tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post2845228367954407042..comments2011-04-02T13:13:10.099-07:00Nathan Bransfordnoreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-60667977164937926962010-07-12T01:02:49.783-07:002010-07-12T01:02:49.783-07:00How long should a book be, generally speaking? Is 77,000 words long enough or should it be longer?<br />Thanks,<br />author-in-trainingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-11457438949988520782009-09-04T11:27:26.876-07:002009-09-04T11:27:26.876-07:00<b>Bribes, people, bribes!</b>bekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682272919312957265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-2155893009573743222009-07-28T16:37:18.699-07:002009-07-28T16:37:18.699-07:00Wait--you mean I wasted all that time I spent blowing kisses at my camera phone to get the perfect shot to---WHO PUTS A PICTURE ON A QUERY LETTER??? My very first query letter will be inducted into the Hackneyed Crap Hall of Fame at the Curtis Brown Ltd Christmas party, I&#39;m sure, but even I didn&#39;t include a beauty shot of me in my wedding gown.lora96http://www.blogger.com/profile/08171062741089674769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-48936293783722463502009-07-26T20:06:31.962-07:002009-07-26T20:06:31.962-07:00MAJOR TIP: email the query to yourself before you send it to the agent. Add any important formatting the computer knocked out (like your hard returns and paragraph indents -- not the picture of Daffy Duck). <br /><br />Send it to yourself one more time to be sure you caught everything, delete the Fw: on the subject line and the record that you sent it to yourself, and send it to the agent.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-26050992395120347092009-05-01T15:13:00.000-07:002009-05-01T15:13:00.000-07:00Hi, Nathan:<br /><br />Thanks for your blog! It's been incredibly illuminating. I do have a question... When you query an agent that lists a 6-8 week response time AND you can't simultaneously submit to other agents at the same agency, what is the proper protocol for proceeding when you've gone past the eight weeks with no response? I'd like to move on to other agents, but I don't want to step on toes.<br /><br />Thanks!<br />CoryCoryLesliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17237114474106223021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-21053037511342925622009-04-09T17:57:00.000-07:002009-04-09T17:57:00.000-07:00anonX-<BR/><BR/>People in the business usually capitalize titles.Nathan Bransfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938449789819847825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-10474082022362813632009-04-09T17:56:00.000-07:002009-04-09T17:56:00.000-07:00I assume that it would be OK to italicize one's book tittle?AnonymousXnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-80643694798163340482009-02-21T07:56:00.000-08:002009-02-21T07:56:00.000-08:00Blond Boy and you groupies and colored letters is what is wrong with literature.<BR/>Does anyone write anymore?<BR/><BR/>I never met an idiot agent and his mavens before. Damn stupid. I know Hemingway used crayons when he was looking for a real agent.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-40030638964987976472008-08-09T09:52:00.000-07:002008-08-09T09:52:00.000-07:00I used to be gatekeeper of the resume slushpile for my company. It gave me a teeny little insight into the world of agenting. I automatically rejected all resumes on pink paper, bound in ribbon and embossed with any design, especially roses and/or kittens. Regardless of their qualifications, I didn't want to have to see this person every day in the office!Terrinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-11603321425232797602008-04-01T13:00:00.000-07:002008-04-01T13:00:00.000-07:00Nathan -<BR/>Just wondering if I need to compliment my 'agent hunting' with self-advertising in manner of blogs online, bribing local rag-mags to publish snippets of my work etc. I don't know what I'm doing, only that I have a finished manuscript that I think could do well enough. Thanks for your time, love your blogs.<BR/>EthneyEthneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00256823477791081130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-30241496827483451862008-03-05T20:31:00.000-08:002008-03-05T20:31:00.000-08:00*Bangs head on desk.<BR/><BR/>I'm getting ulcers worrying about correct, plain vanilla formatting and people have figured out how to bold, color, add pictures, italicize, put in scratch-and-sniff scotch blotches, and 8x10 glossies?<BR/><BR/>Seriously, if you wouldn't send a query on rainbow paper with lovely lavender, grape-scented ink, why would you do that to an e-mail?Julie Weathershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725236516593676381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-54935173689556431762008-03-05T19:36:00.000-08:002008-03-05T19:36:00.000-08:00lg, wanda b. was writing in regard to moose, (whose post sparked a wild tangent/impromptu blog critique; the blog in question being the home of certain pasta duckies). I was writing in brief response to wb's comments. Convoluted, I know.Kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014045814289948197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-23614201071342334292008-03-05T18:47:00.000-08:002008-03-05T18:47:00.000-08:00I am so confused...La Gringahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09337038541423116138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-51723041022954486392008-03-05T17:05:00.000-08:002008-03-05T17:05:00.000-08:00...And Wanda b., I am going to leap to defense here, in defense of pasta ducks. I'd block a bullet for those little guys. You DO need all the photos. A ducky chewing his stitches is a distinctly different ducky than Little Duck on the Prairie. All duckies deserve equal representation.Kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014045814289948197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-15150030631328541032008-03-05T14:26:00.000-08:002008-03-05T14:26:00.000-08:00Nona: <BR/>The workouts are never for nothing. Besides making a person ridiculously healthy, they really up the ante on the facebook profile picture.