Rachelle Gardner

How to Plan a Successful Book Signing As a first-time author of two children’s books, God is with Me through the Day and God is with Me through the Night, I was surprised to discover that the most challenging part of the journey has been marketing. I have worked as a marketing writer for ten…

This is probably going to seem like a strange post, but bear with me, I do have a point. Sort of. Recently I’ve been watching “Desperate Housewives” on DVD from the 2007-08 season. Now, that probably surprises some of you. I gather from fellow Christians that we’re not “supposed” to watch and enjoy shows like…

I really enjoyed my blogging break last week, and I’m glad I got a chance to re-run the “Proposal to Publication” series. I hope it helped de-mystify the process for you. As I was reading through it, I noticed there are some lessons you could take away in terms of what you can be preparing…

Last week I took a little camping trip with my family. For some reason it felt like a magical time of connecting with my daughters and husband, totally “away” from the Internet and the phone and the office. I admit I find it challenging, but I worked hard to stay off the Blackberry and simply…

Title, Cover, and Marketing PlansWhile your book has been going through the editing and production phases, the art department, sales department, and marketing department have been busy creating the packaging of your book and planning how to market, promote and sell it. The timing of each of these steps varies, but will be happening behind…

Pre-Production → Once the major editing is completed, your manuscript normally goes to copyedit. A copyeditor will take a detailed look at your manuscript, correcting grammar, typos, and punctuation. She/he will also flag anything that seems unclear; checking footnotes for accuracy and format; making sure all necessary elements are in place; and making sure all…

The Writing & Editing Stage * Now that the contract is finished, you should have some interaction with an editor who will outline your writing/editing schedule and expectations. * You also should receive some kind of “welcome packet” from the publisher, a written set of author-instructions telling you about style requirements, permissions, and other aspects…

The Contract Stage4 So, you’ve heard that your book has been accepted for publication. Yipee! 4 Your biggest question will probably be: How much MONEY do I get? You’ll be offered an advance which might be lower than your lifelong dream, but more than you have in your checking account right now (if you’re lucky).…

This week I’m going to take you on a journey through the publishing process “From Proposal to Publication.” I’ll give brief explanations of what’s happening at the publishing house during each of the stages, and what’s expected of the author. Please note this a generic overview… the process can vary substantially from house to house.…

I’ve spent the last several days at ICRS in Denver and like most everyone who attended, I’m exhausted! It’s just like any event where you’re “on” non-stop for 13 hours a day. While it can be a blast, it wears you out! I’ll spend the next few days compiling my notes from all my meetings…

Yesterday I talked about the importance of working on your writing as opposed to spending time on social networking. This is crucial if you’re an unpublished fiction writer. It seems I’ve been having this conversation with so many people lately… both authors and editors. It’s come up several times in my conversations with editors at…

So. Wow. Did you see how many people commented on Friday’s post? And did you see how longwinded eloquent everyone was? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you all LOVE giving your opinions about social networking! So the upshot is: some of us love it, some of us hate it, many of us are…

What do you say we blow the lid off this whole social networking thing once and for all. I’ve got questions, you’ve got answers. You ready? What do you LIKE about Twitter, Facebook, or other social networks? What do you DISLIKE? What scares you about them? If you are NOT using Twitter or Facebook, why…

I’m spending most of this week preparing for my meetings at ICRS, so I thought I’d explain it to you in case you’re wondering. ICRS stands for International Christian Retail Show. If you’re familiar with BEA (Book Expo America), ICRS is a smaller version for the Christian publishing and retailing world. It’s a trade show,…