Comments on Nathan Bransford - Literary Agent: Guest Blog Week: You May Be a Bestseller on Tralfa...

I'm reading this late, Anne, but I wanted you to k...

2010-01-27T16:01:42.928-08:00

I'm reading this late, Anne, but I wanted you to know I read it and LOVED it. Totally explains everything. Woo. Glad you figured it out for us.

Everyone quotes Gandhi because he is a social chan...

2010-01-26T11:29:51.017-08:00

Everyone quotes Gandhi because he is a social change agent par excellence, or sui generis, well you know what I mean. But Martin Luther King Jr. quoted Gandhi, and I feel, unless you're MLK, maybe you should think twice about quoting Gandhi. I think MLK is a phenomenal writer, if you have ever read any of his books - collected speeches, etc. - there is a lot of quotable material in there, for grants and other purposes. And just all around inspiration.

Nathan, This post is right up there with my favori...

2010-01-26T07:20:46.250-08:00

Nathan,
This post is right up there with my favorites, and why I continue to read your blogs & Tweets.
Keep up the madness.

Point taken. Writing a query over and over makes ...

2010-01-25T14:01:30.639-08:00

Point taken. Writing a query over and over makes me crazy.

Stricklen- Nice story and well put to the class. I...

2010-01-25T13:10:42.892-08:00

Stricklen- Nice story and well put to the class. I'm not sure about the "not crazy." :)

Point is we are not crazy...

2010-01-25T13:04:18.350-08:00

Point is we are not crazy...

I gave a writing talk to a seventh grade class las...

2010-01-25T12:57:35.836-08:00

I gave a writing talk to a seventh grade class last week Friday. One of the questions was why read a book when you can watch a movie. Luckily, I had with me the original Treasure Island novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. I held the book up in the air and explained that it had been published ninety-nine years ago. I could pick it up at the moment of my choosing and dive directly into the author’s thoughts. “Writing is timeless,” I said. I also went on to explain that when you watch a movie you may see for example shot of a man walking down a dirt road toward the sunrise. You are watching it as an observer but you cannot live it. In a book you know that the stones are sharp against his bare feet. The morning sun is blinding him and with weary legs the character trudges forward as a bead of sweat slides down his cheek.

I asked them if they had ever heard anyone say that the book was better than the movie. Almost everyone in class raised their hands. I said how is this possible? They spend hundreds of million dollars to create the move…how can the book be better? They looked at me blankly. “Because when you read a book you can get right into the body and thoughts of the main character, you can live it.” I received smiles and nods and got the warm feeling that they understood.

What you write will out live you.

Anne, Great memory. That is exactly right. Just cu...

2010-01-25T12:43:46.716-08:00

Anne,
Great memory. That is exactly right. Just curious, do you read Haruki Murakami? What other authors do you like?

Michael, it means so much to know I cheered a fell...

2010-01-25T10:18:50.537-08:00

Michael, it means so much to know I cheered a fellow writer. I go through the "Am I Crazies" at least bi-weekly myself. I'll have to go back and see what that comment was. Maybe it was the reminder that Vonnegut was published as "pulp sci-fi," and not considered "literary" until he'd been writing for many decades. And as pulp sci-fi, he wasn't that successful.

You may never be James Patterson Inc., but if you keep knocking on stubborn doors, maybe you'll be the next Vonnegut. Sounds like a better deal to me.

Anne, I found this post conspicuously timely (if I...

2010-01-25T09:23:03.558-08:00

Anne,
I found this post conspicuously timely (if I were crazy in the schizophrenic sense). Let me start by saying thank you, so you know to read the rest of the comment to understand that it is in this vein.

I originally came across Nathan's site by googling some variation of "Vonnegut" and "literary." I was searching for inspiration after being rejected by an agent for being too literary in my partial submission. Apparently, I was suffering from what I didn't know at the time to be the "Am I crazies." One of the first entries took me to his October 29 post where he defended the importance of literary fiction in a marketability-sensitive publishing world. If you recall, this was the post that directly followed the one where he, first, outright bashed literary writing. In the comments some of Nathan's supporters had been discussing Vonnegut, which got me reading his blog. As I'm sure you feel the same way, his blog has been very helpful in not only learning how to effectively query but stave off the "Am I crazies" (a biweekly issue).

