Nathan Bransford, Author

This Week in Books 2/10/12

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:34:00 +0000

This week! Books! It's been a while!

The elephant in the Amazon has been the subject of many an anguished quote from many an anonymous publishing executive, who are extremely nervous about What Amazon Is Up To With The Kindle And The New Amazon Publishing Imprint Thing. The latest notable entries in the field: Confessions of a Publisher: "We're in Amazon's Sights and They're Going to Kill Us", a profile of Larry Kirshbaum aka Amazon's Hit Man, and Worried Publishers Pin Their Hopes on Barnes & Noble.

I urge you not to read those articles all three in a row unless you want to get the sense that the traditional publishing industry is, um, a little nervous about how relevant it is in the future and mildly uncertain about what it should be doing.

Understatement.

All of this has Mathew Ingram from GigaOm asking: Hey publishers, remind us why you exist again?

I've been out of the publishing game a while, but it's worth taking a deep breath and remembering some things: a) This is still a print world (yes, still), and publishers are still best at getting paper to customers (yes, still). b) Some authors will still benefit from the collection of services publishers offer into the new era.

But also: Publishers must think about how their brands matter in the new era, especially to consumers, and how they can make themselves indispensable to an author's sales figures and bottom line. Right now they ain't getting it done by relying on authors for their own promotion and offering very little added value except for a few titles a season (who are often the titles that need the least boost).

But the sky isn't falling yet.

Whew! Meanwhile, Kassia Krozser at Booksquare previews the Tools of Change conference and tackles the perennial topic of print/e-book bundling.

Author Tahereh Mafi is giving away some rather stellar books on her blog! Click over and check it out! And speaking of Tahereh, she had a pretty awesome interview at Swoontini.

And in agenting news, BookEnds updated their publishing dictionary.

This week in the Forums: When to query an agent, the Do You Have a New Blog Post thread now has over 2,250 stellar entries, how do authors decide which part of a book to read at readings, the best dystopian novels, and what is your writing weakness?

And finally, there's cute, and then there's a baby bear playing with a baby wolf (via io9)

Have a great weekend!

Do Writers Give Up the Right to Be Casual Reviewers?

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:39:00 +0000

While I was on blog hiatus, author Hannah Moskowitz posted an open letter to people who post nasty reviews on Goodreads (language NSFW). (UPDATE: I believe I actually misread Hannah's point, which I think has to do with commenting on bad reviews than leaving bad reviews. So please take this more as a jumping off point than an extension of that discussion.)

In essence, Hannah argues that while vitriol from readers is hard to take for any author, it's especially hard and egregious coming from fellow authors. Hannah suggests that authors actually give up their right to write casual (and especially casually negative) reviews:

...I don't really get to be a reader anymore, not fully, and that's just [bleeping] reality. And maybe it's not altogether awesome, and maybe I miss it, but it's a pretty small price to pay for being a [motherbleeping] author.

That doesn't mean I can't write reviews, even negative ones; I do sometimes, and there are some amazing combination writer/reviewers out there--Phoebe North, anyone?--but it does mean that if I go out there and comment on bad reviews with sarcasm and bitchiness and general [bleep]-dom, I make writer-hannah look like a [bleeping] idiot.

So is she right? Do authors give up some rights when it comes to reviews?

While there's a great and long tradition of writers penning thoughtful negative reviews that demonstrate respect for the subject at hand, I agree with Hannah. I do believe writers give up the right to write casually bitchy reviews.

For the following reasons:

1) You don't need the karma.

And forget the cosmic implications, this business is hard enough without having people out there wishing you ill. Behind every book is a team. You don't need teams turning against you.

2) You should be following the Golden Rule.

How would you like it if someone casually dished your book as a piece of trash not worth the pixels it was printed on and it should be burned in a fiery pit of suck?

Not very much, I'm guessing. Not very much.

3) You won't look good.

There's no way to write a cruel review and come away looking like anything more than a mean person. No matter how wittily you think you tore the book apart.

4) You're better than that.

You are! Look at you. You're smart, you're erudite, you have a way with words. You insult yourself by resorting to ham-fisted takes on books and not giving them the thoughtful treatment.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying authors can't write reviews. But writers should require themselves to write thoughtful reviews. They should elevate the discourse, not lower it. And they should treat their fellow writerly comrades at arms with the respect they deserve.

What do you think? Do writers give up rights when it comes to reviews?

Art: "H.L. Mencken" by O. Richard

Expanding the World of Your Novel

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:17:00 +0000

NB: Many writers wonder what to do with their extra material and how to make their work live on beyond the pages of a novel. And on that subject, I'm thrilled to have this guest post from Matthew Pearl, the New York Times bestselling author of THE DANTE CLUB, THE POE SHADOW and THE LAST DICKENS. His latest novel, THE TECHNOLOGISTS, will be published on February 21.

In our day and age, a writer's work is never done, even—make that especially—once you've finished writing.

When my first novel came out in 2003, it was my impression (accurate or not I can't say) that many books and authors did not yet have websites, much less websites of depth beyond a cover image, summary and an order link. That's changed. In fact, now you might feel you have to be push your resources to earn reader's attention with extras, because we're all trying.

How do you most effectively expand your universe beyond the borders of your book covers? It's about looking for ways to capture the mood of your book in a creative entity separate from and complementing your book and to do it in ways that don't require an unrealistic amount of work from your reader.

A scavenger hunt might be fun and creative, but is probably asking too much.

Keeping Things Fresh

Since my newest novel, The Technologists, out February 21, is noticeably different than my previous ones in at least one way (in that it trades literary history for technological history as its story source), I wanted to freshen up my approaches to exploring the book's outer “universe.”

