Agent Friday: Rachelle Gardner

I'm beginning a new Friday column, titled Agent Friday. Each week, I'll highlight a literary agent that I've researched. I'll begin with agents that keep excellent blogs, so even if you're not looking for an agent, you'll learn something. Today's agent is Rachelle Gardner.

Rachelle is relatively new to agenting, having been in the business for the last couple of years, but prior to that she worked in publishing for thirteen years. Her agency, where she is one of three agents is WordServe Literary. She hosts a blog, Rants & Ramblings on Life as a Literary Agent, that has garnered a coveted spot in Writers Digests Top 100 Websites for Writers two years running.

Out of all the writing blogs I could spend my limited time on, I never miss Rachelle's blog. She recently conducted a poll, and found that the majority of her blog readers are unpublished writers of fiction. Her blog posts reflect that, as she writes about encouragment for writers, the waiting process, and many posts on how the publishing business works and what writers can expect.

Rachelle labels her posts, so if you're looking for something specific, like book proposals or elevator pitches, you'll be able to find them quickly. Here are links to a couple of my favorite posts:

All about backstory, and how it differs from flashbacks.

A great post (including the comments) about the basics of learning to write.

Rachelle's Top Ten Query Mistakes.

Do you have a favorite agent blog? Leave a comment, and I'll add it to the list.