Comments on Nathan Bransford, Author: Quick on the Draw

Thanks for the update!

2010-10-28T13:23:11.986-07:00

Thanks for the update!

anon- Normally yes, but I'm behind at the mom...

2010-10-28T13:22:10.957-07:00

anon-

Normally yes, but I'm behind at the moment because I'm coming off on vacation. Queries will be delayed for a while.

Nathan, If I haven't heard back from you in t...

2010-10-28T13:15:29.946-07:00

Nathan,

If I haven't heard back from you in ten days, am I allowed to follow-up with a friendly email?

:)

I love your sense of humor. I moved from the Sout...

2010-07-07T13:31:25.099-07:00

I love your sense of humor. I moved from the Southern California high desert to the Midwest. I miss the mountains, but not the earthquakes. The Spring and Fall here are fabulous and it's wild picking raspberries and asparagus in my backyard, not to mention a truckload of tomatoes. Are you interested in memoir?

But what does it mean if someone has sent you a qu...

2010-06-11T21:31:58.284-07:00

But what does it mean if someone has sent you a query and a follow-up query and it's been two months with no reply? Does it mean I did something wrong in the query itself? (I don't doubt that this is possible)

To quote Val Kilmer playing quick shooting Doc Hol...

2009-06-11T21:39:42.671-07:00

To quote Val Kilmer playing quick shooting Doc Holliday in Tombstone, "I'm your huckleberry"

Nathan - this post caught my attention way back when I found your blog last year. I have the .wav file of Val Kilmer saying "I'm your huckleberry" and it is used as my "you've got mail" notification at work.

Not sure why I'm telling you that - just something to share!

Cass

I sent off my manuscript to MacMillan New Writing ...

2009-05-11T21:33:00.000-07:00

I sent off my manuscript to MacMillan New Writing (yes, I'm aware that you know how this story ends) and had to wait for twelve weeks to work out for absolutely certain that the answer was no. Long before the stopwatch had got to the last five seconds, I'd had an inspiration and changed the book so dramatically that what they rejected didn't really exist any more. After that I've had a few more and changed it even more. Even I've pretty conclusively rejected that book. All which to say, if it is no,I'd like it to be quick - there are always more ideas out there and I want to get to work on them.

The quicker the cut the quicker to heal, right?

2009-03-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

The quicker the cut the quicker to heal, right?

I don't know how I got here (Go Internet Go), but ...

2007-04-03T10:16:00.000-07:00

I don't know how I got here (Go Internet Go), but Doc Holiday says "I can be your huckleberry".

Not trying to be a know-it-all, I just like that line.

Nathan, you're just practising good time managemen...

2007-04-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

Nathan, you're just practising good time management principles - handle every piece of paper (email) immediately, and only once. After years spent in the publishing industry, meeting many, many people unclear on this simple concept, I wish that everyone followed your efficient example.

A quick 'no' is a favor...nothing worse than waiti...

2007-04-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

A quick 'no' is a favor...nothing worse than waiting around for an answer.

Fast is great! I think the fastest for me was some...

2007-04-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

Fast is great! I think the fastest for me was something like four minutes. I always noted it in my spreadsheet, so if I had to query the agent in the future on a new project, I would know they had the courtesy to respond quickly.

It certainly lends perspective to the whole proces...

2007-04-03T07:19:00.000-07:00

It certainly lends perspective to the whole process of writing and sending a query letter.

If I've got less than nine minutes to impress an agent, it had better be exactly what they're looking for and do more than just sparkle. In fact, it probably ought to look like I'm holding on to the Hope Diamond of the literary world.

Seriously, though, fast is good. Less anxiety is ...

2007-04-03T06:47:00.000-07:00

Seriously, though, fast is good. Less anxiety is good. Sleep is good. But I'm getting off-track.

I'd rather have a fast 'No' than what I've come to...

2007-04-03T06:06:00.000-07:00

I'd rather have a fast 'No' than what I've come to call a 'non-responder' - the agent who never bothers to reply and you're stuck wondering if your query got sucked into a black hole.

Thanks for being one of the quick ones.

But queries are short! Fast is good! People don't ...

2007-04-03T05:17:00.000-07:00

But queries are short! Fast is good! People don't stand in bookstores for an hour staring at the back cover and first few pages of a book before they buy it, so why would they expect agents to spend a day on their queries?

