Comments on Nathan Bransford, Author: This Week in Publishing 7/16/10

Concerning book trailers, it is interesting to not...

2010-07-23T09:54:06.551-07:00

Concerning book trailers, it is interesting to note the two very different video trailers for Michael Crichton’s posthumously published novel Pirate Latitudes.

Harper Collins UK had their trailer up on October 19, 2009—28 days before the UK release of the novel on Nov. 16. They also posted a video on the making of the promotional trailer.

Harper Collins had the trailer for the US edition up on Nov. 18—six days before the Nov. 24 release.

I have a blog on Michael Crichton, and the digital marketing department of Harper Collins UK sent me an email asking me to post the link on my blog, which I was happy to do. The trailer for the US edition I discovered myself when visiting the Harper Collins website.

The US trailer is beautifully done, but is more general in its approach. The UK trailer set up the plot and introduced many of the characters. Both videos whet my appetite for the novel, but I prefer the UK trailer, because it was more informative.

I tested the app by putting in some of my early--t...

2010-07-19T16:53:00.391-07:00

I tested the app by putting in some of my early--terrible--stuff, and I still got Doctorow, Dan Brown, and Anne Rice. The reason it cannot be trusted is that it never returns, "No one who was ever published," when occasionally, it should.

I'm really not sure why people took a meme lik...

2010-07-19T06:31:43.690-07:00

I'm really not sure why people took a meme like this so seriously--how is it different than any other meme with a couple choices (only this one was all about white men with a couple white women thrown in for variety)?

Anyway, Nathan, here's the truth about the meme, via Making Light. (The second link is the more useful one.)

I can't listen to auto tuned lyrics anymore, t...

2010-07-19T03:54:08.794-07:00

I can't listen to auto tuned lyrics anymore, they make my ears bleed.

Every time I tried the "I write Like" ap...

2010-07-18T16:24:29.631-07:00

Every time I tried the "I write Like" app, I put in a different piece of work. Apparently my blog sounds like Cory Doctorow, my WIP sounds like Kurt Vonnegut, one of my short stories is written in the vein of Hemingway, and another in that of Stephen King... Oh, and my poems sound like Vladimir Nabokov.
After this experiment, I have concluded that I sound like myself, famous or not. And I didn't really need the internet to figure that one out.

I tried the I write like app and it said I write l...

2010-07-18T16:09:59.179-07:00

I tried the I write like app and it said I write like Vladimir Nabokov which is unfortunate only because I was trying to write like Jane Austen!

I apparently write like Douglas Adams which works ...

2010-07-18T09:58:54.464-07:00

I apparently write like Douglas Adams which works for me. :) Thanks for the links and Happy Weekend.

Fantastic blog Nathan. Just got caught up with all...

2010-07-18T07:35:19.537-07:00

Fantastic blog Nathan. Just got caught up with all the old posts and feel about a thousand times better informed. Great to see someone so passionate about their work, optimistic, and eager to share and educate writers.
Cheers,
Liam.

Well, don't feel too bad. I'm trying to wr...

2010-07-17T20:22:12.749-07:00

Well, don't feel too bad. I'm trying to write for teenagers and it says I write like David Foster Wallace. I don't even like David Foster Wallace. Damn.

I skimmed your comments, but didn't have time ...

2010-07-17T18:52:42.037-07:00

I skimmed your comments, but didn't have time to read them all. Did you read/see this blog post related to I Write Like? You need to check it out if you haven't.

http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/012502.html#012502

Cool links, Nathan! The double rainbow video is s...

2010-07-17T18:13:31.240-07:00

Cool links, Nathan!

The double rainbow video is soooo funny. The funniest part is at the end, where the band plays. I love how one video about rainbows, has now become a community project. Everyone is getting in on the rainbow road.

That was an interesting article about book trailers. When I write a book, I'm hiring Angelina Jolie to play me. That ought to sell a few books.

The I Write Like app is broken! No matter how many times I put my writing in, it never said I wrote like Mira. Duh. Even I know that I write like Mira. Just goes to show you, I'm smarter than a machine.

Are Faulkner's lectures good? I'm not in the loop, but I'll take your recommendation for it, Nathan, and listen to the one you recommend.

That is a good list of top 10 tips. I like that she really addresses the writing. Most people talk more about publishing.

Advocacy! Yay! I'm so glad that writers are fighting for their e-book rights. My main concern is locking in rates for all time, and I'm glad that's being fought for. You go, Authors' chair!!

I'm off building my platform by getting an M.S.W., but I'll need information about how to do a non-ficiton proposal. I appreciate it. I noticed that most agents adress fiction writers. I guess the path to non-fiction is, in some ways, more straightforward...?

Those kittens are the cutest thing ever. I can't look or I'll want one. That's is actually not true. If I look, I'll want them ALL. So cute.

I liked Kerry's comment, good points. Actually, I thought that whole discussion was really interesting. Some smart people come to this blog.

Thanks for the interesting reading, Nathan! Your Friday wrap-ups are wonderful.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

I think it's more than just random. It gave m...

