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Yesterday I speculated on one aspect of the future of books, the idea of how technology will (or won’t) affect the presentation of a book. Today my speculations are more about the market and the changing perceived value of a book. One thing that concerns me about our current Internet culture is that it’s conditioning…

Last week Publishers Lunch featured a guide to the latest eReaders coming down the pike (here). It’s fascinating and makes me think of all kinds of possibilities for the future. The new readers will have terrific uses in business, for games, for keeping up on news, for editors and others in publishing, and many more.…

I’ve been thinking about all the information for writers available now on the internet. It’s great for writers because although getting published has never been more challenging, there has never been so much information available about how to do it. But there are so many people giving advice that it must get overwhelming sometimes. Getting…

Today we have a glimpse of my daily mailbag. Er, inbox. The following is an example of some recent correspondence with a writer I didn’t know. Hi Rachelle. I have a problem and I need your help. I’ve been writing a novel for nine years, pouring sweat, blood, and tears into it. Recently an acquaintance…

Each year on the blog, I choose ten books from my personal bookshelf to give to my readers. They’re all books I’ve read, enjoyed, and want to pass along for others to enjoy. (I have multiple copies of some of of them, so I’m keeping one for myself.) So here’s how you get one of…

[I’m taking a blogging break, so this is an encore presentation of a previous post.]The other day I was talking with @BrianKGardner about the conversations I have with writers and all the emails I send, trying to be encouraging while letting them know their project is not right for our agency, or their writing isn’t…

[I’m taking a blogging break, so this is an encore presentation of a previous post.]Lately I’ve seen a lot of writer blogs that speak poignantly about the pain of repeated rejections, and how it sometimes makes it hard to stay the course. Why do we keep writing? Why do we stay in this business? If…

. May your life be blessed with love and laughter this season. See you Monday!.

Last Update: June, 2011 My permanent “deals” page is under construction. In this temporary post, I’ve included all my deals since I began agenting in 2008, in reverse chronological order. Fiction: Inspirational Erica Vetsch’s A BRIDE SEWS WITH LOVE IN NEEDLES, CALIFORNIA, taking place during WWI in which a young woman works with the Red Cross to…

If you follow me on Twitter you probably know I have this annoying little habit of going to the gym all the time. Either that, or getting outside for a run or a hike. Yeah, I admit it, I love my exercise. But NOT for the reasons you might think. I mean, physical health is…

Ever since last month when the publishing world erupted in a brouhaha about Harlequin and Thomas Nelson entering the business of self-publishing, I’ve been watching the reports, reading the blogs and mulling this over. It took me awhile to identify what was really bothering me about all of this. But I finally figured it out.…

Last Saturday night, Brian and I went to the Christmas party and awards ceremony of the Wescott Fire Department, where Brian is a lieutenant and volunteer firefighter. (Brian’s paid job is firefighter for the Colorado Springs Fire Department.) The ceremony was presided over by Fire Chief Jeff Edwards, a highly respected leader who serves not…

This contest was one of my favorites EVER. Reading through the (more than 360) entries was incredibly fun, which just underscores my love of great books, my appreciation for a beautiful sentence, and the joy I get from learning about other people’s favorite books and what moved them. THANK YOU for your entries to this…

It’s almost the end of 2009 so it’s time to talk about books we loved this year! Today we’re talking about our favorite non-fiction books from 2009. (Next week we’ll do fiction.) Here are a few of my recent faves. Columbine by Dave Cullen is the most captivating piece of non-fiction I’ve read in years.…