Rachelle Gardner

I received a panicked email from a client—and this was serious panic. His computer had crashed and died; his external backup was corrupted. His manuscript—the one he’d been writing for months—was due to the publisher in a couple of weeks. And it was GONE. Just…pffft. Gone. All of his hard work. All his moments of epiphany,…

Today I’m covering some back-to-basics information. While people have always asked me about the advantages of having an agent, I’ve noticed an increase in the frequency of the question in this age of independence and do-it-yourself. People want to know: Do I need an agent? If I had one, how would they help me? Is…

I was going to title this post, “3 Things Publishers Look for in a Book,” or maybe “3 Things Agents Look For.” But then I realized that the three keys of a successful book apply across the board. It doesn’t matter you’re using an agent, if you’re going through a publisher, or even if you’re…

Lately I’ve been hearing this question over and over again: What would you do if you weren’t afraid? It’s a good question, meant to inspire us to dream beyond our boundaries, to “think big,” to pursue our goals. But I think we tend to hear it and then brush it off, not really spending time with…

It’s April 15th, woohoo! One of my favorite days of the year. NOT. Awhile back I blogged about making a living as a writer (Part 1 and Part 2), so today we’re going to talk about the unfortunate side effect of getting paid for your writing. Yup, it’s…. Taxes. Disclaimer: I’m not going to thoroughly…

One of the  best things about the Internet is that it’s so easy to find information. One of the worst things about the Internet . . . is that it’s so easy to find information. Much of the information is misinformation. So let’s bust some myths. Myth: Getting published is a catch-22. You need to be published…

Over the last few months, I’ve read posts around the web about how literary agents aren’t needed anymore. Agents are just “middlemen.” Extraneous. Who needs them? Everyone can just self-publish, or work with a publisher on their own…right? Such is the word on the street. But some people aren’t saying those things. Want to guess…

Guest Blogger: Erin MacPherson Last week, I kicked off our “Pinterest for Marketing” series with a blog post on using Pinterest as a content marketing tool. This week, I want to spend some time talking about some of the nitty gritty details of effectively (and legally) using images on Pinterest, Pinterest is primarily an image…

Lessons from Steve Jobs, part 2 As I wrote in Monday’s post, I found Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs to be full of insights about life and business — not all of them revolutionary, but presented in such a way as to have maximum impact. I found myself asking how or if each of Jobs’s…

Lessons from Steve Jobs, part 1 Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs has been out for a year and a half, and I finally committed to reading it. It’s a big book! The hardcover is 656 pages and the Audible version is over 25 hours, but worth every single minute. I got so much out…

Ever thought about your book becoming a movie? I’m blogging all about it over at Books & Such today. Here’s a preview: Let’s start with this assumption: if you’ve written a novel or memoir, chances are you’ve dreamed of it becoming a movie. Admit it! It’s visual… it’s dramatic… the story is even better than…

In my last post, we discussed “volume” as a key to being able to support yourself as a writer. Today we’ll talk about the second key: Variety. A lot of people are wondering what I mean by this, because we’ve all had it pounded into us that we need to “brand” ourselves, we need to…

I’m blogging at Books & Such today. Here’s a preview… As you know, agents aren’t able to sell every book we decide to represent. But the decision to stop trying to sell a book is always a tough one. We’ve already put a lot of work into it, and we probably really like the client.…

I’m going to make this very simple: The secret to making a living wage as a writer lies in two words: volume and variety. Today let’s talk about the first one. Volume The biggest mistake writers make with respect to their “publishing dreams” is hoping for one big break that’s going to change their lives,…