Rachel Estep

Rachel’s journey into publishing has always been rooted in a deep love of story. A lifelong reader and passionate advocate for books that reflect the messy, joyful, complicated realities of life, she entered the world of publishing as an indie bookseller and connecting readers with stories that mattered to them.

Before joining D4EO, Rachel spent years working in an independent bookstore (where she still works three days a week!), where she developed a proven track record in both author advocacy and book sales. Her background also includes literary event coordination, managing ARC outreach, and digital marketing, where she built lasting connections with authors, publicists, and readers alike.

In her personal life, Rachel is the mother of two boys. Her youngest has several medical complexities which has taught her how to advocate fiercely, while her oldest is wildly intelligent and humbles her on the daily. She lives on a chaotic- yet love filled- homestead where she and her boys, along with her husband and parents, garden across several acres of land as well as raise chickens, ducks, and two turkeys with main character energy.

Rachel is an avid Taylor Swift fan, a bona fide Disney adult, a lover of 2000’s rom-coms, a connoisseur on Ben and Jerry’s flavors, and a proud Pitbull parent.

In YA I would like:

In YA thrillers, I’m drawn to tight-knit circles where something has gone wrong — games that curdle, friendships built on lies, families or communities that close ranks when the truth threatens to surface. I love glossy settings with a dark undercurrent, pressure-cooker plots, and that creeping realization that everyone knows more than they’re saying. Bonus points for high-stakes drama and a whisper of romance that complicates everything.

In YA fantasy, I want to be swept away. I’m hungry for immersive worlds with a pulse. Hunter and hunted dynamics, dangerous game systems, rebellions that feel earned, and I particularly love settings that are sentient or evolving in a way where they seem to come alive. I gravitate toward morally gray choices, slow-burn tension, and stories where survival has a cost.

And in YA romance I really really want to see broad ranges of diversity. I’m excited by queer love stories, non-Christian religions, global settings, and perspectives that feel lived-in and specific. If a story centers straight, white American teens, I’m looking for something boldly quirky or structurally inventive to make it stand out. I love warmth, humor, big feelings, and romances that understand joy can be just as powerful as angst.

In either YA or Adult, I really want a good climate dystopia. I want a ruined world and people trying to survive in it. Think The 100, but the people who didn’t go to space. I do not want this to be Fantasy Dystopia. I want this to be post apocalyptic.

On the adult side, I’m deeply drawn to stories that interrogate power, survival, and the stories we’ve been told about who matters.

In adult romance, I want love that feels urgent and a little unhinged. The kind that makes characters make bad decisions and readers ache for them anyway. I’m a sucker for forced proximity, one-bed situations, mistaken or hidden identities, and emotional desperation. I love cozy, Hallmark-adjacent warmth and stories with real heat and heart. I’ve watched every Christmas movie that exists on Netflix and if they’re saving some small business I am probably in. I would love this set against fresh backgrounds. I also really fell in love with Heated Rivalry, as did millions, and would love queer romances in a similar vein. I’m especially excited by diverse casts where identity isn’t the conflict or the curriculum, romances where characters simply are from different backgrounds, and the story centers their connection, chemistry, and choices rather than explaining their culture.

In adult nonfiction, I’m extremely selective. I gravitate toward true crime with purpose and empathy, biographies that illuminate rather than sensationalize famous events, and fresh, honest explorations of motherhood, especially those that complicate the narrative instead of romanticizing it. I’m also interested in certain practical nonfiction spaces, including homesteading-adjacent guides).

For adult thrillers, I want to be completely destabilized. I’m looking for tightly paced, relentlessly propulsive stories where every chapter demands the next one. I love unreliable narratives, claustrophobic settings, buried secrets, and that constant sense that no one — and nothing — can be trusted. If I think I understand what’s happening halfway through, it’s probably not for me. I want to feel uneasy, surprised, and a little obsessed.

And in adult historical fiction, I’m always looking for stories that reclaim the corners of history where women were essential –and erased. I’m drawn to narratives that spotlight overlooked labor, intelligence, bravery, and resilience, especially in moments where men received the credit women deserved. I love immersive historical settings, morally complex heroines, and stories that feel both rigorously researched and emotionally intimate.

Submission Guidelines

Please submit all queries with a 10 page sample to my Query Tracker.

Guidelines & Details