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

Robert E. Keller · Jun 19, 2009

Greetings, Mr. Bransford. I read your blog concerning writers who come off as overconfident or delusional, and it was an eye-opening experience for me since I'm fairly new to querying and I was assuming the writer has to show great confidence in his abilites to get noticed. I'd like to thank you for posting such helpful information. I have since toned down my queries in direct response to that information.

Should a writer state in his query that he is open to suggestions and easy to work with? Or would you recommend avoiding the topic altogether and simply keeping the query to a professional minimum?

Robert E. Keller
http://www.scrollsofatlantis.com

ellisnation · Jun 20, 2009

Dear Mr. Bransford,

Sorry if this has been touched on...

What are your thoughts on authors who take risks? I'm a natural risk-taker, and it comes out in my writing. I'm sure alot of writers try and come up with something different. As long as the book is well-written, believable, and engaging, do you find this to be a good thing or are readers easily alienated?

It may help to mention that I'm writing for a romance line, and the guidelines are very specific. I'm meeting them but pushing it as far as I can go.

Thanks in advance!
Rhiannon

worldtraveler · Jun 30, 2009

Hello Nathan,

I found this website a couple of weeks ago when I was compiling a list of literary agents to whom I wish to send query letters for my novel. I posted a thread on the Novels section this weekend because I wanted to get feedback from other writers. At their request, I also posted the first few pages of my novel on the "Share Your Work" section yesterday afternoon. We have had a lively exchange of ideas which have been most helpful. I would also like to get the opinion of a literary agent regarding my current situation which I explain in two letters posted on the thread.

If you have time, I would greatly appreciate your reading these postings and letting me know what you think. My first posting under the Novel section is entited "Seeking Advice On Manuscript Submission" and the sample pages provided under the SYW section are entitled "First Pages of Novel Manuscript". Please note that the sample pages contain a few typos which are not present in the manuscript.

Thanks for your consideration.

HPD · Jul 1, 2009

Nathan -

What's up with those of us who write novellas?

Are we just totally doomed or what?

knight_tour · Jul 3, 2009

Hi Nathan,
I keep reading about how difficult it is for unpublished authors to get published and also about how the lessening of advances is hurting agents. Would you be more inclined to work with an unpublished author if that author was willing to be flexible about payment options to you? If the book was good and the author was willing to guarantee you a certain minimum payment out of his/her own pocket if necessary, would that help? I figure that would open up more publishing options that an agent wouldn't normally want to look at due to small or non-existent advances. Since I am more interested in getting published than in making money, I am quite happy to make sure an agent gets paid to help me get published.

Note: I got this idea because of your most recent blog post link to 'The Evolving Role of Agents'. It mentioned new publishing initiatives such as HarperStudio and Vanguard inside Perseus, which pay lower advances and are thus not so enticing to agents.

Wayne K · Aug 14, 2009

Hi Mr. Bransford,

No question, just a thank you for taking time to come here and do this. My head hurts just reading all these questions, I could imagine the time and effort involved in answering them.

It's very nice of you.

Lou0403 · Aug 14, 2009

I am new to the website and after reading through several of your pages on your link and your blog also was wondering if you knew of any agents interested in parenting noniction books

Sargentodiaz · Aug 14, 2009

Go to QueryTracker.net - it has a very good data base of literary agents.

Thalia · Aug 14, 2009

Hi Nathan,

I write YA fiction. A lot of different websites show different lengths they think YA should be- some say a book can be as short as 40, 000 words to be considered YA, others say it must be at least 70, 000 words long. How long do you think books aimed for a teenage audience should be? Do you have different opinions for different genres, and if so, what are they?

Raspberry · Aug 15, 2009

Are you all sure that it's Nathan's turn again???

The last time he answered was in mid May. In the meantime, Jennifer Laughan answered questions. That's another thread.

ADMIN???

fatshot · Aug 16, 2009

Re-querying?

Hello Mr. Bransford:

I am an unpublished author who has spent the past two years writing a 100K word suspense novel. About a month ago, being ignorant of the precision with which queries must be written and author/agent relationships in general, I wrote you a very bad query letter. Your rejection was a form rejection, but it was not unkind. My question to you is whether or not it is appropriate to send you another query letter, a proper one this time, asking you to consider the same novel, possibly with a title that better represents the plot? My beta readers all like the book, so I don't think it can be that bad, and I hate to have killed the whole work because of a bad query. Thank you in advance for your response.

Nathan Bransford · Sep 10, 2009

Hey everyone, I know I'm way way behind on my questions. Hope to be back soon to catch up, and sorry for the delay.

MacAllister · Sep 10, 2009

Raspberry said:
Are you all sure that it's Nathan's turn again???

The last time he answered was in mid May. In the meantime, Jennifer Laughan answered questions. That's another thread.

ADMIN???

Raspberry, Nathan and Jennifer both graciously pop in to answer questions as their schedules permit. They don't actually take turns.

Leigh.Lyons · Sep 10, 2009

Nathan Bransford said:
Hey everyone, I know I'm way way behind on my questions. Hope to be back soon to catch up, and sorry for the delay.

Take your time

.

Emrys · Sep 10, 2009

Hello Nathan, Congrats on the book deal! Having no fear of being thirty-ish and reading MG or YA, I'll enjoy picking up Jacob Wonderbar in '11.

So, how bout dem Lakers?

Shveta · Sep 10, 2009

Congrats again, Nathan!

kaitie · Sep 10, 2009

Thanks!

I just wanted to start by saying thank you so much for doing this. I've learned a lot, and you have really made finding an agent a much less scary prospect!