First, I decided to do a book trailer. Of course, this is common now. Again, sometimes that makes it harder because the novelty has worn off and conventions calcify. Besides, I had no previous experience with one and wasn't even sure where to begin. My vision became clearer through a strange happenstance that connected back to my first book.

While searching for something else online related to The Dante Club, I came upon an “opening credit” sequence a college student had done for my book as a class assignment. Much to my surprise, I was blown away! (You can see it here.) It also gave me a much better idea of what I'd want for a trailer of The Technologists. I contacted the creator of the short video, talented motion designer Jessi Esparza, and after agreeing to work together a few months later we have this finished trailer:

We used photographs from the nineteenth century including from those early days at MIT where the novel takes place to make it authentic as well as fun.

Of course, if you're trying to appeal to readers you might want to give them something to read. For The Dante Club, I included “lost chapters” on my website. Some readers (and me) have their fill of violence with what's in The Dante Club's published version, but others have a higher tolerance and I send them to that page on my site to read the scenes of murders I had cut out.

I carried over the idea of additional chapters in similar ways for my second and third novels in the form of “Secret Chapters” (chapters that take place between two specified chapters in the finished novel) and “Extra Chapters” (a standalone story set simultaneous with the events of the novel) for The Poe Shadow and The Last Dickens, respectively. These were all web only treats on my own sites, but my publisher also reprinted one of the “Secret Chapters” at the end of the paperback of The Poe Shadow, so sometimes your expansions sneak back into your book.

Putting Your Characters to Work

One problem: those extra chapters for my first three novels would interest those who already read the novel. Looking to avoid that limitation, this time I decided to do something a little different. I wrote a prequel to The Technologists that could stand on its own two feet but also lead a reader of that prequel to be interested in the novel by carrying over its mood and style.

The result: a novella called “The Professor's Assassin” set twenty-eight years before The Technologists. This my publisher has made available for download at the usual places for only 99 cents (when writing “99 cents” I find you also must write “only”). Why not make it free?, I asked my publisher. I'm told that many people are less interested if it's free than if there's a small charge! I'll leave the logic behind that to the (micro?) economists.

In addition to this novella, I wrote a few other prequelly shorter stories, set a few years before the novel begins, available for free at my website (which I guess makes them less interesting), each one tracing a bit of how the characters got to where they are by page 1 of the book.

With a variety of approaches and styles, universe expansion for a book hinges more than anything on two things: the ideas, obviously, but especially the willingness of the author. You might be surprised how often I encounter authors who resent any work on behalf of a book outside the writing of the book.

That Elusive Balance

Make no mistake about it, all the extras that go into the expanded world of a book require work. Sometimes even simple things, like composing suggested topics for book clubs, require a fair amount of hand wringing, and other side projects that sound so innocuous—writing an article tied to the topics covered in your book, for instance—can end up momentous tasks without very concrete results.

Even when the hard labor is shifted away from you toward other capable hands—as with a book trailer or website design, if you're not doing it yourself—there's a fair amount of working hours involved overseeing and directing the process.

The reluctance to commit oneself to such extras is understandable. So much work goes into writing a book, and there's likely an intimidating amount of work awaiting you elsewhere assuming there's another book you're supposed to write. Writing a novella, spearheading a book trailer, getting a website together, all can be enjoyable. And grueling.

Personally, I find finite non-book projects a welcome break from the long, exhausting, monomaniacal marathon of novel writing. And of course, it's all ostensibly to the benefit of the book to enhance the experience of the reader. But I can relate to the feeling that a full plate is being piled to overflow.

How do you contribute more and more to the external life of your book without taking away from your writing? This dilemma will continue to be the writer's burden—and blessing—as avenues for exploring and promoting continue to increase away from the printed page.

How to Return to Writing After a Long Break

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:18:00 +0000

Hello! I am back, after what I realized was my first extended blog break in five years. Five years! My how the time flies. I haven't been idle this past month as I have been hard at work finishing Wonderbar #3, but it still feels a bit strange to be getting back to the blog game.

To that end, I thought I'd tackle one of the most dangerous moments for any writer: The long break.

I've known writers who hit their stride, were interrupted for one reason or another, and then days turned into weeks turned into months and they were never able to get back in the saddle. All that work was squandered. Breaks = kryptonite achilles heel termite ridden ankle breaking weakening things. Don't let long breaks destroy you!

So. Once you break your writing rhythm, how do you get it back?

Here's how I do it:

1) Know that your first day back will not be productive

You must know that your first day back after a long absence will not be as productive as a normal day. This is okay. Knowing is the first stage of not panicking and not getting down on yourself. Don't set page goals, don't be hard on yourself. Just focus on getting your rhythm back. That's all you need to accomplish.

2) Don't head straight for the novel

Instead of going right back to my novel and feeling the crushing weight of the blinking cursor, I start off by writing something, anything other than fiction. E-mails, blog posts, forum posts, you name it. Chances are you have stuff that has piled up, and it's easier to write an e-mail than figuring out what is going to happen next in your novel.

Don't procrastinate endlessly, but get the words flowing for an easier reentry. Then it's time to...

3) Badger yourself into opening up your novel and getting started again even if it feels like you are peeling off your own skin.

It can feel so incredibly intimidating to start again. You might not remember where you left off. You had gotten used to filling your time with episodes of Downton Abbey.

Writing is hard. Getting back into writing is really, really hard.

Do whatever you have to do to get that file open. Cursing and threats of bodily harm against yourself are perfectly acceptable. So are rewards. Just get the dang file or notepad open.

4) Start somewhere easy

When you do crack open the old novel, start somewhere that will get things flowing and keep your confidence high. Know a scene you want to write but aren't there yet in the plot? Write it anyway. Need to do some revising to get back into the rhythm? Awesome, start there.