<BR/><BR/>That's true. Tights buns will never be out of vogue... Re. facebook profile photos, there are some key areas I still need to work on. I can never get the balance between sultry and desperate right in my shots. And if I'm holding the camera myself, my chest is too paltry to make for a good 'incidental cleavage' shot. That dorky pic my boyfriend took of me cavorting with the cat in the yard will have to do for now.Kirstenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03014045814289948197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-32926632209110145462008-03-05T11:58:00.000-08:002008-03-05T11:58:00.000-08:00This post is a perfect example of why your blog keeps me coming back for more. <BR/><BR/>Clean.<BR/>Clear.<BR/>Concise.<BR/><BR/>And fun, to boot!tcsherfnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-64181749926450391732008-03-05T11:57:00.000-08:002008-03-05T11:57:00.000-08:00Real-life friend...and wannabe novelist...and potential client of Curtis Brown. Excerpt from Moose blog bolded for your convenience.<BR/><BR/>Re: "Um. Wanda? Moose isn't a novelist. She's a real-life friend of mine. I was just letting you know that the "smallpox" thing was just an in-joke, and I was pointing you to her funny blog by way of explanation (i.e. she's very funny)."<BR/><BR/>From Moose's blog 01/29/07 (which is why I posted what I did about the, er, um, "rat's tails," I did go and read her blog, of course as a writer I'm heading to the section entitled "writing"!!!!):<BR/><BR/>"Considering that I’ve only had about two weeks of practice with the <B>fiction writing</B>, it’s maybe a bit egotistical to be expect proficiency already. Listening for the phone call informing me of <B>my Pulitzer for my story about the mute monkey</B> is really just giving me tinnitus and a bit of a strained neck. <B>If I have to write six crappy novels to get one good one</B>, maybe that’s not time wasted. Maybe that’s just my process. All right, maybe five crappy novels. No, three. Three short crappy novels. I could do that.<BR/><BR/><B>I’m pinning all my writerly aspirations </B>on the hope that stubbornness is its own reward. Even Albert Einstein said, “It’s not that I’m so smart. It’s just that I stay with problems longer.” I’m pretty sure he’s lying because if anyone has historically proven smarts, it’s Albert Einstein. But he makes a good case for sticking it out. <B>The IT - the greatness - is something you acquire, not something you are given or are not given. </B>We see people being good at stuff - we don’t see them becoming good.* I find this comforting. Also, depressing. But I enjoy writing. I’m happier when I’m doing it every day. So, <B>whether I write a novel that someone (or even two someones! I have goals!) reads or a whole bunch of gibberish that dies under the delete key, I still win</B>."<BR/><BR/>Moral of story: Don't assume someone (I'm referring to myself here) is posting on a lit agent blog for "no reason" or "weird reason" or "what the hell is that all about?" I'm interested in the relationship between blog writing and the more "official" literary output someone has. I'm also interested in the interpersonal aspect of the publishing industry.<BR/><BR/>Frankly, I feel like I've just had a "Scrooge moment" - where he goes with the Spirit of Christmas Present to his relative's house, and they are all playing a word game, and Scrooge gleefully joins in, shouting out the answers, even though no one can hear him. Except it's Balderdash, and you all in San Francisco, and I'm in Michigan.<BR/><BR/>The Internet: An electronic learning curve for EVERYONE.Wanda B. Ontheshelveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405331318976328004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-42380671921298548242008-03-05T10:38:00.000-08:002008-03-05T10:38:00.000-08:00BWA HA HA HA!!!<BR/><BR/>Falls over dead from laughing.La Gringahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00685468276187421753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-49162538247344388072008-03-05T10:28:00.000-08:002008-03-05T10:28:00.000-08:00for the person that said they knew an agent who received a handwritten query letter from a prisoner...<BR/><BR/>Concerning <I>Gideon v Wainwright</I>, the landmark case on right to counsel decided by the Supreme Court in 1963, Clarence Earl Gideon <B>hand wrote</B> the appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. He had no money and no access to a typewriter but his appeal had merit.Dave F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17985158361431606939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-28896350654021214912008-03-05T10:26:00.000-08:002008-03-05T10:26:00.000-08:00HAHAHA... That's awesome! Makes me re-think my mural, though. <BR/><BR/>What if you overnight each query letter out with a batch of fresh-baked cookies?Isakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09960965036734565644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-66054833091171408732008-03-05T10:16:00.000-08:002008-03-05T10:16:00.000-08:00A query letter is a business letter - 12 point type, single spaced, etc... It's improper to send a business letter on personal stationary. <BR/> <BR/>Don't