Comments on Nathan Bransford - Literary Agent: More on Writing Series

Oops, I'm quite late jumping back in! :) But I alw...

2007-11-04T13:14:00.000-08:00

Oops, I'm quite late jumping back in! :) But I always intended the first book to be part of a series. My agent pitched it as such and it was well received that way.

I actually secretly think (I guess it's not a secr...

2007-10-20T17:32:00.000-07:00

I actually secretly think (I guess it's not a secret anymore) that this is a fairly good distinction between professional writers and for-fun writers. Professional writers are RUTHLESS with their own worlds and work. They will walk away from something or delete 150 pages faster than you can say Justin Bobby, and half the time they won't even really sweat it (the other half of the time they'll start the drinking and wonder why in the world anyone thinks writing is fun). Professional writers press the delete button because know they can do better. For-fun writers linger and linger in the same world or with the same characters and can't bear to start a new world or delete anything. And unless you press that delete button or start fresh or create a new world it's impossible to get better.

I wouldn't believe you, except I know it's true.

Great post!

"Professional writers press the delete button beca...

2007-10-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

"Professional writers press the delete button because know they can do better. For-fun writers linger and linger in the same world or with the same characters and can't bear to start a new world or delete anything. And unless you press that delete button or start fresh or create a new world it's impossible to get better."

You restrict this point to authors, but it is really true of everything. We all put our faith into things that don't deserve it. Some people escape too early, and some people keep the faith too long. Aim for the middle - discard the useless things in your life, but give them enough time to prove themselves first.

Good job!

I cover major new debut novels with new ideas all ...

2007-10-20T01:08:00.000-07:00

I cover major new debut novels with new ideas all the time over at Fantasy Debut. There are at least ten major new fantasy debuts that come out each month, and that's generally not covering YA and only covering paranormal romances and small press sporadically.

Right now I'm featuring a modern-day retelling of the book of Job, from the Bible. That's not risky? It's fabulous. My last review was about an afterlife romance, and the one before was an pseudo-African based fantasy, where most of the white guys were villains.

I have two debuts to announce this weekend. Both books released on Tuesday by major publishers. One takes place in the bowels of Hell and the other is a story about a vampire child.

Take a closer look at the industry and you might be surprised at the number of debut novels each month. I was.

Now we can't write sequels?What's up next with you...

2007-10-20T00:45:00.000-07:00

Now we can't write sequels?

What's up next with you industry hacks anyway?

Are you going to tell us next that--for future reference--we can't use the letters "I" and "W" in our novels?

So sad.

You sit here and bitch about not having that Great American novel under your belt, yet you complain about your shrinking bottom lines and a tight market each and every waking moment.

Instead of addressing the problems which are AFFECTING your precious career-minded jobs--you sit there around the table think of new ways to restrict our ability to tell and write a story--because you're too damned afraid to take RISKS yourselves!

Because you've poisoned yourselves with the notion that new things and new ideas aren't worth your time and effort to explore.

You're simply too caught up in your own little comfort zones to notice that the world you're seeking to subvert is changing far more rapidly than you realize.

And that is going to put you in a most difficult position in the future--when faced with either base survival or outright extinction.

Because no matter what YOU do to us, it's not going to stop us from accomplishing our goals.

Traditional publishing or not, we will continue to write however we see fit.

As Admiral Kirk once said in Star Trek III: "Young minds, fresh ideas: Be tolerant."

You can't stop PROGRESS.

Nathan, I want to thank you for turning down a que...

2007-10-19T17:31:00.000-07:00

Nathan, I want to thank you for turning down a query letter for my manuscript! You heard me. Because you did that, I took the time to think about my story. Today's particular message is important because I wrote a book, decided it was too big and broke it into a trilogy of books that will easily be three hundred plus pages apiece. The story is complete, all three, but I'm unpublished. Your advice is well taken. I recently set it aside in favor of a single novel I'd been daydreaming about. I decided it was too darn big, and I want to 'gtow up' as a writer before I tackle it, that way I can give it the attention and strength it deserves. Your advice is much appreciated! Oh, by the way...I never ever delete. I archive. If something doesn't work, I yank it (yes ruthlessly) and store it. More than once I've found a home for work that I'd taken out, and more than once, I deleted something to my regret! Cheers!

