Rachelle Gardner

Hello Rachelle,I received a formal letter from [Name Deleted] Publishing stating that they want to publish my book. The company looks solid. However, I self published my first book and really want to work hard until I can land an industry recognized publisher this time around. How do you find out if a publisher is…

This past weekend I spent about three hours browsing around my neighborhood Borders. I try to do this once every couple of months at least – not just make a quick trip to the bookstore, but spend a good deal of time there. As writers and publishing professionals, we all need to get to the…

Today I’m offering some thoughts on a few of the one-sentence summaries that were entered in the contest. Sometimes it’s helpful to see what’s not quite working, in order to learn how to do it better. Maybe these examples will help you spot something you can improve with your own pitch. We’ll group them according…

Wow! We had nearly 500 entries in last Wednesday’s contest. I’m thrilled, because this means 500 of you worked on creating a concise summary for your book, something most writers find difficult. But it can be done, right? I hope this served as a helpful exercise for you. Of course it was very difficult narrowing…

Winners of the One-Sentence Summary Contest will be announced TOMORROW, Monday. On Tuesday, I’ll be discussing one-sentence summaries in further detail, and critiquing a handful of the entries. Be sure and let me know if you DON’T want your entry critiqued on the blog (just in case I choose yours).

The Real Reason Dinosaurs Became Extinct Have a great weekend! Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent

*Contest is closed.*Today we’re going to talk about the one-sentence summary, also known as a logline, a hook, or a one-sentence pitch. (It is not a tagline, however.) What: About 25 words that capture your novel, memoir, or non-fiction book. Why: To get someone interested in reading your book. When to use it: The start…

Ninety-seven comments, woohoo! Every once in awhile I get exhausted and over-scheduled and I wonder if I should stop writing the blog. Or at least post less frequently. Usually that thought lasts about five seconds because I can’t quit. I can’t help it -I love blogging, I love connecting with you, I love the conversation,…

I’ve said many times on this blog that we are all salespeople. Everyone along the chain of writing, publishing and selling books has the ultimate goal of getting the book into the hands of the end user – the reader. In order to do that, we have to sell our stuff. From the query letter…

Last week I received a query for a YA story and after taking a quick look, I sent a standard pass letter. I soon received a plea from the writer for me to explain why I passed. I find myself in a difficult spot whenever this happens. I enjoy helping people and steering them in…

I got an email last week from a guy who turned down my offer of representation a year ago in favor of another agent. He said he thought he’d made a mistake, was pretty unhappy with the agent, and wanted to talk to me again. The agent had submitted his non-fiction proposal to a round…

I’m teaching a webinar this coming Thursday at 1pm Eastern, all about queries, elevator pitches, taglines and all the ways you sell your work to agents and editors. There are some simple strategies to make sure you’re presenting your work in the best light. Learn what they are! The webinar is both audio and visual…

Today’s my kids’ last day of school, so summer is officially starting around our house. I love summer – the hot weather, the vacations, the feeling of “freedom” that I experience vicariously through my kids. When I think of the summers when I was growing up in California, I remember spending days at the beach…

Yesterday I touched briefly on the agent’s need to protect both their client’s and their own reputation. This reminded me that I wanted to talk about reputations in general. As an author, you should always be aware that when an agent takes you on, and when an editor is interested in acquiring you, they’re putting…