You Tell Me: which author writes the best dialogue?

When an agent offers representation, you'll be tempted to shout yes before they even finish the sentence. Take a step back. Ask questions. You're entering one of the most important business relationships of your life, and you need to trust each other.

With changes to the AALA Canon of Ethics, the rise of "schmagents," and more viable publishing paths than ever, it's crucial that writers see literary agents clearly and avoid putting them on a pedestal.

It's more important than ever for writers to look at literary agents with clear eyes

A few recent developments have really opened my eyes to the changing landscape for authors and literary agents: Stick with me here because I’m going to weave these different threads together to show y...

nathanbransford.com

One of the best places to find literary agents to query: the acknowledgments sections of your favorite books in your genre. Authors almost always thank their agents.

What are you working on right now? Give me your one-sentence pitch.

Writing is usually solitary, but you don't have to go it alone. Find some fellow writers, even someone you can sit next to while you both write in silence. No one else quite understands how hard this is, and their company is golden.

"Three Black authors received major publishing deals this year, and all three later had deals cancelled or disrupted following suspicions about AI." - Jerry Falade All this as studies have shown AI writing detectors disproportionately flag Black authors.

$2m crime novel deal collapses amid questions over AI use

Agents withdraw Jerry Falade’s hotly anticipated debut after saying they can no longer authenticate ‘how the manuscript evolved’

theguardian.com

I almost admire people who fully believe the over-the-top praise when people are kissing up to them. That must be such a rush.

Another helpful roundup of the AALA ethics changes by @victoriastrauss.com at Writer Beware. Writers need to be more vigilant when approaching literary agents than ever.

Victoria Strauss@victoriastrauss.com · 5d ago

New #WriterBeware blog post: The AALA has made major revisions to its Canon of Ethics. What's changed, where I think the changes fall short, and questions about the future of the agent profession raised by the issues the Canon has been revised to address writerbeware.blog/2026/07/31/t...

Another helpful roundup of the AALA ethics changes by @victoriastrauss.com at Writer Beware. Writers need to be more vigilant when approaching literary agents than ever.

Victoria Strauss@victoriastrauss.com · 5d ago

New #WriterBeware blog post: The AALA has made major revisions to its Canon of Ethics. What's changed, where I think the changes fall short, and questions about the future of the agent profession raised by the issues the Canon has been revised to address writerbeware.blog/2026/07/31/t...

$2.5 million book deal canceled over A.I. suspicions, what you need to know about AALA ethics changes, when to stop tinkering with your manuscript, and more of the best writing and books links from the past week!

$2.5 million book deal canceled over A.I. suspicions (This week in books)

This week! Books! Seven-Figure Book Deal Cancelled Over AI Suspicions Raises Questions About AI Guardrails – Erin Somers, Publishers Lunch – So I guess we’re still doing this… According to Publishers ...

nathanbransford.com

Many great stories show the protagonist in a nadir where all hope seems lost, then they must ascend toward the climax. Your protagonist may or may not ultimately get what they want, but they shouldn't be the same person they were at the start.

A great villain stands in the way of what your protagonist wants, and often represents a whole different worldview. It's the most powerful obstacle (interior or exterior or both), the one that forces your protagonist to dig deepest, and is usually almost but not quite as strong as your protagonist.

Absolute must-read by @janefriedman.com on the AALA ethics changes and shifting agent business models. I was going to write my own version of this post, but I agree with literally everything Jane says so I don't have to 😂.

Agent Business Models May Be Shifting: What I Fear Will Happen | Jane Friedman

When the new AALA Canon of Ethics goes into effect, authors must be more diligent and sharp in evaluating who they partner with.

janefriedman.com

You Tell Me: what do you think is the hardest part of writing a query letter? The pitch? The comps? The bio? Something else?

It's very telling, to say the least, that faulty A.I. detection tools and unproven research gets 100% of the benefit of the doubt and H. M. Wolfe gets 0%. No smoking gun, just sneering insinuations.

Is This What Comes After AI Slop?

Daggermouth could be the first best-selling novel partly written by a chatbot.

theatlantic.com

I personally believe in sending out queries to about seven to ten agents at a time. It keeps you from hanging endlessly on one response, and if the requests aren't coming, you can adjust the letter before the next batch goes out.

I updated and expanded my post on what you *must* know your genre. Full stop, as they say.

Why you must know your book's genre

It’s very important to know where either a novel or a nonfiction book will sit on the shelf (or virtual shelf), and it’s helpful to figure this out relatively early in both the traditional and self-pu...

nathanbransford.com

Protostar IRAS 04302+2247 will one day emerge from its “cocoon” of gas and dust. 🦋 #NASAWebb and Hubble looked at this baby star, capturing aspects like the protoplanetary disk and two wing-shaped reflection nebulas. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Villenave et. al.

Your query letter's pitch has two jobs: make your book sound awesome and show the agent you can write. If your book is funny, the query should be funny. Reading the query should *feel* like reading the book.

What's the best sentence you read this week? Any genre, any era.

I was on the 9pm Pacific Surfliner from San Diego to Los Angeles (already delayed an hour+) and the conductor said the tracks are totally washed out between Oceanside and San Juan Capistrano. Our train terminated in Oceanside.

You don't have to write every day. Stepping away for a while doesn't make you less of a writer, and the book will be there when you're ready to come back to it.

The Anthropic settlement got approved, an abhorrent book banning bill, the backlash to the "no one is reading" discourse, and more of the best writing and books links from the past week!

Anthropic piracy settlement approved (This week in books)

This week! Books! First up, one of the results of the survey from a few weeks back was that people wanted me to post on social media more consistently. Consider it done! I’ve established a regular pos...

nathanbransford.com

Flat characters are one of the most common problems I see when I edit novels. Seven reasons they happen, and the fixes:

7 reasons your characters feel flat

Readers have to love your characters. Full stop. Characters who feel lifelike and relatable will compel your readers to turn the pages and breathlessly await the sequels. Characters who are dull or flat...

nathanbransford.com

New #WriterBeware blog post: the Anthropic class action copyright settlement has been approved. Top takeaways from the judge's ruling, who's the biggest winner, and when claimants might (or might not) see the money writerbeware.blog/2026/07/23/a...

Anthropic Settlement Update: Final Settlement Approved - Writer Beware

On Tuesday, Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin granted final approval to the historic class action settlement in the Bartz v Anthropic copyright infringement lawsuit. At $1.5 billion, it’s the largest reco...

writerbeware.blog

Is it just me or are we at a strange juncture where the cool kids want to be book influencers more than they want to be writers...

Katie Porter Is Pivoting From Politics to Bookstagram

Was she inspired by Dua Lipa?

thecut.com

Everyone feels sad, angry, and scared. Characters come alive in *how* specifically they channel universal emotions. If you find yourself writing “she felt nervous,” try showing us what she does and/or how she thinks when she's nervous.

If there's a better distillation of Meta's utter soullessness as a company, I haven't seen one.

Meta is testing an AI bedtime story app for people with no imagination | TechCrunch

At last, a tech company has found a way to outsource humanity's oldest pastime: using our imaginations.

techcrunch.com

You Tell Me: what's a character you still think about, years after finishing the book? Mine: Charlotte. Yes, the spider.