Writing a novel is full of tasks large and small, everything from figuring out the whole freaking plot to making sure the chapters are numbered properly. Tackling one of those smaller tasks still gets you closer to the finish line, and sometimes they can help you get back in rhythm.

5) Don't get down on yourself

Remember, the first day back is just about getting back into it. It's not going to be your best day. It might not be fun. But you did it. You're back in the saddle, which is why it's so crucially important to...

6) Follow up with a good day of writing

You slogged your way back into writing. Don't waste it! Chase it as quickly as possible with a good, solid, uninterrupted, productive chunk of time. Now you'll have momentum. So keep it up!

Also: Shouting, "I'm back, baby!!" is strongly encouraged.

What about you? What's your favorite technique for getting back in the writing groove?

Art: "A Love Story" by E. Phillips Fox

Temporary Blog Break

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 03:42:00 +0000

Hello! Nice to see you.

This month is shaping up to be rather crazy for me: Tomorrow I'm headed to Las Vegas for the digital madness that is the Consumer Electronics Show, and the rest of the month I'm going to be nose-to-the-grindstone on finishing up Jacob Wonderbar #3.

So! This means that blogging is going to be quite sporadic, perhaps silent, until February. But! Please don't take this as a sign of any diminishing affection I have for blogging or this blog and certainly not you. You are awesome. I have a ton of topics I can't wait to tackle when I have the time, and I will be back with a vengeance in February.

Seriously.

While I'm away, when you're craving your literary discussions please delve into the friendly confines of the discussion forums, and also peruse old posts.

In the meantime... don't don't don't don't.... Don't youuuuu... Forget about meeeee......

Do You Have Any Writing New Year's Resolutions?

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:21:00 +0000

It's a new year! I know many of us are very much looking forward to a fresh start in 2012, a year full of Excitement! Possibility! Potential! As long as we don't all die in the apocalypse!

And with this new year comes those pesky promises we make to ourselves. Do you have any writing resolutions for 2012? A novel you want to finish or a habit you want to kick or a manuscript you want to finally send out?

I would like to write better evocative gestures and character-revealing details in 2012. What about you?

Still Time to Leave Comments for Heifer International

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 20:39:00 +0000

Thanks so much to everyone who commented and tweeted to raise money for Heifer International!

We had over 100 tweets and 65 comments, and I'm going to go ahead and round up to $1,000.

But before you run off to eat your Christmas Eve tamales, there's still time to help spread the giving! These blogs have made per-comment pledges that are still very much active. Please stop by and leave comments and spread the word about Heifer.

Writing in the NY Lake District
Mira's Corner
Making Stuff Up & Writing It Down
My Karma Ran Over My Dogma
Daily Adventures
An Uneducated Palate

Thanks again, and Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to everyone celebrating.

3rd Annual Heifer International Fundraiser!

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:19:00 +0000

It's that time of year! Time for our annual Heifer International blog fundraising goodness where we spread the cheer for one of the most worthy causes out there. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post OR Tweet a link to this post (http://bit.ly/thH5O1) and include the hashtag #NBHeifer to help raise money for a great cause.

And you too can participate with your own pledge!

You may have already heard of Heifer International, an organization that works to fight hunger by giving needy families around the world and in the United States livestock, training, or other assistance that helps improve their livelihood. Heifer has been recognized for its work in Fast Company and Forbes, among other places.

I know these are some difficult economic times for many people, but if you have anything to spare this holiday season I hope you'll consider making a donation.

And in order to encourage people to spread the word about this worthy cause, there are two ways to help increase the giving love (and feel free to do both):

For every comment someone makes in this post between now and 6PM Pacific time on Friday, I will donate $2.00.
For every tweet that includes a) the hashtag #NBHeifer and b) a link back to this post (http://bit.ly/thH5O1) I will donate another $2.00. (up to $2,000 between the two)

And, better yet, if you want in on the fun you could do a per-comment pledge on your own blog and enter it into the linky list at the bottom of this post. We can encourage everyone to stop by so we can multiply the giving! Over the past two years we raised over $3,000 together.

In your comment I hope you'll list:

1. Your name
2. Where you're from
3. A wish for 2011
4. (optional) Your own per-comment pledge (amounts totally up to you). Write a dedicated post on your blog for people to leave comments on your blog and link to Heifer and state your pledge. Then enter it into the linky list below so everyone can stop by and leave a comment.

Thanks, everyone, for helping make the world a better place!

UPDATE: Upping bid to $2.00!

How Art Changes With Us

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:22:00 +0000

I recently rewatched the movies "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset," which, if you haven't seen or heard of them, are rather amazing.

In the first, "Before Sunrise," which came out in 1995, two early-twenty-somethings played by Ethan Hawke (Jesse) and Julie Delpy (Celine) meet on the train from Budapest to Vienna. Jesse has one night before his plane leaves back for America and he convinces Celine to spend the night with him wandering around Vienna, where they talk about life, love, dreams, everything.

"Before Sunset," which came out in 2004, picks up after those intervening nine years. Now in their thirties, Jesse and Celine walk around Paris before Jesse has to fly back to the US, and this time they're dealing with the weight of real adulthood and exude a palpable sense of nostalgia and regret.

These very simple premises are held aloft because of the way Jesse and Celine so totally encapsulate that tenuous, rare, and electric connection you can have with some people: when everything aligns just so and you're consumed by the surprise and novelty of finding someone who completely excites you. There are people who are just magical to all of us, and Hawke and Delpy capture that instant familiarity and the rush of falling in love

Then, later, they reconnect after nine years and test the strength of that brief connection.

Place of Change

The first time I watched these movies was around 2004-2005, shortly after "Before Sunset" came out, when I was in my early twenties and still in the exciting early days of a relationship. Of the two movies I naturally identified most strongly with "Before Sunrise," the younger movie of the two. I was roughly the same age as the characters, the world seemed full of endless possibilities, and my future was so excitingly uncertain.