Sylvan

My first novel is a stand alone, but I have more i...

2007-10-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

My first novel is a stand alone, but I have more ideas for the characters in future stand alone stories. Guess I went for the best of both worlds. :)

Bobby

Professional writers are RUTHLESS with their own w...

2007-10-19T13:50:00.000-07:00

Professional writers are RUTHLESS with their own worlds and work. They will walk away from something or delete 150 pages faster than you can say Justin Bobby, and half the time they won't even really sweat it (the other half of the time they'll start the drinking and wonder why in the world anyone thinks writing is fun). Professional writers press the delete button because know they can do better.

Truer words were never spoken.

Ok, maybe, but not by Nathan!

Thanks for sharing, Tia! I'm so glad you started ...

2007-10-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

Thanks for sharing, Tia! I'm so glad you started fresh and have your best work. That's awesome.

And wow -- six novels! That's persistence!

I usually just lurk here, but I had to post. You s...

2007-10-19T09:26:00.000-07:00

I usually just lurk here, but I had to post. You sent a very polite rejection to me last week for a novel that I have been shopping on and off for a year. It is part of a series. I know how the series ends and I've written the first three chapters of the second book, but I forced myself to stop there. In Feburary, I started writing another book, my third novel. I am almost finished. It is in a COMPLETELY different setting, with a COMPLETELY different mood. It's the best thing I've done, in my humble opinion. Most importantly, it STANDS ALONE!!!

I run a blog for debut fantasy novels and one of the novels I announced recently, THE SWORD-EDGED BLONDE is the author's SIXTH novel. On his website (his name is Alex Bledsoe), he has links to all his unpublished novels. It's great inspiration for the unpublished novelist.

Nathan,You asked if I had anything more in mind, b...

2007-10-19T04:46:00.000-07:00

Nathan,

You asked if I had anything more in mind, but you may have said it all in your response to John. Yes, the characters might have more adventures in them, but this particular plot should stand alone. That's pretty different from the book that is actually one looooong book broken into three (or thirty).

I wish we had a better vocabularly, an easy-to-use word for the difference between the two. Anyone got any ideas?

Another thought. With Harry Potter, JKR did kind of have it both ways, successfully. Harry had a new adventure each year, but some of the things were ongoing as well. Wonder how she did that?

Thanks, I feel better now. I've been hounded and h...

2007-10-18T23:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks, I feel better now. I've been hounded and hounded for a sequel to my first novel and I just don't care about those people any more. I've moved on but not without a twinge of guilt. Next time someone bugs me I'll just tell them YOU said I don't have to care!

John-Certainly for some genres it's more common/mo...

2007-10-18T23:14:00.000-07:00

John-

Certainly for some genres it's more common/more important than others. But I still think it makes sense to make the first novel something that can stand-alone. It doesn't preclude expanding it into a series, but the plot should work on its own. That's all I'm saying.

I've had this discussion, and once again, Nathan, ...

2007-10-18T22:43:00.000-07:00

I've had this discussion, and once again, Nathan, I must disagree. Specifically in urban fantasy, writing a standalone first novel with the intention of keeping the characters and world going for a few more has become not only standard, but expected. A sequel or even a three book deal is now not the exception; it is more common than a one book deal. Publishers of urban fantasy are actively looking for a book that has this series potential -- a successful series is a gold mine with built in readership.

But you know what, Nathan?I've been running with p...

2007-10-18T21:15:00.000-07:00

But you know what, Nathan?

I've been running with professional writers for years (and consider myself to be at least semi-pro, based on work-for-hire nonfiction publication). At this point in time, my opinion (based on what I've seen from what's happened to my midlist writer friends who've done the work-for-hire Star Trek, Star Wars and Bladerunner novels) is that you keep your day job and write what you want. Yes, you're professional about your marketing, but from what I've seen happen to various friends, the best thing is to write what gets you excited and involved, rather than phoning it in.

