Ask Nathan Bransford! Guest agent from 02/07 - 12/09!

[JennaGlatzer]

Well, today's our lucky day at Absolute Write, because agent Nathan Bransford has just joined us and volunteered to answer questions. Here's his bio as it appears on his blog:

I'm a literary agent with the San Francisco office of Curtis Brown Ltd., a New York based agency that has been representing writers since 1914. I'm particularly interested in literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, sports, politics, current events, young adult fiction, science fiction and anything else I happen to like! I'm afraid I do not represent poetry. If you are interested in submitting a project for representation, please e-mail me a letter describing your project at nb@cbltd.com. No attachments, please. Thanks, and best of luck with your search for representation!

Curtis Brown is a dream agency for many writers, so I'm sure Nathan is about to become a very popular guest around these parts.

You can find him at MySpace here: http://www.myspace.com/nathanbransford

And his blog is here: http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/

If you have questions for Nathan, please go right ahead and post them. He's going to try to be a regular around these parts (bless his soul) and will answer whatever he can.

PLEASE NOTE: Writers, please don't answer questions that are meant for Nathan. That sometimes happens on these threads and it gets confusing... let's let our guest answer for himself. Thanks!

[Talia]

Hi Nathan

As you have posted a myspace profile I would like to ask whether you think it is an effective marketing tool for non-fiction authors and give us some tips. I notice you have other authors in your circle of friends on myspace and you appear to be active in adding friends. Does this work on a business level (e.g. increased traffic to your blog)
Should we be adding these authors to our "friends" list or are there better ways for us to market ourselves.

[Talia]

The question of platform has been gnawing at me for a while. As a non-fiction author I become increasingly discouraged that there is no point querying an agent when I don't have my own daytime TV show, I'm not a movie star or ex-president, and I live in a teeny tiny country with a population of 4 million (60 million if you can't the sheep).

From your blog:

Let's say you are thinking about writing a book of nonfiction. The first thing you need to do is assume that every single person in the entire world wants to write a book (which isn't really an assumption, it's basically true). The second thing you need to do is ask yourself if you are the most qualified person in the entire world to write that book.

Does this mean we should all give up writing? What would it take to prove to you that someone has the necessary platform?

What do you think of the saying "good writing trumps all" [the delightfully unsnarky Miss Snark]?

[Stacia Kane]

Hello Mr. Bransford,

I love your blog! (BTW, something metaphorical that fills up fast may be, for example, K-Fed's sleaze bucket. Just a suggestion.)

Since you accept e-queries, do you want to see the first few pages of a ms cut-and-pasted into the email beneath the actual query letter? Or do we forfeit our chance to send sample pages when we e-query?
Thanks!

Good morning and thanks for coming by, Mr. Bransford!

I have three years' experience writing for a weekly newspaper but my dream is to one day make a living writing novels or short stories, so perhaps some day I'll be knocking on your door.

In anticipation of that blessed event, describe for us what you look for when you consider representing unpublished authors. I'm sure market demands and other factors from the demand end are a big part of it, but strictly from the supply side, what about new authors or their work grabs your attention and makes you want to contact them?

[Carmy]

Welcome again, Mr. Bransford. (I welcomed you on the Newbie thread earlier.)

The Curtis Brown US web page is still under construction. Any idea when it will be done?

[Nathan Bransford]

Originally Posted by TaliaMana

Hi Nathan

As you have posted a myspace profile I would like to ask whether you think it is an effective marketing tool for non-fiction authors and give us some tips. I notice you have other authors in your circle of friends on myspace and you appear to be active in adding friends. Does this work on a business level (e.g. increased traffic to your blog)
Should we be adding these authors to our "friends" list or are there better ways for us to market ourselves.

To be honest I kind of started my myspace profile as an experiment, and I've been blown away by how useful it's been. I've connected with established writers, aspiring writers, and have met lots of interesting people. Yes, I do think it's an effective marketing tool, but I think it's even more useful as a networking tool. If a writer is on myspace they are there to connect with you, the reader and fellow writer, so I wouldn't be shy about adding them to your friends list.

[Nathan Bransford]

Originally Posted by TaliaMana

The question of platform has been gnawing at me for a while. As a non-fiction author I become increasingly discouraged that there is no point querying an agent when I don't have my own daytime TV show, I'm not a movie star or ex-president, and I live in a teeny tiny country with a population of 4 million (60 million if you can't the sheep).

From your blog:


Does this mean we should all give up writing? What would it take to prove to you that someone has the necessary platform?

What do you think of the saying "good writing trumps all" [the delightfully unsnarky Miss Snark]?

In an ideal world good writing would trump all, but with nonfiction that is not always the case. You could write, say, a wonderfully written book about religion, but unless you have the platform (a combination of credibility, demonstrated expertise and marketability) to go along with your topic it will be exceedingly hard to be published.

