Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Title: Indifferent City Genre: Historical   Cocking his head, LAPD officer Billy Duquesne considered the man handcuffed to the chair in front of him. With his long wrinkled neck, his mouth flapping and squawking, the Chicago accountant, Konrad ‛Cueball’ Drescher, looked like a scrawny bird wearing w...

TITLE: BILLY D GENRE: HISTORICAL 250 Nobody expected a riot that day. Reverend “Fighting Bob” Shuler intended to change that. From KGEF, his personal radio station, he poured accelerant on the fire he'd kindled the day before from his pulpit on Flower Street. The message was simple. The corrupt sou...

Title: Shadows and Smoke Genre: Noir Historical Los Angeles, March 1929 The day I killed my last Hun was both the best and the worst day of my life. It was the day I met Maddy. For weeks Captain Jeffers, my boss, along with his boss, Donald E. Crawford and the half of city hall Crawford had in his p...

I keep hearing so many agents say they want to represent the author and their career, not just a single book. If this is so, why then do agents say they have to absolutely love a book in order to take it on? What if they love the book I'm pitching right now, and it sells, am I then supposed to produ...

No, but you mention the books you have published and if they're getting good responses and reviews does that mean anything to an agent? I'm not querying a published book.

What's the consensus on quoting good reviews in a query letter? Is it only a good idea if they're from big review sites like Kirkus? What if you get multiple rave reviews?

I'm reading three great books -- Jeffrey Deaver's Roadside Crosses, Joseph Wambaugh's Hollywood Moon and James Ellroy's Bloods a Rover. I just finished Jonathan Kellerman's Evidence. My favorite kind, good dark mystery/thrillers.

I searched the archives and can't find anywhere this has been covered, though I'm sure it's been mentioned before. How do you handle it when you have a few queries out, some for a few months without a word, and you come across an agent you'd really like to query but they insist on an exclusive? One,...

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and you're looking forward to the new year. May it be healthy and productive and get you that book contract, that agent and that nice royalty check. Stay healthy and stay safe.

Yes, I do. I love police procedurals and that's what I write, for the most part. I do write the occasional romance, something I read only occasionally. I do read more than those kinds of books, but they are my favorite. I used to write Science Fiction and for years that's pretty much all I read. I'v...

If you know an agent represents an author whose work is similar to yours (but not so close as to be in direct competition) do you mention this in the query or not? Our works are similar in genre, but quite different in content. But is it good or bad to mention it or will it not make the slightest di...

I set up a web site long before I was published. If it's something you can do on your own, why not? I built my own and over the years it's moved from being a personal site with more stuff about me, to a business oriented site where I list all my books, links to things of writing interest, favorite a...

What would you recommend if an agent you think would be perfect for your novel says they are closed to unsolicited submissions? Is it okay to send a simple query anyway? Is this ever effective or is it counter productive?

I've done a lot of research on gangs, plus I have some contacts in the LAPDs gang unit and ex-cops as well. I've also studied some memoirs written or ghost written by gang members so I think I have a good understanding of them. Most of the books I've published are police procedurals so I pride mysel...

I really appreciate all the great suggestions you're giving me. I think I have a better idea of how this needs to read. I always knew it might be a difficult sell given the subject matter, but I'm trying to tailor it -- I've left my dream agents to the end of my querying process. I wanted to get it ...