Well, it’s summer, which means lots of re-runs on TV, and I’m afraid the blog is no exception from the summer programming schedule. As a result, the blog is going on another week-long hiatus next week, except instead of a week of sad, sad silence I’m going to re-run some of the past posts from the rapidly expanding archives. We can laugh and cry all over again. Sigh.
I’ll be back on Monday the 23rd with some query stats.
But first… Publishing! This week!!
Just in case you’ve been living under a magic rock for the past seven months, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS will come out on July 21st. Seemingly every possible Harry Potter angle has been covered by the media, from profiles of J.K. Rowling to editor Arthur Levine to how bookstores will manage to make zero money on a bestselling book to how the kid who plays Harry Potter in the movies isn’t really a kid anymore. Every single angle…. except, you know, a Biblical reading of the most recent Harry Potter movie that compares Harry’s battle with Voldemort to a Christian’s battle with Satan. Oh wait. (thanks to Shelf Awareness for the tip).
In other news, William Gibson will be jacking in and promoting his new book on Second Life, just 23 years after publishing NEUROMANCER, the seminal cyperbpunk novel, where characters jacked into an alternate world in cyberspace. Consider my mind BLOWN.
Jonathan Lyons urges you to take publishing advice you read on the Internets with a grain of salt. I agree wholeheartedly. A big heaping grain of salt. A grain of salt that would block out the sun. A grain of salt that would cause a singularity in the space-time continuum and would create its own black hole and collapse the entire universe. I think you get the picture.
MJ Rose, she of the fabulous starred PW review for her upcoming novel, gives a rundown of the new site BookTour.com, which aims to connect authors with audiences and ease the headache of setting up speaking appearances.
And finally, author Jim C. Cunningham planned a “clothing optional” book signing to promote his book NUDITY & CHRISTIANITY. I’m not quite sure what to say about this, except that I’m fairly confident that if I attend a “clothing optional” book signing I would opt for the “clothing” option.
Have a great weekend!
Marti says
Hope you have a great week off!
A Paperback Writer says
“Clothing optional” just sounds unsanitary to me. Really, would you want to sit where some other unclothed person had just been sitting? Ugh. Perhaps cans of Lysol are distributed at the door…
Nathan Bransford says
Thanks, Marti!
a paperback writer-
I guess everyone had to bring a towel. lol.
original bran fan says
Thanks for the link to the John Lyons blog. I agree that no agent blog is perfect and one must not take them as gospel. Even you, as smart as you are, Nathan, get it wrong sometimes.
For example, you say that one rarely gets an agent through querying, and that conferences are a better way. Not for me. I had ten agent/editor meetings at ten conferences over the years. Never a nibble. Wrote a good query and got three top agents who wanted to rep my novel.
Don’t get me wrong. I still think you’re the best and I read you every single day. But–Reader beware.
Nathan Bransford says
OBF-
Thanks for the kind words — just to clarify, I never said that there’s only one way to find an agent. When I say one way is better than the other it’s because in my own personal opinion the odds are better that way, not because the others are impossible or that they won’t work for others. Clearly there are exceptions to everything.
Liz says
Enjoy the week off, Nathan. Off to plop on the couch with a sweet tea and Michelle Moran’s new book, “Nefertiti.” Just picked it up today. Yippee!
Anonymous says
Loving the query stats. I find them fascinating. Can’t wait to see how many evil albino queries you get this time.
anon1058 says
See you when you get back!
Tom Burchfield says
I am staying under my magic rock . . . see you soon, Nathan . . . .
Anonymous says
I just watched the movie “1408,” in which John Cusack, an author, has about four people attend his book signing.
Maybe more would have come if he’d been naked.
I’m just saying.
David says
In last night’s episode, Doctor Who vanquished some witches using a Harry Potter magical word, after which he thanked “JK”.
He also mentioned in passing that he’d already read the last book in the series.
Just another tie in, and an amusing one.
Anonymous says
I saw a contest offered at Gather.com titled, First Chapters. What is your opinion on it?
A Paperback Writer says
Well, Nathan, as the late, great Douglas Adams once told us, the universe is a whole lot safer if you remember to bring a towel. I don’t think he had nudist events in mind, but it would indeed apply.