I just went back to that post and noticed you were one of the commenters that day. Just last week, I finally queried Nathan and thanked him for his guidance but I now realize that I owe you a thank you too. Your comments revived my confidence at one of my lowest moments. I thank you sincerely.

Fantastic post! I'm a fan of #8

2010-01-24T20:02:41.511-08:00

Fantastic post!

I'm a fan of #8

Just think, if we were Tralfamadorians, we'd alrea...

2010-01-24T18:51:00.355-08:00

Just think, if we were Tralfamadorians, we'd already be published.

So it goes.

I love it! Thank you!

2010-01-24T10:07:35.072-08:00

I love it!

Thank you!

Great post, Anne! Your list is perfect and hilario...

2010-01-24T08:27:20.650-08:00

Great post, Anne! Your list is perfect and hilarious, and so is this post. I wonder if Trafalmadorians have all the rights to my stories or if any revert to me at some point in the foreseeable future...

I agree with Emily, your blog is a source of great advice and wisdom. Everyone should check it out :)

Also agreed that fishing seems like a such an unobjectionable pastime, even for the fishermen who come home empty-handed. Hmm, what if I take up "fishing" and go to a lake every weekend, but secretly bring my laptop instead of fishing gear? It could work!

"Theere's aaaaaaa place for us...somewhere a plaaa...

2010-01-24T07:32:53.117-08:00

"Theere's aaaaaaa place for us...somewhere a plaaaaace for us..."

Sing with me, everyone!

Excellent post--
Kristi

Very helpful. Now I know I'm not so insane as to u...

2010-01-24T06:25:13.254-08:00

Very helpful. Now I know I'm not so insane as to understand what this post is about. Thank you. Thank you.

Rich

That explains EVERYTHING. See, deep down I always ...

2010-01-23T23:27:55.856-08:00

That explains EVERYTHING. See, deep down I always suspected it went something like that.

I blame Vonnegut. Had he not written about Trafalmadore, the Trafalmadorians would not have won multidimensinal eternal rights over Earthlings' unpublishables. Their terms of sale suk!

It's as good a delusion as any I've heard and prov...

2010-01-23T20:58:54.381-08:00

It's as good a delusion as any I've heard and provides justification for continuing to embrace this sometimes-mind-numbing pursuit called writing.

Great post, thanks!

Nathan and all the Nathanites, THANK YOU!! Being...

2010-01-23T17:02:46.935-08:00

Nathan and all the Nathanites, THANK YOU!!

Being blog goddess for a day has been such an amazing experience. I'm basking in all these appreciative comments. And to the new followers who have come over to my blog--welcome!

And isn't it nice we haven't heard a peep from any anonymous trolls? Maybe the Tralfamadorians have activated the anti-troll shields to make sure we get the word out: get back to your brilliant WIPs, folks. Tralfamadore is waiting!

LOVE this post...and not just because I'm a slavis...

2010-01-23T15:25:07.465-08:00

LOVE this post...and not just because I'm a slavish, adoring devourer (is that a word? should be...) of all things Vonnegut.
Thanks. I knew there was a reason I did this. Could never quite put my finger on it, though.

Hey great post. Funny, especially the restraining ...

2010-01-23T12:40:17.319-08:00

Hey great post. Funny, especially the restraining order part. Now I have a "true" reason to write. Tralfammadore is waiting.(:

Just for the record, this Tralfamadorian is not a ...

2010-01-23T09:19:15.892-08:00

Just for the record, this Tralfamadorian is not a toilet plunger. I'm a back scrubber with one of those poufy things on the end of it.

Will it hurt my chances at publication if I've jus...

2010-01-23T07:33:57.276-08:00

Will it hurt my chances at publication if I've just used a Tralfamadorian to unstop my toilet?

A lot of people have said a lot of inspiring thing...

2010-01-23T02:24:38.867-08:00

A lot of people have said a lot of inspiring things to me over the years - don't give up, you never know when things might change, just keep working.

This one may be the winner :D

There's no such thing as hurrying on Tralfamadore....

2010-01-22T22:14:31.392-08:00

There's no such thing as hurrying on Tralfamadore. It already is.

COME ON, ANNIE.

(Nonetheless, the metaphor is charming and appreciated, if inaccurate.)