At the time, "Before Sunset" struck me as poignant but also incredibly, almost needlessly sad. The characters were stressed and intense and (SPOILER) stuck in loveless relationships and thinking about what might have been if things had just unfolded differently on the platform six months after they first met.(/SPOILER)

But now, at age 31, I re-watched the movies at a vastly different place in my life and it was like watching completely different movies.

Now "Before Sunrise" was an exercise in nostalgia, remembering how intense conversations felt at that age, the sense of adventure, and the brave early twenties naivety of thinking life will be completely easy because we are the special ones, at long last, that truly get how the world really works.

And now it's "Before Sunset" that I identify with the most, not least of which because it turns out, like Jesse, that this year I was having a novel come out at the same time that I was starting a new life with some of the same weighty thoughts of what might have been. (Though I have not, sadly, done a reading at "Shakespeare & Company" in Paris like Jesse).

That intense melancholy of "Before Sunset" that I once found almost maudlin is something I now see all around me in my peers. It's the quarter-life crisis of reaching a certain point in your life just by doing the right thing and hitting the right benchmarks of college, first job, dating, marriage, before inevitably being beset by forces outside of your control. There's a sense of wandering and uncertainty that sets in when you begin to face the weight of major decisions and choosing the right relationship (or not) or sensing you're in the wrong career.

Your early twenties are the time when you think you have everything figured out; at some point before the end of that decade you realize that you don't.

Changing in Place

What's amazing about these movies is that because they're set nine years apart they thoroughly embody this passage of time and maturation that we all go through, while at the same time retaining that essential magic between Jesse and Celine. Life moves on, we change, we age, and yet something essential remains.

And that's the amazing thing about art. These movies haven't changed at all since I saw them last, that essence hasn't moved a bit. But I have changed, the world has changed, and how we all respond to works of art evolves.

The movies may be the same but they mean something different than they used to and they'll continue to change while remaining exactly the same.

Now it's nearly nine years after "Before Sunset," and Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy are reportedly considering a new installment. I'm so curious to see where these characters are at forty, and dearly hope that if there is a new sequel that it makes the past movies even better and deepens their meaning, as "Before Sunset" did for "Before Sunrise."

But no matter what happens I'm sure my feelings about these movies, so bound up with my own personal history, will continue to change as I revisit them at different stages in life.

That's the beauty of stories. They change with us and always give us something new.

This Week in Books 12/17/11

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 21:13:00 +0000

This week! Books! Still abbreviated because I'm not done with Wonderbar #3!

First off, there is an Official Writing Retreat for the readers of this here blog organized by the lovely people in the discussion forums! It has been dubbed the Bransforumfest Writing Retreat, and it will be in Las Vegas March 3-9, 2012. I shall be there! I'm unable to be there the whole week as I have a work conflict, but I plan to be there for opening night festivities. If you're interested in attending please raise your hand in this thread. It will be a blast.

Meanwhile, there are links!

The Self-Aggrandizing Self-Publishing Kings: Extreme Rhetoric, Inflammatory Language and Ulterior Motives

Four of the Best Writers Blogs (thanks Alice Bradley!)

How Darcie Chan Became a Best-Selling Author (via Wendy Russ)

Publishers Are Still Missing the Point on E-Book Prices

Christopher Hitchens, Writer and Intellectual, Dies at 62

And please share your favorite links in the comments!

In the Forums:

What to ask a friend who is might edit your work
The end of the celebrity author?
The best agent blogs
An unplanned theme when choosing books
Passive vs. active voice - who is winning in your WIP?

And finally, well, sometimes you're the man and sometimes you're the bear:

Have a great weekend!

Amazon vs. the Indies

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:22:00 +0000

There were two dueling posts in the Internetosphere about Amazon and independent bookstores yesterday that took vastly different approaches to the value of bookstores and Amazon to literary and reading life.

First, in a provocative broadside against bookstores called "Don't Support Your Local Bookseller," Slate's Farhad Manjoo tackles what he sees as misplaced nostalgia for bookstore culture, the economic efficiency of Amazon, and argues that selling boatloads of books (which Amazon does) is more important to literature culture than setting up folding chairs for book readings:

It’s not just that bookstores are difficult to use. They’re economically inefficient, too... I’m always astonished by how much they want me to pay for books. At many local stores, most titles—even new releases—usually go for list price, which means $35 for hardcovers and $9 to $15 for paperbacks. That’s not slightly more than Amazon charges—at Amazon, you can usually save a staggering 30 to 50 percent. In other words, for the price you’d pay for one book at your indie, you could buy two.

I get that some people like bookstores, and they’re willing to pay extra to shop there... And that’s fine: In the same way that I sometimes wander into Whole Foods for the luxurious experience of buying fancy food, I don’t begrudge bookstore devotees spending extra to get an experience they fancy.

What rankles me, though, is the hectoring attitude of bookstore cultists like [Richard] Russo, especially when they argue that readers who spurn indies are abandoning some kind of “local” literary culture. There is little that’s “local” about most local bookstores... Sure, every local bookstore promotes local authors, but its bread and butter is the same stuff that Amazon sells—mass-manufactured goods whose intellectual property was produced by one of the major publishing houses in Manhattan. It doesn’t make a difference whether you buy Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs at City Lights, Powell’s, Politics & Prose, or Amazon—it’s the same book everywhere.

In the other corner you have Bookavore, the manager of indie bookseller Word Brooklyn, who has... well, pretty mild-mannered words for Amazon and a list of ways she feels they could be a bit less evil:

I don’t want to make lists of the reasons why Amazon sucks because I feel like I’m handing them a blueprint for rehabilitation. Many people want so, so badly to like Amazon, and many people already do. (See: comments sections on any article talking about Amazon.) Any effort they made towards making the world a better place would be embraced wholeheartedly by consumers and publishers, who mostly, when it comes right down to it, just want things to be convenient and cheap. If Amazon started reversing any of their more unsavory decisions, they might lose money in the short-term, but I think they’d end up making more money in the long-term, by cementing the loyalty of an entirely new set of consumers who always sort of want to buy things from Amazon, and sometimes give in and do, but feel guilty about it.

