan, Any way to get rid of the irritating porn bots that seem to be taking over the forums? I mean, I like Pamela Anderson as much as the next guy (she's so '90s!), but really ... Yeah, sorry about that! The bots have been coming on strong lately. It didn't help that while clearing out spam ...

Hey Nathan! My novel is told in first person, but not by either of the protagonists (or antagonist, for that matter). He's not a major character in the action, but his perspective is crucial for telling the story. In my queries, I haven't even mentioned him since he doesn't drive the action and I d...

Nathan, you posted at some point (can't recall when but it was recent) that you find reading a manuscript a very different experience than reading in book form. How do you think it would be if queriers sent their ms's in properly formatted ebooks that you read off your kindle/ereader/whatever? You ...

Hi Nathan, My women's fiction manuscript contains subject matter that's currently popular in the non-fiction market (green living, organic farming, holistic health). Should I mention this angle in my query, or is comparing fiction to non-fiction a matter of apples and oranges? Thanks in advance for...