Heck, one of the reasons I queried you when I did (instead of in a couple weeks, when all my schoolwork will be turned in and I'll be in a position to concentrate on submissions) was because I knew you'd answer really fast and I wouldn't have to worry about it for more than a few days.

What is there to bitch about?
This isn't sex.
2007-04-03T04:59:00.000-07:00
What is there to bitch about?
This isn't sex.
Fast is good.

How do you concentrate on your other work, then?
2007-04-03T01:56:00.000-07:00
How do you concentrate on your other work, then?

I'm an editor (of the journalistic variety) and I have press releases coming through constantly - in much the same way, I suspect, as queries do for you. I probably also devote about the same amount of time on my initial consideration of a PR as you do on a query.

But I need to look at them as a block, every hour or so.

If I broke concentration every time a release came in, I'd never get work done at all.

Shouldn't a query letter be short enough to read i...

2007-04-02T23:45:00.000-07:00

Shouldn't a query letter be short enough to read in a minute or so?

Wow. Somehow spending three days on a query lette...

2007-04-02T17:48:00.000-07:00

Wow. Somehow spending three days on a query letter, a week being all angsty and stupid about pressing "send" and then getting a response of "no" in nine minutes seems...I don't know....amazing.
Of course, if I would just quit starting queries with a rhetorical question.....

Anon-

I'd say wait a month before you follo...

2007-04-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

Anon-

I'd say wait a month before you follow up (politely, via e-mail), but I also wouldn't query exclusively. If you do it's going to take forever. It's ok to grant exclusivity when someone asks to see your manuscript, but until that time I generally wouldn't limit yourself.

Nathan, if ONLY all agents responded as quickly as...

2007-04-02T16:48:00.000-07:00

Nathan, if ONLY all agents responded as quickly as you do. My life would be a dream.

Perhaps you could do a post on this: How long are we supposed to wait for email responses? A week? Two weeks? A month? Miss Snark said a month, but if I do that, it would literally take me a year to query all the agents at a big house like ICM or William Morris. That's just crazy.

What say you?

Nathan, if I get on cycle 9 of ANTM, will you publ...

2007-04-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

Nathan, if I get on cycle 9 of ANTM, will you publish my book? Pleeeease?

Just kidding. Kinda. Unless you will. But really, just kidding.

I think.

You should have quick response buttons like the in...

2007-04-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

You should have quick response buttons like the internet dating sites.

A “wink” could be a request for a partial.

A full fledged e-mail could be a request for a full or an offer of representation.

Then there would be the “No Thanks” button which could have subheadings like:
-Not my genre.
-Not for me but someone will take it.
-I’m too busy for this now.
-Looks like crap. I recommend self-publishing
-Give up writing, please!

OBF-

The quickest I've ever heard back from...

2007-04-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

OBF-

The quickest I've ever heard back from a publisher is a few days after I sent something, and when that happens I'm usually stunned. If only it were nine minutes...

Comments on Nathan Bransford, Author: Quick on the Draw

Thanks for the update!

anon- Normally yes, but I'm behind at the mom...

Nathan, If I haven't heard back from you in t...

I love your sense of humor. I moved from the Sout...

But what does it mean if someone has sent you a qu...

To quote Val Kilmer playing quick shooting Doc Hol...

I sent off my manuscript to MacMillan New Writing ...

The quicker the cut the quicker to heal, right?

I don't know how I got here (Go Internet Go), but ...

Nathan, you're just practising good time managemen...

A quick 'no' is a favor...nothing worse than waiti...

Fast is great! I think the fastest for me was some...

It certainly lends perspective to the whole proces...

Seriously, though, fast is good. Less anxiety is ...

I'd rather have a fast 'No' than what I've come to...

But queries are short! Fast is good! People don't ...

What is there to bitch about?This isn't sex. 2007-04-03T04:59:00.000-07:00 What is there to bitch about?This isn't sex.Fast is good.

Shouldn't a query letter be short enough to read i...

Wow. Somehow spending three days on a query lette...

Anon-I'd say wait a month before you follo...

Nathan, if ONLY all agents responded as quickly as...

Nathan, if I get on cycle 9 of ANTM, will you publ...

You should have quick response buttons like the in...

OBF-The quickest I've ever heard back from...

What is there to bitch about?
This isn't sex.
2007-04-03T04:59:00.000-07:00
What is there to bitch about?
This isn't sex.
Fast is good.

Anon-

I'd say wait a month before you follo...

OBF-

The quickest I've ever heard back from...