Chersti Nieveen - Editor
15+ yrs experience editing SciFi/Fantasy/YA and more with NY Times best-selling authors such as Brandon Sanderson and Dan Wells.
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Overview
I’ve been a professional freelance editor for over 15 years, working with NYT Bestselling authors such as Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Sarah B. Larson, Liesl Shurtliff, Tricia Levenseller, and others (I’m mentioned in the acknowledgments). Because of my experience, I understand both the traditional and indie marketplace. My job is to help you create the strongest story by finding the best solutions that feel organic to your story.
I have advanced specialization in Fantasy, Science Fiction, and all genres of Young Adult. That includes coming-of-age stories, epic fantasy, urban fantasy, magical realism, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, space opera, steampunk, time travel, and more. I also have experience working with Mystery and Crime, Thriller, and Suspense. I've also consulted on plays and screenplays, including a few live productions with the goal of going to Broadway, taught at writing conferences, and been a guest lecturer in college writing classes.
I do this job because I love it and I bring that same enthusiasm to your edit as I help you learn how to elevate your craft. I choose to work on projects that show potential and that I feel passionate about.
"Chersti has a deep understanding of story structure as well as a keen eye for detail. She knows how to take a writer's raw material and guide them through their process to create the best possible version of their story."
Liesl Shurtliff, New York Times best-selling author
"I love working with Chersti! She has a fantastic editorial eye and delivers feedback in such a tactful and personable manner."
Tricia Levenseller, author of DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE KING
"Chersti’s edits always help me see the deeper changes that will shape my story into the one I’ve been trying to tell all along. Her experience with sci-fi and fantasy is a huge bonus, as she helps point out how I can use (and subvert!) tropes more effectively."
Shallee McArthur, author of THE UNHAPPENING OF GENESIS LEE
"Hiring Chersti to be my editor was the best decision I made in regards to my novel. Working with her as my editor pushed me to strengthen and stretch me as a writer. With her guidance, I cleared some of the muddied plotlines and gave my heroine a more defined purpose. When I compare the draft I sent her and the final draft, I'm amazed at the difference."
Lani Woodland, author of PIECES OF JADE
Languages
English (US)
Fiction
Contemporary Fiction
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Literary Fiction
Mystery & Crime
Science Fiction
Thriller & Suspense
Young Adult
Certifications
- Bachelor of Arts in English
- Minor in editing
Work experience
Acquisitions Editor
Cedar Fort
December, 2008
–
February, 2009
(2 months)
-Reviewed queries and sorted through the slush pile
-Prepared prospective projects for acquisitions meetings
-Handled copyedits and proofing
I decided to leave the company to focus on my freelance career.
Editor
Self-employed
September, 2005
–
Present
(over 17 years)
I work with a team of Story Analysts who consult on film, television, books, and plays to help create the strongest stories.
Acquisitions/Managing Editor
Leading Edge
September, 2005
–
June, 2008
(over 2 years)
Editor at LEADING EDGE, a science fiction and fantasy magazine publisher. Once a manuscript was acquired, I oversaw the whole editing process, running editorial teams and doing all final edits myself, until the manuscript went to print.
- Reviewed queries and sorted through the slush pile
- Prepared prospective projects to pitch the head editor
- Worked developmentally with the manuscript
- Worked in all Science Fiction and Fantasy genres and sub-genres
- Ran trainings to educate on the nuances in the sub-genre fields
Portfolio (42 selected works)
Mistborn: The Final Empire (Book No. 1)
Brandon Sanderson
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, the Mistborn series is a heist story of political intrigue and magical, martial-arts action.For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinel... read more
Seven Deadly Shadows
Courtney Alameda, Valynne E. Maetani
This thrilling YA retelling of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai features a girl tasked with saving the world from eternal darkness. Perfect for fans of Six of Crows and Marie Lu.Seventeen-year-old Kira Fujikawa has never had it easy. She’s bullied by the popular girls in school. Her parents ignore her. And she’s also plagued with a secret: She can see yokai, the ghosts and demons that haunt the street... read more
Heir of Ra (Blood of Ra Book One)
M. Sasinowski
#1 Amazon New Release (Ancient Civilizations)Winner of the 2018 International Beverly Hills Book Award (Action/Adventure)"fast-paced and enthralling... marvelous plot... thought-provoking and ingenious... well-written and engaging story... Heir of Ra is most highly recommended." -Readers' Favorite (5/5 Stars)"Sasinowski creates captivating action and an empowered central character... engaging ... read more
Daughter of the Siren Queen
Tricia Levenseller
The capable, confident, and occasionally ruthless heroine of Daughter of the Pirate King is back in this action-packed sequel that promises rousing high seas adventures and the perfect dash of magic.Alosa's mission is finally complete. Not only has she recovered all three pieces of the map to a legendary hidden treasure, but the pirates who originally took her captive are now prisoners on her ... read more
Isle of Dragons: The Hidden Library (#2)
Thompson, L. A.
