About Me

Posted on Oct 1st, 2009 | 9 comments

My name is Rachelle Gardner and I’m an agent with WordServe Literary Group based in Denver, Colorado. Click on this link to visit our website; or to meet the other members of the WordServe team, see this post.

I love books, authors, publishing, and talking incessantly about them. My passion is partnering with authors to bring worthwhile books to publication. I started this blog as a way to create a community of writers, both published and seeking publication. I post five days a week on topics of interest to writers, and I consider the reader comments even more important than my own posts! This is a place where I get to hear the concerns and perspectives of writers in the trenches, so that I never lose touch with what’s happening on the other side of the desk.

My Publishing Story

I became an agent in 2007 and as of this writing, have done 50+ book deals between authors and publishers. See this page for the latest update on my clients’ books. While I’ve focused my first couple of years as an agent on the CBA market, I’m now expanding and seeking books for the general market as well.

I’ve been in publishing since 1995 (fifteen years), working in various positions encompassing marketing, sales, international rights, acquisitions and editorial. Just prior to starting as an agent, I ran my own freelance writing and editing business from home. Before that, I was Senior Editor with NavPress, where I developed and launched the NavPress Fiction line, including three Christy Award finalists and an ECPA Award finalist in its first year. I acquired and edited numerous nonfiction books as well.

I’ve written eight published books (as a ghostwriter) and edited more than seventy, including such authors as Mary DeMuth, Lisa Samson, Jill and Stuart Briscoe, Neta Jackson and Brandilyn Collins.

Prior to entering CBA, I worked in mainstream publishing. I started at General Publishing Group in California, where I was Director of Rights and Marketing, managing departments of special sales, subsidiary rights, international rights, international sales and domestic marketing. Among other things, I built and managed a team of international sales agents; and represented the company in Frankfurt, London, Tokyo, Chicago and New York.

Yes, I’ve Done Other Things Besides Publishing

Just out of college, I spent five years at Fox Broadcasting Company where I served as Special Programming Coordinator, working on more than sixty network television specials including the Emmy Awards and Billboard Music Awards. My bachelor’s degree is in Communications from California State University, Fullerton, and I later did graduate studies in Psychology at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

I live with my firefighter husband, two daughters and a fun-loving yellow lab at the breathtaking elevation of 7,000 feet in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. When I’m not reading, you can usually find me out running, hiking, skiing, or having coffee with my girlfriends.

Email me: Rachelle [at] wordserveliterary [dot] com

Follow me on Twitter: click here.

If you’re looking for specific posts on this blog, there are three ways to find them:

1. At the top of the sidebar, there’s a list of popular posts.
2. Further down the sidebar, there’s a list of categories under “Find Posts on This Blog.”
3. Also on the sidebar, there’s a “Search” box.

I hope you find something interesting here, and come back as often as possible!

If you still don’t know enough about me… read on.

9 Random Facts About Rachelle

1. My dog has his own page on Twitter. (And followers, of course.)
http://twitter.com/ReaganTheLab

2. I don’t watch TV news or read newspapers. I think I’m a happier person because of it.

3. I’m a passionate “foodie” and adore going to good restaurants and eating at other people’s homes. But I don’t enjoy cooking. Just put it in front of me—ready to eat—and I’m happy!

4. I cannot stand sleeping during the day (a.k.a. napping) and generally do not like the fact that I have to sleep ever.

5. I’ve jumped out of an airplane at 12,000 feet. I’ve hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (and back up again). I love waterskiing, snow-skiing, and horseback riding. I took indoor rockclimbing lessons but I don’t know if I’m brave enough to actually climb a mountain. One thing I would never do is bungee-jump.

6. I DON’T scrapbook, knit, grow a garden, keep a perfect house, make my kids’ Halloween costumes, separate the whites from the colors, make my own bread, jam, or pizza crust, or clip coupons. Nor do I feel compelled to change any of these things.

7. I love scuba diving and met my husband on a dive boat in Catalina.

8. I struggle every single day with trying to balance work and family.

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