2010-07-17T17:18:50.432-07:00

I think it's more than just random. It gave me David Foster Wallace pretty consistently for the contemporary sections of my novel. For the historical thread, it gave me Defoe, Stevenson, and Tolstoy. Can't complain about that. But here's the funny thing: I typed in the first sentence of García Márquez's Hundred Years of Solitude and Cervantes' Don Quixote--in Spanish--and for both it gave me Dan Brown!

Marilyn: I am dying to read The Particular Sadness...

2010-07-17T15:24:54.559-07:00

Marilyn: I am dying to read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. I love Aimee Bender.

After entering the first page of one of my short s...

2010-07-17T14:40:00.042-07:00

After entering the first page of one of my short stories into the "I Write Like" site and getting Stephenie Meyer, I entered the entire short story into the site and got David Foster Wallace. Happy!

Shouldn't 'All work and no play makes Jack...

2010-07-17T14:00:52.610-07:00

Shouldn't 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' return James Howell?
I suppose the database is lacking in british authors from the early 1600's (Oscar Wylde is probably as retro as it gets for the time being).

2010-07-17T13:59:13.670-07:00

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I Write Like... currently analyzes vocabula...

2010-07-17T13:52:36.983-07:00

I Write Like... currently analyzes vocabulary (use of words)...number of words, commas, and semicolons in sentences...and number of sentences with quotation marks and dashes (direct speech). There are 40 authors for the database to choose from and although the list contains more male than female scribes, it is not capable of discerning gender in either the work people input or the comparative works in its database.
(Oh, and nothing submitted for analysis is retained on the server)

I thought I should reiterate the info in my earlier post as it seems quite a few people are still frittering away time trying to reverse engineer it by analyzing reams of work.

As swampfox stated earlier, it would be ideal if you submitted a piece of work and the program was unable to match your style to any existing author.

I put in 'All work and no play makes Jack a du...

2010-07-17T13:41:45.244-07:00

I put in 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.' repeated dozens of times, and 'I Write Like' said I write like P. G. Wodehouse! Not Jack Torrance or Stephen King? Maybe Wodehouse's ghost haunts the Overlook Hotel.

Thanks for the link to Janet Fitch's writing t...

2010-07-17T11:54:12.865-07:00

Thanks for the link to Janet Fitch's writing tips - they're excellent!

Thanks for the links! I’m looking forward to list...

2010-07-17T11:39:34.091-07:00

Thanks for the links! I’m looking forward to listening to the William Faulkner lectures. How incredibly wonderful that some of his lectures were taped and have now been digitized and published online! We live in amazing times.

Janet Fitch’s Top 10 Tips for Writers are excellent. I’m currently reading THE PARTICULAR SADNESS OF LEMON CAKE by Aimee Bender. Her writing is exquisite – definitely follows those rules.

I tried the "I Write Like" site today. Earlier this week, I saw a tweet from Neil Gaiman that he tried the site and apparently writes like someone other than himself, LOL. Based on first pages, I supposedly write like Chuck Palahniuk in one of my adult novels, like Edgar Allan Poe in one of my middle grade novels, and...yikes...like Stephenie Meyer in one of my short stories.

Have a great weekend!

A very patient and meticulous (librarian) friend o...

2010-07-17T06:50:54.914-07:00

A very patient and meticulous (librarian) friend of mine did an experiment with the "I write like" app. She input a book, page by page, and from one page to another of the exact same story she got everything from William Faulkner to JK Rowling. Apparently it's based on key words. Like if it picks up words like "magic" it will go Rowling.

In my case it told me I wrote like Dan Brown for my first chapter and like Margaret Atwood for my last chapter. This made me form my own (far more insane) theory: that the App is blatantly psychic and picks authors based on their characteristics, not their words! After all, I majored in History of Art at Uni and Dan Brown likes to pretend he knows things about that. And I'm Canadian from Ontario and so is Margaret Atwood. I'm sure if I gave the machine a chance to work out I was living in the UK I would write like JK Rowling *nods gravely*

Damn that sounded borderline like a conspiracy theory, maybe I do write like Dan Brown.

I love your blog, Nathan! You teach me much, and ...

2010-07-17T06:49:02.364-07:00

I love your blog, Nathan! You teach me much, and you cut my own web-surfing down by half at least!

haven't read jacob wonderbar (yet) but could i...

2010-07-17T03:17:58.008-07:00

haven't read jacob wonderbar (yet) but could it be that your style also resembles lemony snicket? that would be a good thing, yeah?

So..... yeah. Thank goodness ULYSSES is the mos...

2010-07-17T00:39:01.078-07:00
So..... yeah. Thank goodness ULYSSES is the most popular novel of all time among children eight to twelve.So..... yeah. Thank goodness ULYSSES is the most popular novel of all time among children eight to twelve.

Ha!

The IWL app is at least consistent. If you type in...

2010-07-16T23:23:05.446-07:00
The IWL app is at least consistent. If you type in the first page of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, it comes up with JK Rowling.

Although it may just have good security measures for people like me who like to break things.