Isle of Dragons: The Ruler of Vansh (#3)
Thompson, L. A.
Warrior of the Wild
Levenseller, Tricia
Shutter
Courtney Alameda
Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat -- a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum. As one of the last descendants of the Van Helsing lineage, she has trained since childhood to destroy monsters both corporeal and spiritual: the corporeal undead go down by the bullet, the spiritual undead by the lens. With an analog SLR camera as her best weapon, Micheline exorcises ghosts ... read more
Pitch Dark
Courtney Alameda
From Courtney Alameda, the author of Shutter, this thrilling, sci-fi horror and space adventure will be sure to stay with readers long after the last pages.Lost to time, Tuck Morgan and his crew have slept in stasis aboard the USS John Muir for centuries. Their ship harbors a chunk of Earth, which unbeknownst to them, is the last hope for the failing human race.Laura Cruz is a shipraider searc... read more
Red: The True Story of Red Riding Hood
Liesl Shurtliff
Beauty and the Beast fans: satisfy your fairy tale cravings with the New York Times bestseller RED, a spellbinding adventure that features a brave heroine, plenty of pixies, a beast like no other, and a beauty too! Red is not afraid of the big bad wolf. She’s not afraid of anything . . . except magic. But when Red’s granny falls ill, it seems that only magic can save her, and fearless Red is f... read more
The Unhappening of Genesis Lee
Shallee McArthur
What would it feel like to never forget? Or to have a memory stolen?Seventeen-year-old Genesis Lee has never forgotten anything. As one of the Mementi--a small group of genetically enhanced humans--Gena remembers everything with the help of her Link bracelets, which preserve memories perfectly. But Links can be stolen, and six people have already lost their lives to a memory thief, including G... read more
Over Your Dead Body (John Cleaver)
Dan Wells
New York Times bestselling author Dan Wells continues his popular John Wayne Cleaver series in Over Your Dead Body.John and Brooke are on their own, hitchhiking from town to town as they hunt the last of the Withered through the midwest--but the Withered are hunting them back, and the FBI is close behind. With each new town, each new truck stop, each new highway, they get closer to a vicious k... read more
Next of Kin: A John Cleaver Novella
Dan Wells
We call them demons, for lack of a better word, but the truth is something much more mysterious. In the I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER trilogy, the young sociopath John Cleaver killed three of them, trying to protect his family, but he has no idea what horrors he's stirred up. . . . Elijah Sexton was a god of the ancient world, but now he drives a hearse in a Midwest town, keeping his head down, avo... read more
The Devil's Only Friend (John Cleaver)
Dan Wells
John Wayne Cleaver hunts demons: they've killed his neighbors, his family, and the girl he loves, but in the end he's always won. Now he works for a secret government kill team, using his gift to hunt and kill as many monsters as he can . . .. . . but the monsters have noticed, and the quiet game of cat and mouse is about to erupt into a full scale supernatural war.John doesn't want the life h... read more
Wrongly imprisoned, Frederick Whithers is desperate to commit the crime he's already being punished for: defrauding the bank out of a vast inheritance. He fakes his death to escape, but when he's seen climbing out of a coffin everyone assumes he's a vampire; when he shows none of the traditional vampire weaknesses, they decide he must be the most powerful vampire in the history of the world.Ha... read more
Just when Fredrick Whithers thought his life couldn't get any more complicated, he is asked to arrange a funeral for a man who is very much not dead. In the companion to A Night of Blacker Darkness, Frederick must balance the arts of necromancy and magic while managing to run a funeral home.