create work for yourself. <BR/><BR/>Before I retired, I had to act as a "contracting officer" for all the print jobs. <BR/><BR/>Story #1 - the quality of images on the internet is awful, ugly and can't be used on printed paper. It's technical dealing with dots per inch. Leave it to the professionals. I know, I've bought everything from CD covers to conference displays 25 feet long. <BR/><BR/>Story #2 - you don't own the copyright and therefore can't use the photo. Let the professionals buy a photo for you. They do it every day. <BR/><BR/>Story #3 - One pair of authors decided they wanted a particular image that they created on the front of their report. The graphics department threw a fit for several reasons. The colors weren't "pure" nor specified by pantone, there was no true black and no true white. The design bled off all four edges of the page with no allowance for the spine of the book. It took too much time and effort and in the end, a boss chose the graphics department's illustration because it looked professional. <BR/><BR/>Don't make extra work. Keep the query letter simple black text on a white page.Dave F.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17985158361431606939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-20311102477567434072008-03-05T09:59:00.000-08:002008-03-05T09:59:00.000-08:00Um. Wanda? Moose isn't a novelist. She's a real-life friend of mine. I was just letting you know that the "smallpox" thing was just an in-joke, and I was pointing you to her funny blog by way of explanation (i.e. she's very funny).Nathan Bransfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938449789819847825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-69186995960488716532008-03-05T09:53:00.000-08:002008-03-05T09:53:00.000-08:00Web Presence and, um, Rat Tails<BR/><BR/>Re: "But Moose is extremely funny and has a great blog."<BR/><BR/>In her blog, Josephine Damian describes putting the question to Donald Mass, as to what he thinks of a wannabe writer having "a blog, a myspace, a website, if they already demonstrate the ability and willingness to self-promote."<BR/><BR/>His reply, as per Ms. Damian: "“I don’t give a rat’s ASS about ANY of that!” Reason: "...the biggest thing I’m afraid of with these blogs is that it scratches the <I>itch</I>."<BR/><BR/>Well, if those words don't <I>brand</I> themselves upon a writer's brain, I don't know what will! <BR/><BR/>So having that in the back of my mind (I hesitate to say, with a rat's ass in the back of my mind), my visit to Moose's "great" blog, written by an "extremely funny" person, wasn't entirely innocent...just to mix metaphors, I have to also wonder about "buying the cow when the milk is for free," meaning, if the blogger is scratching the writing itch by writing the blog...aren't the readers of such (i.e., the more "literary" blogs, less focused on nuts-and-blots of getting published), scratching their itch to READ "literary output," otherwise known as novels, etc...?<BR/><BR/>I mean, I had to ask myself the hard question, based on what I read on Moose's blog, would I want to buy something she'd written. Lay down cash. Or more likely, send a string of numbers and exp. date into cyberspace. <BR/><BR/>Well, the impression I take from the blog is of a "humorist," and the last humorist I bought was James Thurber in high school. So no...with a cold eye, I might say, why are there 11 pasta sculpting pics, I only really need to see 3 or 4...I wonder, maybe a magazine editor would hire her to write a piece based on this blog...but then I've seen other freelancer's blogs, and they just gave writing samples from actual magazine articles they'd written...there wasn't ANY of their personal life in there at all...<BR/><BR/>Now, maybe someone will want to leap to Moose's defense, i.e., "Wanda, we don't give a rat's ass what you think of Moose's blog." <BR/><BR/>But I know for myself, there are things I have posted in blogs, that I "recognize" - wow, I can do something with this, I can shape this into a novel. And then the public output becomes private again...I'm thinking specifically of Moose's "Memories of Being Eighteen Years Old in Manhattan" - they almost seem like somebody went through a short story or first chapter of a novel, and just picked out lines that they liked (yellow markered them, since they are college scenes) - they're great lines - I wonder, where's the rest of the story? Or novel chapter. Or magazine article? Is that what magazine articles are like nowadays?<BR/><BR/>Anyway, those were some of my thoughts visiting Moose's blog. Don't know if Moose wants to jump in here and discuss how she sees her blog in relation to her (paid) writing career - but isn't a blog kind of a...I don't know...long-playing query letter? A really super-attenuated query letter. A query letter that never ends...a teeny-tiny red flag waved at the publishing industry, continously...and even teeny-tinier, posts on agent's blogs, like this one...Wanda B. Ontheshelveshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405331318976328004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-8477775425753455062008-03-05T09:22:00.000-08:002008-03-05T09:22:00.000-08:00Hmm I know you are game for good stories irrespective of genres. I read it on of your posts. I have done enough research. Just wanted it specific. Thanks. <BR/><BR/>MonaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5334836757176538347.post-35794882883285030862008-03-05T08:52:00.000-08:002008-03-05T08:52:00.000-08:00Mona-<BR/><BR/>I'm hands on but I'm afraid I'm not hands on enough to answer that question. You gotta do your research.Nathan Bransfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17938449789819847825noreply@blogger.com