Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Congratulations! I had a fantasy novel accepted by a small press in January of this year, and I understand your excitement.

I visited the Rhemalda site, and it looked very professional to me. Overall, I was impressed, and I wish both them and you well. All success to your friend, as well.

desperate plea
pre-suicide note

I think I like query letter more.

A question comes to mind from reading your posts. It may be off the wall, but that won't be a first for me. Do you know your characters well (with allowance for getting to know them much better in the course of writing)? If you had to—this is like an improv exercise—could you speak or write as if yo...

I wanted to second Bryan on the general approach to memoirs. The submission process is the same as for fiction. The only difference is that, lacking the celebrity creds, you have to make a very strong case about why your memoir stands out in a pretty crowded playing field.

Yesterday I had to write an acknowledgments page for the soon-to-be published A Dragon's Guide to Destiny (Vol. 1: The Waters and the Wild). Like others, I dislike the acknowledgments that thank everyone, including the UPS delivery guy (and mine is pretty nice). I kept the thank-yous to a minimum, a...

It would be a tie between East of Eden and Jane Eyre. In both cases, I've lost track.

I got much more interested when I read your revision, and of the two you posted, I preferred the second. I did agree with Wilderness that some specifics of that journey, especially conflicts, both internal and external, would be more likely to attract an agent. The only thing more frustrating than w...

I think all the commenters have nailed the specific problems with your query. I have one additional suggestion. If you can recall what attracted you to this particular time period and to the main characters you created, you can re-ignite the spark that inspired you to write this and capture it in yo...