Rachelle Gardner

Over the last couple of years, I’ve noticed one of the refrains popping up around the blogosphere every now and then is the idea that the “query system” is inadequate. There’s got to be a better way, people say. This system is inefficient and unfair and just doesn’t work. I actually think the query system…

As you know, almost all agents have Submission Guidelines posted on their websites and/or blogs. Agents who blog and Twitter always remind writers to follow guidelines, and some agents reject without responding if you don’t follow them. But why are the guidelines so important? Are we just picky and anal people, obsessed with power and…

Last week I was corresponding with a client whose book contains a message that’s fairly edgy and in some ways, counter-cultural. He knows I totally believe in him and his book, but in this one particular email I used some cautious language. I told him we were “walking a tricky line” trying to find the…

One of the primary questions my clients ask when I first sign them to the agency is “How should I expect to communicate with you?” This is a GREAT question by the way, and one that should always be addressed in a new agent-client relationship. While each agent will have their own preferences, I believe…

One of the things we don’t talk much about is how our lives as writers (or agents or editors) affects the significant others in our lives – spouses, kids, etc – and how their response to our work affects us. I know many people whose spouse is their best cheerleader, beta-reader, and editor. I also…

People are always telling me they’d like to hear about a typical day for an agent. But I have yet to experience a typical day. When you have a large number of clients, working on a wide variety of projects, which are all in various stages of writing or publication, the days provide endlessly changing…

We spend a lot of time on these blogs discussing what makes an agent say “yes, I want to see more” or “no thanks” after reading a query. And last week I tried to give you some idea of the things I’m looking for in a manuscript, things that make me want to keep reading…

Most of you know that I came from an editorial background before I was an agent. I love working with authors on their books, and over the years I’ve developed the skills to help writers improve their writing, or present a more saleable book or proposal to editors. As a result, I sometimes have significant…

One of the most common things I hear from writers lately is, “You’ve told us a lot about what makes you say no to a book. Now tell us what makes you say yes.” So yesterday I wrote that I love when I can sense the writing is authentic and true. Today I want to…

Aren’t you glad that mountain lion is behind that chain link fence? I sure was. I was standing about eight feet away from her at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo when Brian snapped this pic. It has nothing to do with today’s post – I just like it. So… I have a few questions for you.…

The latest thing to hit the book marketing world is the book trailer. I’m sure you’ve seen them – short videos, typically 1 to 3 minutes, that advertise a book. You’ll find them on author websites, blogs, publisher websites, and bookselling sites. (You can visit Bookscreening.com to view lots of book trailers.) When I’m talking…

If you think things were starting to get crazy in publishing, the last week just turned everything upside down again. As you know, Apple introduced the long-awaited and much-hyped iPad (here’s a quick overview from PW), which looks to me like it’s going to live up to the hype. (Watch this video if you haven’t…

Like everyone else in this business, published authors included, I frequently receive emails asking for advice. Not specific advice, but sweeping, general requests for advice like: “How do I get published?” Usually the person writing has just finished writing either a novel or a memoir, and somehow they got my email address, and they want…

Awhile back, Nathan Bransford linked to this video, which I think is amusing. It’s a montage of all these people on reality TV shows insisting they’re there to win the prize, not to make friends. If you watch any reality TV, you know “I’m not here to make friends” is a common attempt to justify…