Rhonda is a 30-year publishing professional, specializing in the legalities of researching, negotiating, and contracting permissions for high-profile authors and publishers. Her expertise includes content, photo, and cartoon research, as well as book compilation, online applications for copyrights and Cataloging-in-Publication data, seeking and securing endorsements, and indexing.
Rhonda’s clients include such authors as Max Lucado, Charles Swindoll, Billy Graham, Pat Robertson, Women of Faith, actress Janine Turner, and many others. Rhonda is considered a guru of publishing legalities.
Rhonda has a bachelor of science degree in education and a specialization in reading from Texas Tech University. She also has a master’s in library science. So it’s no wonder she is also author of several books, such as Heaven in My Heart, Hugs for the Heart, Treasury of Christian Classics for Children, Where Angels Dwell, and about 35 more. She has also been involved in the development of such well-known projects as Veggie Tales Bible Mania.
Authors think the hard part is writing the book, but obtaining rights and permissions is often just as difficult. Permissions require excellence in a million details, legal and otherwise, along with a good dose of abilities in negotiation and strategic compromise. It’s a necessary evil of book publishing. Authors hate it. Editors loathe it. And so someone like Rhonda, who brings to it not only excellence and experience but also enthusiasm, is a godsend. Time and again she has not only procured that most-necessary but difficult-to-obtain permission but also has done it at a fraction of expected cost. So many best-selling books have been in her hands, and she has always done such a marvelous job with each one of them. She achieves great results, is personable, and is a real expert. I would hire her again in a second for any project. —Thom Chittom, production editor, Thomas Nelson Inc.