That said, there's exceptions to the rule out there. It depends upon the genre--and can we say Barrayar/Vorkosigan? (Lois McMaster Bujold sold her third book in the series, then went back and sold the first two. But she kept writing, and the books are reasonably accessible at any point in the series).

I think this is really a genre issue. SF and fantasy are not the same thing as mainstream.

(and while I might not turn down a Star Trek novel if offered to me, I'm not burning to write to contract, either. I figured out that writing ain't getting me out of the day job unless I get struck by lightning...but the best way to court the lightning is to keep writing two to three novels a year.)

I am SO SAD.This whole thing just took me back.I p...

2007-10-18T20:38:00.000-07:00

I am SO SAD.
This whole thing just took me back.
I posted a memorial to Miss Snark on my blog just now.
sniff.

Hi Nathan,I'm so happy to read this post because I...

2007-10-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

Hi Nathan,
I'm so happy to read this post because I ruthlessly purged over 15,000 words from my WIP after helpful feedback from a very nice agent and was feeling a little uneasy. I felt good doing it and stick by it, but I actually blogged about the whole idea of editing being an art. Anyway, I'm glad to know that I'm on the right course!

Hey Topher1961,I take that as a compliment!! Uh Oh...

2007-10-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

Hey Topher1961,

I take that as a compliment!!

Uh Oh, I better watch my ego, or my writing might go down the drain.

Woo-hoo! I'm a professional writer! I knew there...

2007-10-18T18:59:00.000-07:00

Woo-hoo! I'm a professional writer! I knew there had to be a definitive definition out there somewhere. Not only do I hit the delete button, but I also throw my head back laughing wickedly as I do.
;)

"Kill Your Darlings" has proven the most useful ad...

2007-10-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

"Kill Your Darlings" has proven the most useful advice to date (By Stephen King in his book 'On Writing'- I recommend it)
I scribbled those words with a red flair across my printed MS as my reminder when editing. I'm a huge fan of the book series, though I have noticed that after 3 or 4, they tend to be predictable. On the writing side - don't think a series is something I would consider - but if there was a 'market'....... who knows.

Aloha,As always Nathan, mahalo for your sage advic...

2007-10-18T16:58:00.000-07:00

Aloha,

As always Nathan, mahalo for your sage advice and teachings.

I would also like to second your motion to have Jessica Burkhart discuss her magical touch.

I killed an entire "darling," a novel, stabbed it ...

2007-10-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

I killed an entire "darling," a novel, stabbed it dead and literally burned the corpse, and this was after I had a request for the whole ms from a very well-known agent (not you, Nathan), and a subsequent invite to submit again after revisions. That was 3 years ago and I've never been able to revise it to my satisfaction. Instead I've been making the rounds with my second, which I think is much better, but harder to pitch succinctly.

This thread has me feeling inspired to go back to the mortuary urn of #1 and instead of merely sifting the ashes, dump half of them out and see if there are still a few bone chips left worth saving.

For what it's worth, my brother refuses to read an...

2007-10-18T15:47:00.000-07:00

For what it's worth, my brother refuses to read any book that isn't part of a series. He says he doesn't want to invest in characters if he doesn't get to revisit them in other books. I'm just the opposite; the last words I want to see on a cover are "Book One of." And since I read fantasy, that makes it hard to find new authors.

Until last year I'd only ever written standalone books. And then last year I fell in love with the world and characters I'd just finished with and, um, well, now I'm on "Book Three of" and there's no end in sight. But I am having fun, and it's all good practice even if I never sell this series.

Helen-I think it's ok to genre-hop to a certain de...

2007-10-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

Helen-

I think it's ok to genre-hop to a certain degree, but generally I recommend sticking with the one you want to break out in and devoting yourself to it, because it's hard enough to break out in one genre let alone several with different audiences.

Mr. Bransford, Your two last posts convinced me to...

2007-10-18T15:10:00.000-07:00

Mr. Bransford,
Your two last posts convinced me to shelve my YA fantasy trilogy for now and write a stand-alone. I have an idea for YA stand-alone novel, but it's not fantasy. How bad is it to hop between genres? Thanks.