Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Interesting question. I look at it this way. My sister paints watercolors and doesn't worry about having an art show. My brother plays the banjo and doesn't worry about being a country music star. I write and don't worry about the Pulitzer. I write because I have stories I want to tell. I can't NOT...

I too was confused to learn that Nicole and her husband have children, when she first seems devastated about miscarrying, and then the line "made-up tale of a young couple who also want children" follows in that train of thought. Not that having a miscarriage isn't devastating even if you...

I don't have a sentimental attachment to my first draft, but a problem I do have is that I've read my work ELEVENTY BILLION times. I could probably recite my whole manuscript from memory. So when I do make big changes, they sound foreign to my ears.

Thanks for the reminder. This went into my mental to-do list, and then I forgot all about it. And the first 500 words is not a lot of text! What an eye opener. Here's the link directly to the contest within the blog: <a href=”http://kidlit.com/kidlit-contest” target=”_blank”>Kidlit Contest</a>

You'd have to sell thousands and thousands to impress a publisher. And reviews on Amazon probably don't turn their heads either. It's too easy for friends, family, and even the author to pad the reviews.

It took me a few seconds to decipher aerial sex act, but then I giggled.

The Editorial Department (run by the folks who published "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers") charges $400 for a MS evaluation of 50,000 words. After that, I think it's $2 per double spaced page. Keep in mind, that's not a total editing job, just an evaluation. There are many other editing ...

Just to ditto everyone else, I'd say nix the caps and go with an exclamation point instead. On a side note, I recently read a book where the main character drove a HUMMER. Do you know how irritating it was to see HUMMER all over the page? It stood out all over the place. HUMMER, HUMMER, HUMMER. The ...

Diana Gabaldon does this. Claire Fraser's scenes are written in first person, and everyone else is third person. It doesn't bother me at all, but I don't know if it would make an agent or editor squeamish. I hate that there are so many little "rules" to avoid manuscript death (I like your ...

As for sharing the story for free. I don't have problem with that. However, it would bother me wondering all the time if someone stole the premise or story as whole (copywrite issues and things of that nature). I'm pretty protective of my work. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but an author's work ...

I don't read books, I consume them like a kid snarfing a chocolate bar. As much as I'd love to support authors, I can not afford to spend $20 on a book I'll finish in a day. I check out whatever I can from the library, and if they don't have what I want, I'll go the inter-library loan route. If that...

Great attitude! But I'm curious- if none of your manuscripts sell, you'll just leave them on the bookshelf? Nobody will ever read your work? And understand there is a world of difference between vanity publishing, cost-free self publishing, and posting your content online for readers to enjoy free o...

Ha! I like that rule of thumb.

I know that the word alright isn't really a word; the proper term is all right. But rumor has it that alright is slowly gaining acceptance. (Rumor = I read it online, but I can't remember the source.) To me, this looks weird: "Are you all right?" And this looks natural: "Yeah, I'm alr...

I'm in the painful revision stage. You know, the part of the process when writing morphs from fun and games into really, really hard work. Sometimes a little cartoon devil sits on my shoulder and tells me I'm wasting my time; the chances of publishing this novel are infinitesimal. While I understand...