Rachelle Gardner

Overheard in the Gardner household: Me: “Sweetie, I’m sorry you’re sad. Come here. I want to tell you something about life.” Daughter (pulling away): “I already know about life, mom—I’ve been living it for eleven years.” (Runs upstairs.) Have a good weekend! © 2011 Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent

Money! Marketing! and More! Myth: It’s all about the bottom line. Truth: Yes, in the end, the publisher exists to make money. And the people who have the most say in whether your book gets published are the directors of sales and marketing. Everyone is looking for the books they can sell. And yet…those on…

Myths About Agents Myth: Agents don’t read submissions. Truth: Most agents who are accepting queries actually read and consider them. If they don’t want to read queries and they don’t need new clients, they’ll usually close to queries (like I have). Myth: Agents have reading software that scans query letters. If the query contains a…

One of the great things about the Internet is that it has made it so easy to find information. But the downside is that it’s just as easy to find misinformation. With authors, agents, and publishing people out there on blogs, loops, and forums, constantly talking with one another and often contradicting each other, it’s sometimes…

I’m off to teach at a writers’ conference, so I thought I’d leave you with some inspiration for the weekend. If this whole “getting published” thing doesn’t work out, you could always get a job writing instructions on the packages of commonly used products. Just think, you could be responsible for gems like this! On…

Guest Blogger: Monica Lee In celebration of the release of Erin MacPherson’s The Christian Mama’s Guide to Having a Baby, we’re doing something totally different! Monica Lee is the illustrator who created the images for the cover and the interior of the book, and I  thought it would be fun to hear about the process. Here’s Monica… As a professional illustrator,…

Yesterday I began by giving you some basics on how books start their journey towards a Hollywood movie option. Today let’s talk about how this might (or might not) apply to YOU. Will my agent shop MY book to Hollywood agents? Here’s the hard part. Because the odds are against us selling the film rights…

Let’s just 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 so visual, you think. So dramatic! It’s even better than [insert name of box office hit]. Hey, I agree with you! Plenty of books could make great movies, if only…

I do not understand why so many writers have websites and/or blogs, but do not have their email address or a “contact me” link easily visible. It’s a frequent source of frustration for me. Why would you even bother putting yourself out there without giving people a way to contact you? There are two circumstances in…

Congrats to Wendy Paine Miller! You’ve won a copy of Mary DeMuth’s 150 Quick Questions to Get Your Kids Talking. Thanks to everyone for commenting on Mary’s guest post Thursday.

Next Friday I’m teaching “Breaking Through Publishing Myths” at the Northern Colorado Writers Conference. What myths about publishing did you believe until somebody set you straight? What are some things you’ve heard about publishing that you think might be a myth? I want to address real concerns of writers out there today. And as a…

More mail! Dear Rachelle, an agent I’m interested in querying requires “a brief bio or résumé.” For published authors, this has got to be a leg-up, and I completely understand why an agent would want this, but for those of us with no prior publishing experience it’s a nightmare. How do we stay professional and…

A writer emailed me:The novel is finished, the query letter is drafted, the synopsis is as tight as I can get it, and I still can’t bring myself to hit that damned “send” button. I’m sure you see the work of many writers who query too eagerly and make bone-head mistakes… I’m trying to avoid…

A writer asked:If there are two or more agents interested in representing me, how do I make my decision? I’ve heard it can be better in some cases for a less established author to go with a younger or newer agent — is this true? What other factors would you consider? If there are two or…