We're at a major turning point in the book world right now and the future is going to be decided by our collective decisions. Are bookstores going the way of record stores and will they fade into Bolivian or do they provide such a service to the community that people will be willing to pay extra to keep them around?

Whose side are you on, not just in terms of sentiment but in actual dollars and cents? Or is this really even an either/or debate?

I tend to be the type of person who thinks they can co-exist. I love the convenience that Amazon provides. I grew up in the middle of nowhere, we didn't have a bookstore, and I didn't grow up with the same kind of nostalgia that many people have for dusty aisles of books. But I've fallen in love with enough bookstores since then and am thankful enough for their role in literary culture to think the great ones have to have a place somehow.

What do you think?

Art: "Knowledge Bursts the Chain of Enslavement" - Aleksej Radakov

What Hobbies Have You Given Up for Your Writing?

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 15:28:00 +0000

Image from "A Tramp Abroad" by Mark Twain.

First up, congrats to Christina Kit, who won the ARC of TRY NOT TO BREATHE! And everyone else, please do look out for TRY NOT TO BREATHE when it comes out next month (and Jenn's debut THE SECRET YEAR, while you're at it).

Now then! If you are a writer, chances are you've had to set something else aside that you like doing in order to free up the time necessary to complete a book.

For me, I really enjoy video games and used to play them a bit before writing. Now? Not so much. I also watch less sports and TV in general, go to the movies less, and if I weren't indoors writing on the weekend I'd probably be out hiking.

What about you?

Book Giveaway: Try Not to Breathe

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:22:00 +0000

I'm really enjoying my new work life as a social media manager, but one of the things I miss most about being an agent is working with insanely talented writers as they go through the process of writing a great novel.

TRY NOT TO BREATHE, a YA novel by my former client Jennifer R. Hubbard, is one of the last books I worked on before leaving agenting for the fair pastures of the tech world, and I feel utterly privileged to have had a front row seat.

Just as in her debut THE SECRET YEAR, which starts just after the protagonist's secret love dies, TRY NOT TO BREATHE picks up in the aftermath of a catastrophic event: the main character attempted suicide before the novel begins. TNTB is about his attempt to navigate a murky new world of watchful stares, fraught relationships, and the first stirrings of not just a new normal but reasons for hope.

One of those relationships involves a girl who is dealing with darkness in her own past, and the way they come together is poignant and incredibly real.

I can't speak for Jenn, but I feel like as agent/author we were really synced up in a great way as we worked together on some of the early revisions, right down to brainstorming about to the title: I had suggested an REM lyric, "The Night is Yours Alone,"(from "Everybody Hurts") and she countered with another REM song from the same album: "Try Not to Breathe," which is the absolute perfect title for this book.

TRY NOT TO BREATHE will be published by Viking one month from today - January 12th.

And today I am thrilled to offer a signed ARC to a lucky commenter! If you'd like to enter, leave a comment on this post between now and Tuesday evening at 9pm PT. This giveaway is limited to those in the US and Canada, and you must be over 13. And please only enter once.

Good luck!

Update: Publishers Weekly has given TRY NOT TO BREATHE an amazing starred review!! An excerpt: "Hubbard is outstandingly successful at capturing the frustration of not having the words, especially in a culture that does not encourage boys to express what Ryan is feeling."

This Week in Books 12/9/11

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:24:00 +0000

This Week! Books! Abbreviated again!

Apple, E-book Publishers in EU Crosshairs Over E-book Sales

Justice Department Investigating E-book Pricing

I Write in Multiple Genres - How Do I Choose An Agent?

5 Reasons Why I Resent My Nook

The Bad Sex in Fiction Award Goes to David Guterson

Readmill Goes Public: Is the Future of Books Social?

Lev Grossman on Being in College and Wanting to Be a Writer (via The Millions)

John Green: The Internet is an Extension of Your Work

Wells Tower: I Am No Longer Doing Interviews on the Internet

How Do Writers Choose Pen Names?

When the Publisher Says "No"

The 10 Best Amazon Reviews. Ever.
10 More of the Best Amazon Reviews. Ever. (via John Ochwat)

And finally, this is basically the most amazing video in the history of the universe:

Have a great weekend!

What You Need to Know About SEO

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:15:00 +0000

Guest Post by Rick Daley

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is critical in modern marketing. Any author trying to sell books should be familiar with its basic concepts, whether you have been published by a Big Six publisher, a small press, or (especially) if you are an indie author. So how do you leverage the greater power of the Internet to help get your platform in front of the right person at the right time?

First things first: Relax. You don’t need to be a technical wizard to understand SEO, it’s really pretty simple at heart. Here’s a Q&A to get you started. I’ll get into the tech stuff later.

Q: I’ve heard about SEO, but I have no idea what it actually is. How does SEO work?
A: SEO works like this: you type keywords into a Google search, and Google lists the pages on the Internet that are most relevant to your keywords. (Or the pages the Chinese government says are okay for you to view. It depends on your location.) The most relevant page is listed first. SEO increases your site’s relevance in Google’s eyes.

And as a point of note, I keep referring to Google, but all this also applies to Bing, Yahoo, Ask.com, and other search engines. Except for that crack about China, that’s mainly Google.

Q: How do you measure SEO?
A: You measure SEO according to your ranking in the search results. You don’t want to be buried on page 100, or even page three. The best ranking is the first link on the first page, but anywhere on the first page is excellent.

