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The Hills

How Objectively Can We Judge Good or Bad Writing?

February 20, 2008 by Nathan Bransford 62 Comments

As anyone who has presided over a slush pile, passed on a megabestseller, or read their friend’s manuscript will tell you, reading is subjective. Many different people have their own opinions about the same book, and those opinions can vary so widely it’s almost impossible to believe they’ve read the same book. One person will […]

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Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Reading Like a Writer, The Hills, You Tell Me

The Passive Voice is Found in Your Query Letter

January 10, 2008 by Nathan Bransford 34 Comments

Back when I was an English major in college, my TAs would always warn us about writing our papers in the passive voice. I nodded along with the rest of my classmates, but in truth I had no idea what the “passive voice” even was. It sounded like something vaguely horrible and dangerous, but I […]

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Filed Under: Query Letters Tagged With: How to Write a Query Letter, monkeys, The Hills, writing advice

This Year in Publishing 2007

December 21, 2007 by Nathan Bransford 48 Comments

Well, I slapped my head on my way to work this morning because I belatedly realized I should have done an extensive “This YEAR in Publishing” retrospective and put time into a thoughtful look back on the year in publishing and the first year of this blog. Whoops. So here’s the year in publishing, 2007, […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Cormac McCarthy, Kurt Vonnegut, literary agents, monkeys, publishing industry, The Hills, This Week in Publishing

Will You Ever Buy Mostly E-Books?

December 5, 2007 by Nathan Bransford 59 Comments

What can I say, I’m on an e-book kick lately. This week’s You Tell Me is a poll, but EXPOUND in the comments section like you’ve never expounded before!

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Filed Under: E-books Tagged With: E-books, Future of Publishing, publishing industry, The Hills, You Tell Me

This Week in Publishing 11/30/07

November 30, 2007 by Nathan Bransford 16 Comments

About yesterday. I totally MEANT to post. But I was really, really busy. Sorry. Please don’t be mad. Why are you mad? What did you think I did? I swear I wasn’t watching bad TV. There’s no evidence. Someone was standing in front of the camera. YOU JUST DON’T FATHOM ME. Anyway, the week in […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: E-Readers, publishing industry, The Hills, This Week in Publishing

When Will E-books Take Over?

November 28, 2007 by Nathan Bransford 73 Comments

First of all, my apologies for being a day late with my rundown of a rare (these days) non-coma-inducing The Hills episode that not only featured a she-Spencer (!) but also included Justin Bobby…. uh… well, they said he kissed someone who wasn’t Audrina. It mostly looked like someone stepped in front of the camera. […]

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: E-books, E-Readers, Kindle, literary agents, publishing industry, The Hills, You Tell Me

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About Nathan

Hi, I’m Nathan. I’m the author of How to Write a Novel and the Jacob Wonderbar series, which was published by Penguin. I used to be a literary agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. and I’m dedicated to helping authors chase their dreams. Let me help you with your book!

My blog has everything you need to know to write, edit, and publish a book. Can’t find what you need or want personalized help? Reach out.

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My Books

How to Write a Novel
Cover of How to Publish a Book by Nathan Bransford
Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapo
Jacob Wonderbar for President of the Universe
Jacob Wonderbar and the Interstellar Time Warp

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