That doesn't mean that you should give up writing, it means you should work on your platform! Again, to use the religion example, you might start a successful blog on religious topics or get an advanced degree or get articles published on your topic. It's extremely important to have that in place so an agent can convince a publisher that you are the best person to be writing that book.

[Nathan Bransford]

Originally Posted by DecemberQuinn

Hello Mr. Bransford,

I love your blog! (BTW, something metaphorical that fills up fast may be, for example, K-Fed's sleaze bucket. Just a suggestion.)

Since you accept e-queries, do you want to see the first few pages of a ms cut-and-pasted into the email beneath the actual query letter? Or do we forfeit our chance to send sample pages when we e-query?
Thanks!

Good question -- what's funny about this is that I would never ask someone to send sample pages with their query, but I'm always glad when they do!

My backwardness on this topic is because if I were to ask for sample pages with their query people would send them as attachments, and I don't want attachments because I don't want to crash the server with all the queries I'm receiving. But if you were to paste in the first few pages into the actual query without sending them as an attachment I think it's always a good idea.

So yes -- paste in those sample pages after your query!

[Nathan Bransford]

Originally Posted by Carmy

Welcome again, Mr. Bransford. (I welcomed you on the Newbie thread earlier.)

The Curtis Brown US web page is still under construction. Any idea when it will be done?

Hopefully soon! I've seen some of the early versions and I think it's going to be really cool. Curtis Brown has represented some amazing authors over the years (Winston Churchill, Ayn Rand, Ogden Nash... the list goes on and on) and I think it's going to be fun to click around and get a sense of the agency's history.

[Talia]

Originally Posted by Nathan Bransford

In an ideal world good writing would trump all, but with nonfiction that is not always the case. You could write, say, a wonderfully written book about religion, but unless you have the platform (a combination of credibility, demonstrated expertise and marketability) to go along with your topic it will be exceedingly hard to be published.

That doesn't mean that you should give up writing, it means you should work on your platform! Again, to use the religion example, you might start a successful blog on religious topics or get an advanced degree or get articles published on your topic. It's extremely important to have that in place so an agent can convince a publisher that you are the best person to be writing that book.

Thanks for your answers. A few of us have discussed myspace and others here have thought that it was good for musicians/bands but not really any use for authors. You've dispelled that myth

Re: a successful blog. What information would you look for to "prove" this? For example my blog was a 2006 Weblog Finalist, and in the top 100 blogs for a syndication network (Q4 2006). Would that suffice or do we need to show evidence of a thousands of visits a day?

One more question: Are you interested in queries for books on health or emotional and mental well-being?

[Nathan Bransford]

Originally Posted by Speck

Good morning and thanks for coming by, Mr. Bransford!

I have three years' experience writing for a weekly newspaper but my dream is to one day make a living writing novels or short stories, so perhaps some day I'll be knocking on your door.

In anticipation of that blessed event, describe for us what you look for when you consider representing unpublished authors. I'm sure market demands and other factors from the demand end are a big part of it, but strictly from the supply side, what about new authors or their work grabs your attention and makes you want to contact them?

You guys ask such great questions! First off, I definitely consider unpublished authors -- everyone was unpublished at some point, so there's no shame in that. Sure, I'm going to leap a bit more quickly at a query from a bestselling author, but I'm definitely open to new writers. And the thing that I'm always looking for in fiction is a great plot.

When people talk about writing, they always talk about characters, dialogue, setting, prose... you almost never hear people talk about plot. And when people do talk about plot they usually confuse it with the premise. Snakes on a plane, for example, is not a plot, it's a high-concept premise. It's how the story begins. A plot is what happens after a premise, the rise and fall in the narrative, steadily building conflicts, culminating in a satisfying climax.

I also make the fractal comparison with plot. A great novel has an interesting beginning, a steady build up, a climax and a resolution. Within that novel, every section should have that a beginning, a steady build up, a climax and a resolution. Each chapter within a section should have a beginning, a steady build up, a climax and a resolution. Each conversation within a section should have a beginning, a steady build up, a climax and a resolution. Plot should be everywhere.

This even applies to literary fiction. People often make the mistake of thinking that the main elements of literary fiction are unique prose and insight. To be sure those are important, but to me, the difference between commercial/genre fiction and literary fiction (which I understand was the topic of a recent dsicussion here) is that with commercial fiction the plot tends to happen above the surface (action, dialogue, confrontation) and with literary fiction the plot tends to happen below the surface (in the mind, heart, etc.). Of course there are exceptions, but the important thing to remember is that in the best literary fiction there is still a plot. Look at Marylynne Robinson's GILEAD, for instance, which is a veritable clinic in plot.

A great plot just drips off of a query letter, and an author with a great plot can't help but write a great query letter.