Q: Hey, that’s just an ad at the top of the Google search results!
A: That’s not a question, but I’ll humor you. Yes, Google does put a few paid links at the top of the search results, and there are also paid ads on the sidebar. The ads are placed based on keyword relevance, and they can be effective. They can also be expensive.

But SEO isn’t about paid ads; it’s more organic…it’s about showing up because you belong there.

Q: I just searched for my name and my book title, and I’m on the first page of the results. Does that mean I have great SEO?
A: Not really. Chances are, if someone enters a specific search for your name, and you have any kind of web presence, they will find you. Unless you share a name with somebody famous. For example, if you search for my full name, Richard Daley, Chicago politics dominates the results because I happen to share a name with two past mayors. But search for Rick Daley and Chicago goes away (not literally!) and I have several links appearing on page 1.

I just searched for my book’s title, The Man in the Cinder Clouds, and I have all ten spots on the first page right now. That doesn’t really mean anything, though, because there aren’t that many pages relevant to so specific a term. Winning isn’t special when there’s no competition.

Q: So if I don’t use SEO for my name or book title, what do I use it for?
A: SEO is best geared toward keywords relevant to your book. For example, my book is an origins-of-Santa story. The keywords/phrases I chose for SEO are Christmas book for kids, history of Santa Claus, Christmas gift idea, Kindle Christmas Book, Nook Christmas Book, etc. I’m trying to think like my target audience and determine what they are likely to search for. I want to show up first when they go looking online. That’s SEO.

Q: Are the keywords I choose for SEO similar to the tags I use at Amazon.com?
A: Yes! Tags work within Amazon’s site, and SEO is for the Internet at large.

Q: What are tags at Amazon.com?
A: Sorry. If you go to you book’s page on Amazon.com, scroll down below the reviews (have you ever done that? ;-) and you’ll find a section for tags. Anyone can tag your book. The tags are just keywords, but having them increases your book’s visibility. Use them.

Q: How does Google determine if my page is relevant to the keywords?
A: Google and the other search engines have proprietary technologies to determine ranking. Here’s the way I understand it: Google designed special programs with cool names like bots and spiders, and these programs scour the internet looking for things like links, contextual text, page titles, and META tags. They report it back to home base and Google sprinkles the data with faerie dust and voila, search results.

Q: Huh?
A: Just kidding. Let’s take it a step at a time.

Links (i.e. hyperlinks) should be used on your targeted keywords, and they should go to your site(s) when clicked.

Q: Like when you talk about your new Christmas book for kids?
A: Now you’re getting it! One other thing about links…the more the merrier. You want your links pointing back to you from all directions, not just a bunch on one site. The Google values diversity.

Q: What about that other stuff you mentioned?
A: Contextual text is similar in nature to the links…basically, it’s your keywords in the copy on your site or content of your blog post, just without hyperlinks.

In the old days, Google ranked pages based on word frequency with no contextual basis. People figured that out, then started creating pages with big blocks of text with nothing but the same keyword over and over (they put that text out of the way, like way down at the bottom of the page). It worked, but that’s cheating so The Google changed its secret sauce.

The keywords should be relevant to the surrounding text. Make sure you include your keywords in your promotional posts and website copy, and try to make it natural. It can be a fun writing exercise if you approach it with a positive mindset.

Page titles are displayed in the top bar of your browser window when you visit a website, or on the tab, depending on your browser’s settings. For your website’s SEO, you want to avoid general page titles, like “Home Page”, in favor of something more specific, like “The Man in the Cinder Clouds- A Christmas Book”. (But you should use your book’s title.)

META tags are in the HTML code of a web page, buy they are not visible on the page. It’s just a list of your keywords, separated by commas, with some basic HTML formatting around it.

Many website development platforms have point-and-click interfaces to add/update your page titles and META tags. If you have a webmaster who maintains your site for you, he or she should be able to update them for you.

Q: Is that all?
A: For now, grasshopper. That is all for now.

The Man in the Cinder Clouds
By Rick Daley

A young boy and his scientist father made an incredible discovery at the North Pole—an ancient book embedded deep within an ice core. Even more incredible is the story the book tells: the long-lost history of Santa Claus you never knew…and will never forget.

This origins-of-Santa story is a great holiday read for the whole family. Its mix of action, humor, and Christmas spirit keeps younger readers turning the pages, but The Man in the Cinder Clouds is not just a kids’ book.

As one Amazon.com reviewer puts it, “THE MAN IN THE CINDER CLOUDS is one of those middle grade books that the grown-ups get sucked into along with their kids. You think you bought if for your young reader but after you browse chapter one you just sort of... can't stop.”

This story-within-a-story reveals the origins of our most familiar Christmas traditions: from Christmas trees, stockings, and lumps of coal to jingle bells, the North Pole, and flying reindeer. Highly original and thoroughly entertaining, The Man in the Cinder Clouds will show you how Kris Kringle came to be known as Santa Claus. It wasn’t easy.

About the Author
Rick Daley has been writing professionally for over 15 years. His experience includes marketing copy for print and web, press releases, business proposals, training and technical manuals, and whitepapers. His essays, ranging from family life during the holidays to his first skydiving experience, have been featured in The Columbus Dispatch.

Rick lives in Lewis Center, Ohio with his wife and two sons (and a neurotic schnauzer).

Do You Work Better On a Deadline?

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:39:00 +0000

The Knight's Dream - Antonio de Pereda

I must confess that I don't really like deadlines. I wrote two novels without a deadline, I wrote them pretty quickly, and while I understand they work for some people, deadlines mostly serve to stress me out.

But I may be a rare bird. Do you like deadlines? Do you need deadlines? Do you work better when you have one?

