Nathan Bransford
@nathanbransford.com
Author of How to Write a Novel and the Jacob Wonderbar series. Blogging holdout. Reach out to me for help with your book!
www.nathanbransford.com
www.nathanbransford.com
In case you missed it, here's last Thursday's office hours! Topics include: querying agents during the holidays, subplots, A.I. in lieu of paid editing, publishing scams, and much more! You can straight jump to any topic of interest:
Office Hours Recap! (November '25)
Thanks so much to everyone who attended Office Hours last Thursday! In case you missed it, you can watch the video above (if you’re reading via the newsletter, please click here to see it). I forgot t...
nathanbransford.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:23 PM
In case you missed it, here's last Thursday's office hours! Topics include: querying agents during the holidays, subplots, A.I. in lieu of paid editing, publishing scams, and much more! You can straight jump to any topic of interest:
If you're going to set a children's book in the past, there should be a good reason for it (and struggling to imagine childhood with smartphones is not a good enough reason)
Be careful setting children's books in the recent past
When writers set out to pen children’s books, they may well anchor to their own childhoods for inspiration. Which is good on the whole! I’m on record arguing that a good memory is more helpful for wri...
nathanbransford.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:26 PM
If you're going to set a children's book in the past, there should be a good reason for it (and struggling to imagine childhood with smartphones is not a good enough reason)
10% of Facebook's revenue comes from scams, the debate over posting publicly about your submissions, how bookstores decide what to stock, and more of the best writing and book links from the past week!
Facebook: Scam central (This week in books)
A report details Facebook's massive scam ad problem. Plus, the debate on authors posting about submissions and how bookstores choose stock.
nathanbransford.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:37 PM
10% of Facebook's revenue comes from scams, the debate over posting publicly about your submissions, how bookstores decide what to stock, and more of the best writing and book links from the past week!
Reposted by Nathan Bransford
Authors, I think you might enjoy this long interview with a independent bookstore buyer about how bookstores decide what books to stock and display: countercraft.substack.com/p/interview-...
Interview: Fisher the Bookseller Explains How Bookstores Decide Which Books to Sell
The ins and outs of how books are bought and sold in bookstores
countercraft.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Authors, I think you might enjoy this long interview with a independent bookstore buyer about how bookstores decide what books to stock and display: countercraft.substack.com/p/interview-...
Characters in a novel don't need to be powerful. They don't even need to be clever. They do need to try.
It's hard to engage with a character who isn't trying
Your protagonist doesn’t need to be powerful. They don’t need to save the world. They don’t need to be smart or clever or determined or any other personality trait under the sun. They do need to try t...
nathanbransford.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Characters in a novel don't need to be powerful. They don't even need to be clever. They do need to try.
The origins of Frankenstein, the class action lawsuit against OpenAI moves forward, Philip Pullman wraps up Lyra Silvertongue's story, and more of the best writing and BOOks links from the past week!
The spooky origins of Frankenstein (This week in BOOks)
This week! BOOks! Happy Halloween, everybody! Just a quick reminder that next Thursday, November 6 at 9pm ET / 6pm PT I’ll be hosting my free monthly Office Hours exclusively for newsletter subscriber...
nathanbransford.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:30 PM
The origins of Frankenstein, the class action lawsuit against OpenAI moves forward, Philip Pullman wraps up Lyra Silvertongue's story, and more of the best writing and BOOks links from the past week!
The problem is not that there are too many bad billionaires, the problem is that there are billionaires.
October 28, 2025 at 11:23 PM
The problem is not that there are too many bad billionaires, the problem is that there are billionaires.
Dodgers win the base ball we go to sleep
October 28, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Dodgers win the base ball we go to sleep
The problems with the phrase "The last thing X wanted" run quite, quite deep.
The last thing I wanted to write about
I’ve now been reading unpublished manuscripts and query letters for over twenty years–first as a publishing assistant, then a literary agent, now as a freelance editor–adding up to tens of thousands o...
nathanbransford.com
October 27, 2025 at 10:05 PM
The problems with the phrase "The last thing X wanted" run quite, quite deep.
Working out in your 20's: Oh no, I missed two weeks, I'm going to need a workout to recover.
Working out in your 40's: Oh no, I missed a workout, I'm going to need two weeks to recover.
Working out in your 40's: Oh no, I missed a workout, I'm going to need two weeks to recover.
October 23, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Working out in your 20's: Oh no, I missed two weeks, I'm going to need a workout to recover.
Working out in your 40's: Oh no, I missed a workout, I'm going to need two weeks to recover.
Working out in your 40's: Oh no, I missed a workout, I'm going to need two weeks to recover.
Reposted by Nathan Bransford
do u like stories about young ladies making very bad decisions in a gothic environment while under the nefarious influence of lesbian vampire novels? well boy do i have a treat for u
October 16, 2025 at 6:39 PM
do u like stories about young ladies making very bad decisions in a gothic environment while under the nefarious influence of lesbian vampire novels? well boy do i have a treat for u
Tron: Ares (2025）
October 11, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Tron: Ares (2025）
Distributor/wholesaler Baker & Taylor on the brink, National Book Award nominees, I'd hate to be a punctuation mark around the Nobel committee, and more of the best writing and books links from the past week!
Baker & Taylor on the brink (This week in books)
This week! Books! Baker & Taylor Prepares Plan to Shut Down – Jim Milliot, Publishers Weekly | Libraries Look to Fill the Gap Left by Baker & Taylor – Jim Milliot and Nathalie op de Beeck, Publishers ...
nathanbransford.com
October 10, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Distributor/wholesaler Baker & Taylor on the brink, National Book Award nominees, I'd hate to be a punctuation mark around the Nobel committee, and more of the best writing and books links from the past week!