So, yeah. I'm a plot guy.

[Nathan Bransford]

Originally Posted by TaliaMana

Thanks for your answers. A few of us have discussed myspace and others here have thought that it was good for musicians/bands but not really any use for authors. You've dispelled that myth

Re: a successful blog. What information would you look for to "prove" this? For example my blog was a 2006 Weblog Finalist, and in the top 100 blogs for a syndication network (Q4 2006). Would that suffice or do we need to show evidence of a thousands of visits a day?

One more question: Are you interested in queries for books on health or emotional and mental well-being?

I think once a successful blog reaches the level of, well, phenomenon (like, say, Gawker or Fark) then we're talking platform. Suffice it to say that if a blog reaches a certain level of popularity an agent or editor will be contacting you, not the other way around. But obviously popularity on the internet is a bit of an amorphus thing and it's impossible to assess for sure until you talk to agents and/or publishers to find out. If you aren't finding an agent, take that to heart and keep plugging away however you can to burnish your credentials.

And no, I'm afraid I don't represent mind/body/spirit books (aka MBS), but there are lots of great agents out there who do!

[Talia]

Thanks again for your responses. I haven't tried yet to get an agent as my past approach has been to publish my book in New Zealand and let the publisher try to sell overseas rights. Suffice it to say the latter hasn't happened so an agent might be my next step. I tend to be the sort of person that researches thoroughly before submitting and don't plan to submit until I am confident I have a compelling proposal complete with platform. You've nudged me to keep working on my platform before making any approaches.

mind/body/spirit - thanks! Always good to know the lingo

[Rolling Thunder]

I'm a literary agent with the San Francisco office of Curtis Brown Ltd., a New York based agency that has been representing writers since 1914. I'm particularly interested in literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, sports, politics, current events, young adult fiction, science fiction and anything else I happen to like! I'm afraid I do not represent poetry. If you are interested in submitting a project for representation, please e-mail me a letter describing your project at nb@cbltd.com. No attachments, please. Thanks, and best of luck with your search for representation!

Welcome, Mr. Bransford.

I'm sure you've heard my question before but I have a problem with interpreting the answers I've received.

Regarding young adult fiction; I have written a novel using animals as the main characters. I originally thought this might fall into the YA genre but have seen other agents blogs stating YA requires the MC's to be in the same age bracket as the intended reader. I'm not sure if my work fits in that genre or should be considered as a children's book.

Could you narrow this down for me?

Thank you.

[Little Red Barn]

Welcome Mr Bransford and thank you Jenna as well. I'm just going to listen...

Originally Posted by Nathan Bransford

So, yeah. I'm a plot guy.

Thank you so much!

[Meerkat]

Hi Mr. Bransford,
Thanks so much for giving us your time like this! What one question should we be asking you, but are neglecting?

[Nathan Bransford]

Originally Posted by Rllgthunder

Welcome, Mr. Bransford.

I'm sure you've heard my question before but I have a problem with interpreting the answers I've received.

Regarding young adult fiction; I have written a novel using animals as the main characters. I originally thought this might fall into the YA genre but have seen other agents blogs stating YA requires the MC's to be in the same age bracket as the intended reader. I'm not sure if my work fits in that genre or should be considered as a children's book.

Could you narrow this down for me?

Thank you.

What it's called depends on the age group of the intended audience. My understanding of the breakdown is, in chronological order, picture book, early reader, middle grade, young adult. I'm not positive on the younger categories because I only represent YA -- I'm not a very good reader for anything younger than older YA so I have to stick to what I know.

So in your case, I'm not sure that a novel where the main characters are animals would be a YA book because it probably wouldn't be for a 12-up age group (unless it's a WATERSHIP DOWN type thing). Hope that helps!

[Irysangel]

Mr. Bransford,

Thank you for dropping by this board! I just discovered your blog and thought you were utterly charming, so I'm pleased to see you here as well.

Quick question -- let's say you've been repped in the past, but you are not now. Should this be included in the query letter or omitted? Does it make a hopeful author seem less desirable...or more interesting because of the prior representation?

Thank you for your time!

[Nathan Bransford]

Originally Posted by gclare

Hi Mr. Bransford,
Thanks so much for giving us your time like this! What one question should we be asking you, but are neglecting?

Hmmmm... a meta question....

Here's a question I think a lot of people don't often ask out loud but probably ask themselves quite a lot:

"I've spent hours and hours writing, pouring out my heart and soul on the page. I've spent my late nights researching agents and preparing my query letters and talking to other people about my project. I've waited months and months for agents to reply, I've gotten rejected, people don't believe in me, I'm frustrated I'm tired...

Is this worth it?"