How to Network Without Networking

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:59:00 +0000

"Ferdinand of Hungary meeting with Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Spain at Nördlingen" - Peter Paul Rubens

I’m not the life of the party. I’m not someone who can step into a gathering and work a room. I’m pretty introverted in real life. And I’m not what you might call a mover and a shaker.

But I think of some of the opportunities I’ve had over the years, some of the people I’ve been so fortunate to meet, some of the places I’ve been able to go and things I’ve been able to do… and yeah. Lots of those opportunities came from my “network” (those quotes are me cringing at that word).

So uh… How in the world did I develop a network when I’m not good at networking?

You hear so much about how it's all about who you know, how you have to network, etc. etc. For me personally, it's not something I made a conscious choice to do.

When I look back, I think there have been two big things that helped, and they’re things anyone can do:

1. Do not think of your network as a network.
2. Build something.

Do Not Think of Your Network as a Network

I don’t have a network, I have friends. And I’m really serious about this.

The thing about the word “networking” is that it has a mercenary edge to it, like we’re just going to get to know each other because of what we can get out of each other. And not only is that completely icky, it doesn’t work.

Because who wants to get to know someone else just because of what they can get out of them? How shallow is that relationship, and how is either party really motivated to help each other out when the time comes?

Find the people who you like and whose work you genuinely admire, and invest in those people. Become friends with those people. Don’t force it, don’t do it because they’re successful, do it because you like them and actually want to help them out.

Obviously when your network expands you can’t invest equally in everyone who is investing in you, but give of yourself what you can and treat people with respect and pretty soon you’ll be surrounded by amazing people that you’ll feel incredibly lucky to know.

And that leads to #2.

Build Something

Building things opens doors. For me it was the blog and the Jacob Wonderbar novels, but other people have built groups or organizations or journals or a Twitter following or any number of things.

When you build something it’s more than just creating a platform or a bully pulpit, what’s amazing about building something is that it will ultimately attract like-minded people to you.

You’re putting a part of yourself out there, and pretty soon you’ll find that you’re drawing in other people who like the things you like and share your outlook and worldview. It’s an amazing thing, and I’ve found some of my best, real-life friends through the blogosphere and social media.

And ultimately that leads right back to point number #1. It may seem trite or twee, but look: You’re not building a network, you’re making friends.

This Week in Books 12/2/11

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:03:00 +0000

This week! Books!

Still in crunch-time mode on Wonderbar #3, so here's another abbreviated of This Week in Books.

Some cool new (to me) sites to check out:

Greatest Books for Kids

Small Demons

And blog posts!

Self-Published Authors Sharply Criticize Penguin's Book Country

Book Country and Self-Publishing: Why the Hate?

Mark Cuban to Publish E-book

PW Names Worst Book Ever
(Really? It beat this one?)

An Agent's Day

A Writer's Plea

And finally, here's the promo video for Small Demons, which is a pretty awesome demonstration of what the site is all about:

Have a great weekend!

Will You Ever Buy Mostly E-Books: The Results!

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:46:00 +0000

The results!

At least in this little poll, our e-book overlords seem to have already won.

The percentage of people who said you'd have to pry paper books out of their cold dead hands:

2007: 49%
2008: 45%
2009: 37%
2010: 30%
2011: 25%

The percentage of people who welcome their coming e-book overlords:

2007: 7% (!)
2008: 11%
2009: 19%
2010: 32%
2011: 47%

I believe that's what's called a trend.

Here are some other fun links and comments sections to check out. E-book prognostications from 2007! When the Kindle had just come out and cost $400. Can you believe the original Kindle cost $400?! Wow. My how things change.

When Will E-Books Take Over?
Kindle Kindle Burning Bright

And of course...

Will You Ever Buy Mostly E-books?

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:07:00 +0000

The leaves are changing, Christmas music is in the air, and it's time for our annual e-book poll, which I have held every year since 2007.

Which means this is the FIFTH ANNUAL e-book poll. Wow. Thanks to everyone who has been around for all five.

Let's get the disclaimers out of the way: Yes, I'm aware this isn't the most scientific of polls. Yes, the sample has changed from year to year. Yes, there are two polls from 2009 because I forgot one at the end of '08. Entertainment purposes only!

Here are the past polls:

2007
2008 (technically beginning of '09)
2009
2010

And here is this year's poll. Do you think there will come a time when you buy mostly e-books? Do you already? Click through for the poll if you're reading via e-mail or in a feed reader:

Happy Thanksgiving!!

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 16:43:00 +0000

Happy Turkey Day to all my fellow Americans out there! Hope you are having a safe, restful, and lovely holiday.

Let's make this Thanksgiving a thoughtful one.

Do You Suffer From One of These Writing Maladies? (Part II)

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:35:00 +0000

The fall season of writing viruses is here. Watch out for these dangerous diseases!

(After Part I)

Catching the Rye:
Well you probably first want to have read this book by J.D. Salinger with an immediately catchy voice that kind of spoke to a generation or some nonsense, and after you do that you may be corrupted with that voice in your head for some time if you want to know the truth of the matter. If you really want to think about it it’s already been done and anyway the guy who wrote it didn’t end up wanting to talk to anyone anymore and holed up in a house somewhere so that can’t have been good and you probably want to try and go and write your own voice so you’re not a phony.

Adverb Central:
“What do you mean I can’t use adverbs with dialogue tags?” Lucia asked questioningly.
“Just don’t do it,” Nathan replied testily.
“But why not?” Lucia asked quizzically.
“It’s kind of a rule,” Nathan said resignedly.
“I kind of like them,” Lucia said poutingly.
“If you keep using adverbs,” Nathan said patiently, “Pretty soon your reader will only notice the adverbs and not the dialogue because the adverbs are doing all the work for the reader.”
“Oh,” Lucia said understandingly.
“Yeah,” Nathan nodded knowingly.

