Comments on Nathan Bransford - Literary Agent: This Week in Publishing

However, she may still have felt that I and/or fri...

2009-09-14T16:27:06.013-07:00

However, she may still have felt that I and/or friend had overstepped the connection, or that the chapter was so awful that she didn't know what to say, or simply didn't have time to look at it. I wasn't going to risk over-reaching again to find out.

I think a better place to look for feedback is a critique group. (They don't work for everyone, but I love mine.) I believe authors, in general, truly want to help their fellow writers when they can. But it gets sticky when we're asked to read and comment on the work of someone we've never met. You don't know if the person really wants honest feedback or just some nice words of encouragement.

Some authors also make it a rule not to read unpublished work because of legal issues.

Word verification: moxiness

Nero Wolfe, he's the only one who will bill them w...

2009-09-14T16:18:04.653-07:00

Nero Wolfe, he's the only one who will bill them what they deserve and can afford to pay.

Late on this but just wanted to congratulate you o...

2009-09-14T15:59:18.432-07:00

Late on this but just wanted to congratulate you on your book deal! Read about it in Publisher's Lunch, and I whooped!

Question: Ways to get to know if you want to quer...

2009-09-14T12:26:43.609-07:00

Question: Ways to get to know if you want to query and agent? You spoke of trying to get a sense of personality from a soon-to-be client...Besides, looking at who each agent represents, books they are passionate about, and possibly attending worshops...Are there other ways for writers to see who they think would be a good fit for them?

Thanks again for the workshop Nathan. I had a good...

2009-09-14T12:06:16.403-07:00

Thanks again for the workshop Nathan. I had a good time and used it as my blog post today.(There's a picture too.) The flight to Las Vegas (and drive to Southern Utah) wasn't bad and we made it back home before midnight.

Hercule Poirot and his little gray cells or maybe ...

2009-09-14T12:01:51.859-07:00

Hercule Poirot and his little gray cells or maybe that frog Maigret.

Thanks for sharing Kassia's blog post and Natalie'...

2009-09-14T09:09:20.940-07:00

Thanks for sharing Kassia's blog post and Natalie's tips. But I'm going with Encyclopedia Brown over Harriet the Spy.

I'm a bit late, but congratulations on your book d...

2009-09-14T07:23:15.602-07:00

I'm a bit late, but congratulations on your book deal, Nathan!

On the Kindle issue, it seems to me that as long a...

2009-09-14T07:17:50.201-07:00

On the Kindle issue, it seems to me that as long as you are able to cancel your credit card so a thief can't run up a big tab, that's all you can ask for. I dont think we should expect Amazon to be in the law enforcement and private detective business. Dont they have their hands in enough businesses already?!

Congratulations on the book deal, Nathan

I suppose, in one sense, I envy Olsen his self-con...

2009-09-14T03:52:08.349-07:00

I suppose, in one sense, I envy Olsen his self-confidence, if not his jerkiness! ;-)

Anon ~ Thank you for the kind comments. Regarding...

2009-09-14T03:48:48.301-07:00

Anon ~ Thank you for the kind comments. Regarding the writer who didn't respond, I had actually contacted her by email prior to sending the chapter and let her know who the mutual friend was and how much I loved her books. The mutual friend is pretty good friends with her. She seemed quite flattered by my email.

However, she may still have felt that I and/or friend had overstepped the connection, or that the chapter was so awful that she didn't know what to say, or simply didn't have time to look at it. I wasn't going to risk over-reaching again to find out.

Marilyn, thanks for that info. It is an incredible...

2009-09-13T22:14:08.122-07:00

Marilyn, thanks for that info. It is an incredible relief to a mother who isn't so hot with routines, but does make homemmade play dough. However, I'm not sure if research supports this, but I have always seen a link with many of my favourite accomplished people and the ammount of time they spent in the outdoors as children. You can't understand your place in the world without proper exposure to clean air, tall trees, and clear streams.

Christine, I am sorry for your disappointing expe...

2009-09-13T21:14:42.527-07:00

Christine,

I am sorry for your disappointing experiences. If it’s any consolation, many of us have experienced similarly awkward and embarrassing situations.

I wonder, have you asked your friend about not hearing back from her author friend? Did she give you the author’s contact information?

Perhaps your friend is not as close to the author as she presumes, and she was out of line when she handed out the author’s contact information, or perhpas your email simply fell through the cracks – as sometimes happens. Ask your friend.

BTW: The published author who bragged that she has people working two jobs to pay her fees sounds like a real ass. IMHO. 8)

Keep it up. Who knows, one-day new writers may be asking you to read their chapters – won’t that be a pleasant switch? I hope that we all remember how it felt to be a new, uncertain, struggling writer.

Regarding the Olsen article, when I first started ...

2009-09-13T18:14:26.623-07:00

Regarding the Olsen article, when I first started getting "into" the Internet and this whole social networking thing, I found myself having an email conversation with a published writer whose blog I had joined.