Here's the thing about writing. It's tough. Writing is really, really tough, and yet the old cliche is true -- the writing is the easy part. Then there's the long slog of finding an agent. Then the fortunate ones find an agent and there's the long slog of submissions and finding a publisher. Then the really really fortunate ones find a publisher. That's the point where people think life is a bed of roses, but I'm here to tell you it's not. There are bad reviews and the pressure of whether your books are selling and the uncertainty of whether you'll have another book published and the fear that you just got lucky. Even if you strike gold and write a bestseller there's the pressure of writing another one and the huge expectations of your publisher.

Meanwhile, that's also the step where people think you can just sit on a beach and be a novelist, but it's virtually impossible to make a living as a full-time writer unless you're a mega-bestseller or have other means of supporting yourself.

In short: this is a really tough business. So is it worth it?

I really do believe that it's worth it if you love it. But it's important to go into this business with the right mindset. And I think having the right mindset entails avoiding the "if only" game.

The "if only" game goes something like this: "If only" I had an agent I would be happy. Then that inevitably leads to the next step: "if only" I a publisher I would be happy. "If only" I sold X copies I would be happy. Which leads to "if only" I were a bestseller I would be happy. And so on and so on. Happiness is always just over the horizon.

In my opinion, the only way to be happy in this business is to somehow avoid playing that game and appreciate every step. There's not a bed of roses waiting for you after every hill. Even if you haven't found an agent it doesn't mean you're a failure or that you shouldn't be happy with the accomplishment of writing a book.

So I think that's the one thing I'd like to convey -- try to enjoy every step and even though there's so much waiting and frustration in the business it's fun to write, and sure, it's great when it pans out and that means people buy your book, but it's not everything.

[Nathan Bransford]

Originally Posted by Irysangel

Mr. Bransford,

Thank you for dropping by this board! I just discovered your blog and thought you were utterly charming, so I'm pleased to see you here as well.

Quick question -- let's say you've been repped in the past, but you are not now. Should this be included in the query letter or omitted? Does it make a hopeful author seem less desirable...or more interesting because of the prior representation?

Thank you for your time!

Thank you so much for your kind words!

I think you bring up a good question. There are two sides to this coin. On the one hand it does show that you were good enough to have an agent, and that's positive, but then there's the question of why you no longer have an agent -- your new agent is going to want to know what the story is there. Were the sales not good? Did your personality clash? Did your agent die or something?

If you can explain this in a positive manner (i.e. your agent doesn't represent your current genre, your agent retired, etc.) then I would definitely mention it. If there is another more awkward story I might not mention it until you're farther along in the discussions with the agent. A prospective agent does need to know about a previous agent, especially if your old agent repped one or more of your previously published books, but you don't necessarily have to get into it right off the bat in the query letter. You can save something like that for a later discussion.

[KCH]

Mr. Bransford,

Thank you for your generous gift of time and expertise.

Apropos of the discussion whether to mention if you've been represented previously...If a currently unagented, but previously represented and thrice-published writer were to approach an agent for representation with publisher interest already in hand, would this be a plus? Or do agents prefer initiating their own contact with publishers? Would preliminary contact hamstring an agent in any way?
(This is a case where previous agent no longer handles non-fiction.)


Thanks much,
KCH

[Nathan Bransford]

Originally Posted by KCH

Mr. Bransford,

Thank you for your generous gift of time and expertise.

Apropos of the discussion whether to mention if you've been represented previously...If a currently unagented, but previously represented and thrice-published writer were to approach an agent for representation with publisher interest already in hand, would this be a plus? Or do agents prefer initiating their own contact with publishers? Would preliminary contact hamstring an agent in any way?
(This is a case where previous agent no longer handles non-fiction.)


Thanks much,
KCH

This is one where opinions are going to vary greatly, so take my response with a grain of salt.

If you have interest-but-no-offer, I'd say it's ok to find an agent, as long as you're up front with the interested publisher that you're on the lookout for representation, and yes, you should be aware that if you submit somewhere without an agent your new agent won't be able to submit there again.

If you have an offer, agents are typically reluctant to become involved in a deal after the fact if there's money on the table -- especially on the children's side, often the publisher will make a deal with an author on the understanding that an agent won't be involved, and sometimes they don't take kindly to an agent jumping in late. And there's something just a tad unsavory from the agent's perspective about jumping in and taking in commission on a deal that's basically already done and negotiated.

There are, of course, some agents who will jump in late, but
honestly I kind of try and avoid those situations. I'd definitely try and find an agent first if possible -- if your project is good enough to attract a publisher's interest it's probably good enough to attract an agent.

[limitedtimeauthor]

Thank you for all of your answers! I've had a couple of Eureka moments reading this thread, and now I have a question:

When do you sleep???

You have a blog, you're on My Space, now AW, not to mention reading manuscripts and doing other agently things - how do you do it all?

Again, thanks for the great posts.

ltd.