I have two questions. The first is silly, but I can't find the answer anywhere. I know that the standard for query letters, etc. is 8 1/2 by 11 paper. The problem is that it's impossible to find in the country I live in--everything is A4. It's such a picky thing, but I wanted to find out if it would be a turnoff to have something sent in A4 size, or if I would be better off asking my mom to send me a couple of reams.

My second question deals with word count. I have written a suspense novel that is about 160k words. I've been working hard to cut it down, and have so far cut approximately 20k words. I'm cleaning it up, taking out every word that isn't necessary. Even after this, however, it's going to be a long novel. The plot is complex and I'm not convinced I can take it below 150k. I'm afraid of losing something important for the sake of making it shorter.

I've read that if your work is over 140k it's best not to mention the count in the query. Is this true?

Thanks again!

Nathan Bransford · Sep 11, 2009

emandem said:
Hi Nathan!

Have been curious about this question for awhile...Do you find male agents (ahem, you) are generally more attracted to stories with male protagonists? Likewise are female agents more likely to respond to a queries with female heroines? I read your blog pretty faithfully although I've never queried you directly--Somehow I don't picture you responding to a story with a female heroine...

Hi everyone, so sorry again for the long delay. It's been quite a busy summer.

On to the questions!

I'd say that male agents are probably slightly more likely to respond to male-oriented stories, although everyone is different. For instance, some people assume I don't represent women's fiction because I'm a guy. But I do! And the two most recent novels I've sold both have female protagonists.

And my own novel has a male protagonist and I have a female agent. So really you just never know.

Nathan Bransford · Sep 11, 2009

childeroland said:
Mr. Bransford

Is there a particular format of query you prefer? Three-four paragraphs with one being a mini-synopsis, or two paragraphs with the first being the author's intro, whatever?

How important are hooks/pitch lines?

I prefer that everything be self-contained in one query letter. I don't really care for "here's the synopsis" e-mails followed by the synopsis.

I also have examples of queries I liked on my blog:

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/search/label/Anatomy of a Good Query Letter

Nathan Bransford · Sep 11, 2009

Repartee said:
Mr. Bransford,

I'm 16, but I'm writing a suspense novel aimed for an adult audience, not YA. Will literary agents, like yourself, still take me seriously? Good work is good work, just like bad work is bad work, right?

Thank you for your time!

Absolutely: good work is good work. The thing is, it has to be good period, not good for the author's age. It's extremely rare for a young author to have the ability and experience necessary to write a work that an agent can sell (most writers have been writing for a lot longer) but it absolutely happens, and I wouldn't judge someone negatively just because they're young.

Nathan Bransford · Sep 11, 2009

Toni1953 said:
From your experience, is three weeks a long time for a publisher to be considering your work? Or is that not long enough?

Three weeks isn't very long at all. But there isn't a "right" or "wrong" length of time. Response times are all over the map.

Nathan Bransford · Sep 11, 2009

Jeanette said:
Hi, Nathan. Thanks for all your insight. I'm unagented at the moment, but I've been working with an agent on my latest manuscript. She/he has offered page by page revisions, we've had hour-long phone conversations, and on and on, but no offer for representation yet. It's going on a year now of working on it, and I haven't talked to this person in weeks about the polish I submitted. Should I worry? What if she's lost interest? Should I start querying other agents again even though she's invested time? Do you still consider Pluto a planet?! So many questions...

I'm sure this has been sorted out by now, but three weeks isn't that long to read a revision, so don't worry. If anyone is in similar situation, just follow up, politely, once a month via e-mail.

And yes, I'm old school: Pluto is a planet.

Bubastes · Sep 11, 2009

Hello, Nathan!

Congratulations again on your book deal! Quick question about publication credits: I've sold a number of stories to confession magazines, which do not include a byline with the story. What's the best way to mention these sales in a query letter? Or should I leave these credits out altogether? Thanks.

Nathan Bransford · Sep 11, 2009

Idea Tailor said:
Nathan, thank you so much for your answer to my earlier post. Since then, I've gotten a nibble and would appreciate a bit more advice.

My query made it from the slush pile to the "please send x" stage at a big agency and they have asked for an outline. Do you have any pointers on what makes an outline good/professional?

I am also curious about the practice of requesting the first 50 pages before asking for a full. While it weeds out the manuscripts you don't want, it adds a cycle to those you do. What makes the extra time worth it to the agent?

Thank you and my gratitude to you for helping me become a professional faster.

Hmmm, not sure what they mean by an outline, but I assume a synopsis. But either way, I always urge authors to err on the side of making their summaries very readable rather than trying to cram everything in there.

I personally request 30 page partials because many authors have an expectation that an agent is going to read what the author sends. I want to be clear up front that I'm basing my decision on the beginning and implicitly reminding people that they have to hook an agent (just as they'll need to hook an editor) in the beginning of the novel.

Nathan Bransford · Sep 11, 2009

Rexwriter said:
Hi Nathan!
I love your blog and I really appreciate all the effort you put into helping writers.

I have been a little confused about what you represent. Earlier on this thread you wrote something that made it sound like you'd consider middle grade, but middle grade isn't listed as one of your preferred genres on the Curtis Brown website or any of the agent search sites. So do you (or would you) represent middle grade or not?

Also, do some agents lump middle grade (or a older middle grade) into YA? My protagonist is 12.

I don't really rep much middle grade, but I'm open to the right project.

But usually there's a fairly clear delineation between middle grade and YA in terms of sensibility and age of the protagonist.

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