Gee Whiz That’s a Lot of Exposition:
“But what is it?” Captain Spaceman asked.
“I’m glad you asked,” his crack scientist said. “It’s a ‘What’s It.’ It is a device that requires me to explain to you precisely how the technology in this world works so the writer can get some exposition out of the way.”
“But why wouldn’t I already know how the technology works?” Captain Spaceman asked. “I am the captain, aren’t I?”
“That’s the beauty of it,” the scientist said. “You will impatiently prod me along while I tell the reader exactly what they need to know even though there is no good reason for us to be having this conversation. You might even say ‘Yes yes, go on.’”
“Yes yes, go on,” Captain Spaceman said.
“And I’ll be sure to include some foreshadowing. I mean, sir, just think of what would happen if the ‘What’s It’ fell into the wrong hands... You might even be moved to weigh in on the gravity of the situation.”
Captain Spaceman scratched his chin. “My gods, that would be catastrophic.”

Olympic Head Jumping:
Jackie saw the problem approach from a mile away. She turned to Richard, who was wondering about the weather that day and thought nothing of Susan, who was sitting quietly and wasn’t expecting the problem at all. Jackie wondered at that moment how everything had gone wrong, while Richard’s eyes widened as he saw another person approaching, Derrick, who gave a wave as he approached, happy to see his friends. Susan began to notice something was amiss and gave a start, which Richard noticed and looked in Derrick’s direction while Jackie had already been onto the problem from the start, ignoring the quizzical expression on Derrick’s face as he tried to understand. No one had any idea what was really happening.

Fantasy Overload:
“We are hearty warriors! Let us share a hearty chuckle! Ha ha ha!” Pentrarch said.
There was a glint in Lentwendon’s eye as he took a swill from a mighty cistern of ale. He bellowed a deep laugh and clapped his friend on the back.
“I say,” Pentrarch said, “What is it about fantasy novels that lends itself to such stilted, manly camaraderie? Do we not have normal interactions?”
“We do not,” Lentwendon said, his voice suddenly grave. “We do not. We prefer to express our friendship with great noise and clapping of shoulders and brood quietly but stoically when matters turn serious. It is the same with our women.”
“Oh yes,” Pentrarch said “Our women are quietly supportive that we must do battle in far off lands, and they always have weary, knowing eyes. In truth they are the strong ones.”
Lentwendon nodded as he stared quietly at his cistern. “And ale, always ale.”

This Week in Books 11/18/11

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:12:00 +0000

This week! Books!

Whew. I'm back in San Francsico again after being gone three out of the last four weeks, and there's nothing quite like being back at home. But as I'm in pseudo-NaNoWriMo mode on Wonderbar #3, time for blogging is limited.

So! Here are my favorite links from the last few weeks, in link-only form.

Has China Found the Future of Publishing? (The Guardian)

Amazon's New Kindle Lending Program Causes Publishing Stir (LA Times)

How to Write a Person (Alchemy of Writing)

So You're Thinking of Self-Publishing... (Wicked & Tricksy)

Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Review (CNET - disclosure I work at CNET)

Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet Review (CNET)

Book Cover of the Future? (GalleyCat)

What Not to Blog About (Rachelle Gardner)

Query Personalization (KidLit)

Author Advances Survey Results (Meghan Ward)

Jonathan Lethem Responds to James Wood Review (GalleyCat)

The Disappointment Author: Lethem vs. Wood (The Millions)

Does Age Matter for Writers (Rachelle Gardner)

The Authors Guild on Amazon's Kindle Lending Library (Writer Beware)

Smashwords Launches E-book Publishing Service for Literary Agents (Smashwords)

2011 National Book Award Winners Announced (The Millions)

The No Response = No Debate (Adventures in Agent Land)

Shatter Me Author Tahereh Mafi on Why Teens Dig the Supernatural (Tahereh Mafi)

And finally, this video needs no further description (via io9)

.

Have a great weekend!

Do You Plan to Bypass the Traditional Publishing Industry Entirely?

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:01:00 +0000

In a recent guest post at J.A. Konrath’s blog, Barry Eisler laid out numerous reasons why he no longer foresees pursuing traditional publication.

And in the comments section on this blog, I’ve noticed a definite uptick in the number of people who are questioning the wisdom of querying agents and trying for traditional publication at all, whether because of the length of time it takes, the fear of losing control, e-book royalties, and many other factors.

So. For all you writers out there: Do you plan to pursue traditional publication or are you going self-publishing all the way?

Poll below, please click through if you’re reading via e-mail or a feed reader.

Shatter Me Release Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Nathan Bransford) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:59:00 +0000

If you don't already know Tahereh Mafi from her innovative blog or witty Twitter stream or Tumblr or other locales where she has taken over the Internet, you probably will soon hear about 'Shatter Me,' her awesome dystopian YA novel that's publishing today.

'Shatter Me' is about Juliette, whose touch is fatal, and who is being held captive by the Reestablishment in a dystopian world. After a long stretch in solitary confinement she suddenly has a visitor, and this kicks in motion a plot where Juliette has to come to terms with her power and try to escape. It's exciting, gripping, suspenseful, mesmerizing, and all those other adjectives that go along with a great adventure.

But what really sets 'Shatter Me' apart is the writing. True to form, Tahereh didn't just go and write a novel, there's an incredibly clever use of strikethrough and some of the most unique turns of phrase and descriptions you'll ever see in a YA novel. 'Shatter Me' is proof that you can have innovative language in a commercial YA novel.

But don't take my word for it. Publishers Weekly says:

“Mafi combines a psychological opener with an action-adventure denouement in her YA debut. This is a gripping read from an author who’s not afraid to take risks.”

Congrats to Tahereh on a great achievement, and please do yourself a favor and read 'Shatter Me'!

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Indiebound