Search found 1552 matches

by Nathan Bransford
January 25th, 2010, 8:42 pm
Forum: Ask Nathan
Topic: Old Ask Nathan Thread
Replies: 793
Views: 405358

Re: Ask Nathan

I have a question that should be simple to answer, and expect the "it varies" response, yet I feel I need to ask. As a visually impaired writer, I write in Verdana14 point font. Having only 3/4 of one eye, I cannot see Courier font on the screen hardly at all. I do expect to have to chang...
by Nathan Bransford
January 25th, 2010, 8:39 pm
Forum: Ask Nathan
Topic: Old Ask Nathan Thread
Replies: 793
Views: 405358

Re: Ask Nathan

Dear Nathan, Me again, sorry for posting two questions back to back, but I really wanted to ask you this. I am a Canadian citizen, I live and write in Canada. Does that affect my chances of getting a contract with an agent in the Untied States? Does it make it harder to work out a contract? Would i...
by Nathan Bransford
January 25th, 2010, 8:39 pm
Forum: Ask Nathan
Topic: Old Ask Nathan Thread
Replies: 793
Views: 405358

Re: Ask Nathan

Dear Nathan, I've heard a lot of talk about getting refferals from established authors or other notable people who already have a foot in the door of the publishing industry. I've just never heard of ways to go about snagging one. Well, not any that I could accomplish. I'm from a small town and hav...
by Nathan Bransford
January 25th, 2010, 8:33 pm
Forum: Ask Nathan
Topic: Old Ask Nathan Thread
Replies: 793
Views: 405358

Re: Ask Nathan

Hi Nathan, I'm in the process of attempting to find an agent. I currently have an agent who is interested in representing my children's picture books, but not my YA or adult novels. I've heard many times that agents typically like to represent the entirety of an author's works. So, my question is, ...
by Nathan Bransford
January 25th, 2010, 8:31 pm
Forum: Ask Nathan
Topic: Old Ask Nathan Thread
Replies: 793
Views: 405358

Re: Ask Nathan

If you are doing a retelling of fairy tale or other literary work, when do you mention this? All names are changed and characters have different personalities, but key story elements are the same: ex: Clueless is a retelling of Emma, Bridget Jone's Diary is Pride and Prejudice. Also, does when you ...
by Nathan Bransford
January 25th, 2010, 8:29 pm
Forum: Ask Nathan
Topic: Old Ask Nathan Thread
Replies: 793
Views: 405358

Re: Ask Nathan

Nathan, if an agent doesn't have a specified synopsis length on the website or asks for a "short synopsis," then what does he typically mean? i know lengths are different per agent, and not everyone's "short" is the same. is there a golden rule? thanks! Sorry lexcade, missed thi...
by Nathan Bransford
January 21st, 2010, 10:26 pm
Forum: Finding An Agent
Topic: The literary agent is also a practicing author - say what?
Replies: 63
Views: 20288

Re: The literary agent is also a practicing author - say what?

There are many, many reasons to not worry about an agent stealing your idea (whether they're writers or not). Just a few: 1) While there have been isolated instances in the movie business (though let's not forget the one the OP mentioned happened over 20 years ago), I honestly have never heard of a ...
by Nathan Bransford
January 16th, 2010, 2:52 am
Forum: Writing
Topic: the drawer novel
Replies: 16
Views: 6304

Re: the drawer novel

I know authors who actually had their first novels published but then ended up wishing they had stayed in the drawer. Others made it happen with their first novel and made it look easy. Other people have one, two, five, ten drawer novels and eventually made it. I've had to put a novel in the drawer ...
by Nathan Bransford
January 16th, 2010, 1:54 am
Forum: Ask Nathan
Topic: Old Ask Nathan Thread
Replies: 793
Views: 405358

Re: Ask Nathan

Hello again! Question about a YA query: My novel is geared towards the more mature/older YA reader (ala Gossip Girl and the Sloppy Firsts series), is this something I ought to mention in my query? I don't want to alient potential agents by proposing that it's only for a certain type of teenager but...
by Nathan Bransford
January 16th, 2010, 1:52 am
Forum: Ask Nathan
Topic: Old Ask Nathan Thread
Replies: 793
Views: 405358

Re: Ask Nathan - Author Bio

Nathan, I am a Chemical Engineer at a high-tech R&D firm. My debut novel leverages much of my knowledge in cutting edge science. I would like to think that by claiming my experience in high-tech would add credence to many of the threads in my story, but I am afraid that by stating my profession...
by Nathan Bransford
January 16th, 2010, 1:51 am
Forum: Ask Nathan
Topic: Old Ask Nathan Thread
Replies: 793
Views: 405358

Re: Ask Nathan

At the risk of asking a question with an obvious answer, what exactly does an agency mean when they say they "do not accept unsolicited queries"? Unsolicited manuscripts, I understand, but how and why would an agency go about soliciting queries? And why even bother advertising themselves ...
by Nathan Bransford
January 16th, 2010, 1:48 am
Forum: Ask Nathan
Topic: Old Ask Nathan Thread
Replies: 793
Views: 405358

Re: Ask Nathan

Nathan, if an agent doesn't have a specified synopsis length on the website or asks for a "short synopsis," then what does he typically mean? i know lengths are different per agent, and not everyone's "short" is the same. is there a golden rule? thanks! Sorry lexcade, missed thi...
by Nathan Bransford
January 16th, 2010, 1:47 am
Forum: Ask Nathan
Topic: Old Ask Nathan Thread
Replies: 793
Views: 405358

Re: Ask Nathan

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...
by Nathan Bransford
January 14th, 2010, 7:44 pm
Forum: Ask Nathan
Topic: Old Ask Nathan Thread
Replies: 793
Views: 405358

Re: Querying for a Novel in Volumes

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...
by Nathan Bransford
January 14th, 2010, 7:42 pm
Forum: Ask Nathan
Topic: Old Ask Nathan Thread
Replies: 793
Views: 405358

Re: Ask Nathan

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...