Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Nathan, This Q&A is such a helpful experiment; thank you. My question may sound like a legal one, but I promise it is only curiosity and research for my current WIP. When an author dies, what does his/her agent do? That is, besides the obvious mourning of a valued client. Is there any procedure...

Hello Nathan, I have a Query Quandary that I believe has not been talked about -- Frame stories or a story within a story. I am receiving conflicting advice about how to write a proper query for my novel which is a frame story. For example: Story "A" is the first and last chapter of the n...

Hi Nathan.... My book is about to go on submission next week. I have created a blog and talk about my work a lot (the blog is writing related). I have talked about my book, but I have only posted one paragraph of my book on the blog. If I am trying to make a point or show an example, can I put a sm...

Hi Nathan. Thanks for posting this handy section. Anyway, my question basically is, when and how to tell an agent your novel has Mature content. Say: my novel is a literary fiction about a woman coming to terms with her physical and sexual abuse in childhood, and she compares it with her present li...

I think someone asked this in the comments section of a blog post once, but hell if I can find it! Anyway.. If a writer approached you with a contract in hand from a house, would you have any feelings about that positively or negatively? Is it a 'great this guy just saved me a ton of work!' or a 'I...

I know, I know...it has to have been answered somewhere. I honestly did look on the bog and I even did a search, but what can I say...? I'm a tad bit lazy (did I type that out loud?) and I'm also a fan of instant gratification. (probably means I'm in the wrong industry too...) Anyway, I was ponderi...

I set mine up. I've heard about it from some friends but hadn't yet given it a go. We shall see!

There are a looooooooot of caveats that go along with that 70%. As always know what you're getting into.

Now that I read books mainly on my iPhone the backlighting issue has ceased to be an issue for me. I actually like that it automatically adjusts to ambient light and so you're never squinting in a dark room with a book (great for reading in bars before your friends arrive! Um. Who me?) I am disappoi...

I agree, they came in at an impressive price point for all that you get. From what I've gathered the e-book prices are actually in line with what Amazon has been charging - that closeup just happened to capture e-books that are priced at $5.00 at Amazon as well. I also really like the ability to cha...

Want.

What do you guys think? Is this the game-changer we've been promised?

My own feeling is that you just don't know. I mean, you can have confidence, you can hear people say you're ready, but that "moment" when you really get there passes silently, without confetti and balloons. It just happens while you're working and trying and wondering if you're there. But ...

Whoops! Here's the correct link (I think): http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2007/12 ... rseas.html

Here's a post on that: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2009/08 ... tting.html

vastdistances wrote:Just a quick question really.

Nathan, you say you want the first five pages in the query. How many words aproximatly do you expect?

However many words are in the first five pages of your mansucript?