Just for Fun

***Closed to Queries***

I will not be accepting any queries in the month of July. Any I receive between now and August 1st will be deleted with no response and you will be blacklisted forever. Just kidding. I’ll delete any queries I receive after today, and hope to hear from you in August! Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent
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WINNERS: The One-Sentence Summary Contest

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…
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Who Will Win the Contest?

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).
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This Made Me Laugh

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

*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…
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School’s Out For Summer

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…
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Late Breaking News

Do the Write Thing for Nashville is raising money to help the flood victims in Nashville. They’re donating the money through The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Authors, editors and agents are donating books and services that are being auctioned off to raise money. I’ve contributed a 30-minute phone call. You can bid on it…
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Winners

Our guest blogger from last Thursday, Becky Levine, has chosen the three winners to receive a copy of her book, The Writing and Critique Group Survival Guide. They are: Heather Beth K. Vogt KC Frantzen Winners please email me with your mailing address so we can send you the book!
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Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

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…
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2009 Book Giveaway

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…
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WINNERS of the Words Move Me Contest

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…
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Books of the Year: Non-Fiction

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.…
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Happy Thanksgiving

Jim Rubart’s series on Marketing Principles wraps up tomorrow. Enjoy your turkey! .
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Friday Fun: What’s Surprising About You?

Don’t you love how daily life offers so many great decent ideas for blog posts? This week I was being interviewed for a magazine article and one of the questions was, “What is something about you that writers would be surprised to know?” Of course, I share so much about myself on the blog and…
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