Sometimes I stop and think about the fact that millions of people have read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and no two people have ever had the same mental image of the wardrobe. It's crazy that we're able to agree about anything when it comes to books.
October 9, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Sometimes I stop and think about the fact that millions of people have read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and no two people have ever had the same mental image of the wardrobe. It's crazy that we're able to agree about anything when it comes to books.
Congrats to my friend Kristina Mancaruso and her sister Kelly on the publication of RUMOURED, out today! (And available with free shipping from Bookshop.org!) bookshop.org/p/books/rumo...
Rumoured: The brand new twisty thriller that will keep you hooked from start to finish in 2025
The brand new twisty thriller that will keep you hooked from start to finish in 2025
bookshop.org
October 7, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Congrats to my friend Kristina Mancaruso and her sister Kelly on the publication of RUMOURED, out today! (And available with free shipping from Bookshop.org!) bookshop.org/p/books/rumo...
Instead of supporting the Amazon borg, buy your books at your local bookstore or Bookshop.org, which has free shipping today and tomorrow!
Bookshop: Buy books online. Support local bookstores.
An online bookstore that financially supports local independent bookstores and gives back to the book community.
Bookshop.org
October 7, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Instead of supporting the Amazon borg, buy your books at your local bookstore or Bookshop.org, which has free shipping today and tomorrow!
I may be losing this battle, but I still think the "nuts and bolts" (word count, comps, etc.) belong after the plot description in a query letter. Here's why:
I still think the "nuts and bolts" belong after the plot description in a query letter
I’ve been connected to the publishing industry long enough to have some opinions about query letters that can charitably be described as Old School. For instance, I still think the industry standard i...
nathanbransford.com
October 6, 2025 at 9:01 PM
I may be losing this battle, but I still think the "nuts and bolts" (word count, comps, etc.) belong after the plot description in a query letter. Here's why:
The Anthropic settlement class is now searchable, an evergreen take on sales tracks in publishing, Reading Rainbow rebooted, a book with a side of garlic, and more of the best writing and books links from the past week!
Anthropic settlement class now searchable (This week in books)
This week! Books! Anthropic Copyright Settlement Website – If your book was pirated by Anthropic and you or your publisher registered your copyright within five years, you may be in the settlement cla...
nathanbransford.com
October 3, 2025 at 8:19 PM
The Anthropic settlement class is now searchable, an evergreen take on sales tracks in publishing, Reading Rainbow rebooted, a book with a side of garlic, and more of the best writing and books links from the past week!
How many of these CTE tragedies need to happen before everyone finally realizes it's unethical to have anything to do with American football and the game needs to go...
A Stranger Shattered Their Lives. At First, They Didn’t Know Why.
www.nytimes.com
October 2, 2025 at 6:36 PM
How many of these CTE tragedies need to happen before everyone finally realizes it's unethical to have anything to do with American football and the game needs to go...
I'll be hosting my monthly office on Thursday, exclusively for newsletter subscribers. Drop by to ask me anything!
Office hours on October 2
It’s time once again for our next Office Hours on October 2, which, it has come to my attention, is this Thursday at 9pm ET / 6pm PT. Join the call to ask your writing and publishing questions, and I ...
nathanbransford.com
September 30, 2025 at 9:26 PM
I'll be hosting my monthly office on Thursday, exclusively for newsletter subscribers. Drop by to ask me anything!
As "no response means no" takes hold at publishing houses, it's long past time to stop leaving authors' careers in limbo and reform industry submission procedures. Here's a modest proposal at a Publishing Submission Bill of Rights.
A publishing submission Bill of Rights
A modest proposal. The submission process in the publishing industry these days is increasingly broken. Many literary agents have long had a “no response means no” policy on query letters, but now the...
nathanbransford.com
September 29, 2025 at 5:07 PM
As "no response means no" takes hold at publishing houses, it's long past time to stop leaving authors' careers in limbo and reform industry submission procedures. Here's a modest proposal at a Publishing Submission Bill of Rights.
Trump allies are angling for an American version of TikTok, a judge approves the Anthropic settlement, AI slop Charlie Kirk assassination books spark conspiracy theories (what in the 2025), and more of the best writing and books links from the past week:
Trump allies buying TikTok (This Week in Books)
This week! Books! First up, a happy plug. It’s always so exciting to see a book I’ve worked on in manuscript form come to fruition, let alone when it becomes a freakin’ Jenna Hager Bush Today Show boo...
nathanbransford.com
September 26, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Trump allies are angling for an American version of TikTok, a judge approves the Anthropic settlement, AI slop Charlie Kirk assassination books spark conspiracy theories (what in the 2025), and more of the best writing and books links from the past week:
Imagine if your Instagram messages were searchable instead of being replaced by a worthless AI chatbot.
September 23, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Imagine if your Instagram messages were searchable instead of being replaced by a worthless AI chatbot.
Why would you want to outsource your life’s work to a digital parlor trick that can’t possibly capture your secret sauce?
Rely on A.I. at your peril
Here’s my problem whenever I try to play a game of chess against a computer. Inevitably, I start up a game and plug along just fine until, at a certain point, I get a bit stuck and feel unsure of my n...
nathanbransford.com
September 22, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Why would you want to outsource your life’s work to a digital parlor trick that can’t possibly capture your secret sauce?
Reposted by Nathan Bransford
I wrote about what counts and what doesn't count as "political violence" in this country
Let's talk about 'political violence'
+ The shooter's meme messages, Etsy witch trials, Rachel Dolezal on Charlie Kirk, post-op aesthetics, MrBeast's powerful lobbyists, 'media warfare', and a 25 year old YouTuber's Hollywood debut
www.usermag.co
September 12, 2025 at 4:39 PM
I wrote about what counts and what doesn't count as "political violence" in this country