I asked her if she would mind looking at my first chapter, and she responded in a politely huffy way that she would take a quick look, but she does critiques for a fee and has clients working two jobs to pay for her services, so she really doesn't think it's fair to look at mine for free.

I immediately responded that I had no idea, and if I wanted her to look at it in the future I would pay her accordingly.

Of course I can't pay her and have no intention of contacting her again. But it was a sobering wake-up call for a complete newbie.

Another writer who is a personal friend of a personal friend, just didn't respond to my request, even though I told her that our mutual friend had suggested I get in touch with her. I figured no response was clear enough, and haven't contacted her again either. I'm too embarrassed. I wouldn't even ask her for an autograph now. Which is a shame, because I really, really like her books.

Again I would like to say congrats on your book de...

2009-09-13T16:13:18.378-07:00

Again I would like to say congrats on your book deal. And to throw in my two cents about the embargo, I'm going to say Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder or Bernie Rodenbhar(Sp?). Neither of them are really Det., but both would get to the bottom of the situation.

I'm sitting at my computer with a 102* fever. iGo...

2009-09-13T14:46:18.662-07:00

I'm sitting at my computer with a 102* fever. iGoogle pops up, and there is a window to your blog. I don't know how it got there... my computer lives a completely separate life from mine.
Congratulations on your book (and I'll admit that I wish it was mine!)! Cool blog...I'll have to keep reading.
No, that's not the 102* fever talking.

Thank you for the round-up. I'm quite sure I congr...

2009-09-13T12:49:19.337-07:00

Thank you for the round-up. I'm quite sure I congratulated you, if not, well done, again.

I remember thinking "Gosh, his sci-fi boys adventure will be published before mine, lucky fella"

Speaking of "fellaness", what on earth are you doing watching ANTM - it's auful, hideous and the worst example of culture present. Wasn't that girl Bianca nuts?

Ciao :)

Thanks for the links. I've been so darned busy tha...

2009-09-13T12:19:34.821-07:00

Thanks for the links. I've been so darned busy that I'd miss everything if it weren't for these weekly updates.

They are greatly appreciated :)

Marla, I just discovered that mention of Josh Ols...

2009-09-13T11:19:45.375-07:00

Marla,

I just discovered that mention of Josh Olson's rant has been added to his Wikipedia page.

Marilyn Peake said... Just found an interesti...

2009-09-13T10:43:14.000-07:00

Marilyn Peake said...

Just found an interesting link on Twitter to an article by writer Jeremy Blachman, responding to John Olson's article which has been heating up discussion on the Internet and was mentioned earlier on this blog by Marla Warren.

Thank you for posting this, Marilyn. It is interesting, as are the comments that follow.

Comments on an article tell you a good deal about the audience of a particular website or blog.

Just found an interesting link on Twitter to an ar...

2009-09-13T10:32:19.990-07:00

Just found an interesting link on Twitter to an article by writer Jeremy Blachman, responding to John Olson's article which has been heating up discussion on the Internet and was mentioned earlier on this blog by Marla Warren.

Christine H said... PS I should add that the A...

2009-09-13T04:25:49.846-07:00

Christine H said...

PS I should add that the Amish novels aren't just on the turnpike. They are in the CVS drug store pharmacy waiting areas on their own special display stands, they are in Wal-Mart, K-Mart, the grocery store... everywhere. And of course the Christian bookstores are full of them.

The novels are also at the large chain bookstores. I work at one and we sell tons of them.

PS I should add that the Amish novels aren't just ...

2009-09-13T02:44:38.458-07:00

PS I should add that the Amish novels aren't just on the turnpike. They are in the CVS drug store pharmacy waiting areas on their own special display stands, they are in Wal-Mart, K-Mart, the grocery store... everywhere. And of course the Christian bookstores are full of them.

I couldn't resist checking out the Amish romance n...

2009-09-13T02:38:53.339-07:00

I couldn't resist checking out the Amish romance novel link. My goodness, everyone is being quite snarky about this! I doubt that any of the people in the first page of comments that I scanned has actually read one.

I've read one or two, and glanced at them in the PA turnpike roadside shops.

What people are totally overlooking, and I apologize if someone here has mentioned it already, is that most of these Amish romance novels are Christian romance novels. They are put out by Christian publishers like Bethany and Zondervan, and present a very clean, wholesome love story. At least, all the ones I've seen here in NJ and PA seem to be Christian.

I think people are tired of cynicism and casual sex. I'm very glad to see this genre explosion, and glad it's there as an option for romance readers.

I do wonder how long it's going to last, however, as it has been going strong for quite a few years now.

Not quite detectives, but I'd choose the Hardy Boy...

2009-09-12T19:23:25.801-07:00

Not quite detectives, but I'd choose the Hardy Boys. They'd probably be thrilled to investigate a crime that isn't smuggling.