Episode #202: The State of the Publishing Industry with Nathan Bransford!
Grace and Alvina welcome special guest author, former agent, blogger, and editor Nathan Bransford and they discuss recent agency controversy and the state of the book publishing industry in general.
Pre-order gifts for CHINESE MENU are now officially announced! I am facilitating not one but TWO special pre-order gifts:
1. Educators! Pre-order Chinese Menu for the The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and receive a FREE virtual classroom visit with Grace to celebrate the Moon Festival!
2. Not an educator? Want something different? Pre-order Chinese Menu from Porter Square Books and receive an enamel dragon pin (perfect for the upcoming Year of the Dragon)!
Want to support your local indie? Good for you! Check with your local indie to see if they will be participating in my publisher’s (@littlebrownyoungreaders ) special indie promotion. There just might be a pair of exclusive chopsticks there for you.
“How have you been?”
Welcome Nathan Bransford! Nathan is an author, blogger, and editor. He has worn many hats! He is the author of the Jacob Wonderbar Series and several writing and publishing novels including How to Write a Novel: 49 Rules for Writing a Stupendously Awesome Novel That You Will Love Forever and How to Publish a Book: 41 Rules for Successfully Publishing a Book That You Will Love Forever.
Grace has reached the fundraising goal ($10,000) for the Asian American Voices cabin at the Highlights Foundation! Grace had Tui T. Sutherland come to her daughter’s school! Grace is headed out to Where the Mountain Meets the Moon play in Portland, OR.
Alvina had a lovely visit with Grace in NYC. Her first in-person karoeoke night was back for the first time since the pandemic.
Agent Controversies
Nathan talks about his blog post regarding bad experiences in the publishing industry and what inspired him to write it. As a former literary agent himself, Nathan talks about both sides of the publishing process and how authors can best navigate it all. Begin with finding the right literary agent. Nathan gives advice to authors who are orphaned, traditional publishing vs. self-publishing, and
Alvina: “Do authors need to have agents?
Alvina, Grace, and Nathan talk about remembering that everyone in the industry is trying to do their best.
Fortune Cookie Segment: “What are you working on now?”
Nathan is working on a new middle grade novel. It is fun, whimsical, and he’s super excited about it. Grace is excited to write a novel again that will come out in 2025. It’s about the stone lions in front of the China Towns. Alvina is wrapping up her 2024 books.
Gratefuls
Alvina is grateful for the sales department and all the hard work that they do. Nathan is so grateful to be on the podcast but also for how grateful he is with his clients. Grace is grateful for the Chinese waxed apples she found at her local grocery store.
If you’re a patron, don’t forget to check out this week’s Random Questions feed! Authors Hena Khan and Grace Lin answer the random question: Which would you prefer to have as your room-mate--A goat or a bird? Click here to listen! If you’re not a patron already, join today!
Thank you to Hachette Audio, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, and Alex at Pacyworks Studio for producing and editing this podcast. Be sure to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and tell a friend about us. (Use the hashtag #bookfriendsforever.)
You can find Alvina @Planetalvina on Twitter and TikTok and @Alvinaling on Instagram
You can find Grace @Pacylin on Instagram and @gracelinauthor on TikTok and Hive
Nathan is @nathanbransford on Twitter and Instagram, @nathanbransfordbooks on Facebook, and my blog posts on nathanbransford.com.