Bluescreen (Mirador)
Dan Wells
“Bluescreen is a stunning deluge of imagination, filled with suspense and twists and unforgettable characters. This book is just plain awesome.”—James Dashner, bestselling author of The Maze RunnerFrom Dan Wells, author of the New York Times bestselling Partials Sequence, comes the first book in a new sci-fi-noir series. Los Angeles in 2050 is a city of open doors, as long as you have the righ... read more
Fragments (Partials Sequence)
Dan Wells
Author Dan Wells is back with the sequel to the sci-fi blockbuster Partials, which Pittacus Lore called a "thrilling sci-fi adrenaline rush, with one of the most compelling and frightening visions of Earth's future I've seen yet."After discovering the cure for RM, Kira Walker sets off on a terrifying journey into the ruins of postapocalyptic America and the darkest desires of her heart in orde... read more
Ruins (Partials Sequence)
Dan Wells
New York Times BestsellerKira, Samm, and Marcus fight to prevent a final war between Partials and humans in the gripping final installment in the Partials Sequence, a series that combines the thrilling action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes of Blade Runner and The Stand.There is no avoiding it—the war to decide the fate of both humans and Partials is at hand. Both sides hold in... read more
Pieces of Jade (Pirates of Orea Book 1)
Lani Woodland, Melonie Piper
Sentenced to death by the man she loves . . .Jade has no control over her future. She is the Emmía, the girl whose magical blood keeps her kingdom’s cursed soil fertile and ensures the survival of her people. But her destiny is ruined when pirates take her magical medallion, the loss of which is treasonous, and the prince she loves is honor-bound to sentence her to death. Forced to flee to the... read more
A new paranormal urban fantasy romance thriller from thebestselling authors of The Divinicus Nex Chronicles! Dark and twisted, and full of action,adventure, suspense, humor, and crazy fun characters! Perfect for fans of Bella Forrest, Sarah J. Maas, and Jaymin Eve. - No Memory. No Mind. No Mercy.Kiara Blackwood has a few problems.She's older thanshe looks - by several centuries. She can't reme... read more
Sisters of Sorrow #1
Kurt Sutter, Courtney Alameda
Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy, Mayans MC) brings this all-new original tale of revenge and recovery to comics with novelist Courtney Alameda (Shutter) and breakthrough artist Hyeonjin Kim. By day, Dominique, Greta, Misha, and Sarah run a nonprofit women's shelter. At night, they each don a nun's habit and move through Los Angeles hunting down violent abusers who have escaped justice. Their incr... read more
Eloy's Discovery (The Eloy Trilogy Book 1)
Kara Timmins
When the fragile balance of his world is shattered by an invading horde, Eloy must flee for his life into a world he has only heard about in stories. Armed only with courage, his wits, and the dream of something better, Eloy embarks on a quest into the unknown to find the sister he lost and discover the future destined for him.
Beyond the Code
Kelsey Rae Barthel
To the common world, Aurora Falon is merely the pampered daughter of a rich and influential family. But to the secret world of The Order, she is Luna, the powerful and formidable warrior knight, under the rule of her master, Cole Iver. Together, they strive to bring down Damon Lexus, a wicked master who uses her knights in cowardly and dishonourable ways for her own selfish desires. But when t... read more
City of Shards (Spellgiver Book 1)
Steve Rodgers
“A unique and exciting dark fantasy…” —Readers’ Favorite (5 star)Larin’s got big problems. His tendency to shout nonsense words at random has turned him into a pariah in the gang-infested Wormpile district, where he’s protected only by his drug-addicted but deadly uncle. Confined to his uncle’s 4-block zone, where no gang member dares to tread, his only friends are an outcast thief and an alco... read more
In the Claws of the Indigen (Spellgiver Book 2)
Steve Rodgers
The Old Gods have seized control of the capital in an orgy of executions and murder. Now, Larin and the others flee for their lives, as the High Wizard’s creatures fall upon them like a steel rain. Thus begins Book 2 of Spellgiver, a tale of heroism, hatred, wonder and betrayal. A tale in which Larin will meet his Master, Akul will reconcile with one horrible mistake from the past, and nothing... read more
Through a Forest of Stars
David C. Jeffrey
Year 2217. Earth’s biosphere is dying, Mars’s terraforming projects are in ruin, resource wars are brewing, and even the discovery of voidoids—eerie neo-quantum portals into nearby star systems—has failed to yield other habitable worlds in Bound Space. But that’s about to change. Aiden Macallan, Terra Corp’s maverick planetologist aboard the survey ship Argo, is plunged to the center of a dead... read more
One Nation Under Gods
Reeshi Ray
The war raged for five years.When the smoke cleared the United States was a memory, conquered by a race unlike the world had ever seen.They are the Specials—a godlike race gifted with powers so cataclysmic that the human survivors of the war had no choice but to surrender to their invincible overlords.But Houston Holt doesn't surrender.A war veteran turned underworld fixer, Houston spends his ... read more
Eloy's Legacy (The Eloy Trilogy Book 3)
Timmins, Kara
Eloy's Challenge (The Eloy Trilogy)
Timmins, Kara
Eloy's Discovery (The Eloy Trilogy Book 1)
Timmins, Kara
Chaos Rising (The Lemurian Chronicles Book 2)
Morris, Perry
Stronger
Woodland, Lani
The Traveler's Cup
Baldwin, AC
The Slave Prince
Grace, Jeyna
The Call of Dust: Book One of the Arat Series
Saint, M. R.
The Last Faoii: Book 1 of the Faoii Chronicles
Nelson, Tahani
Lies The Guardians Tell (Lies of The Guardians Book 1)
Steuernagel, Herman
Zero G (The Zero Chronicles Book 1)
Wells, Dan
Oceanworlds
J.P. Landau
If you were in awe of books like The Martian and 2001: A Space Odyssey or movies like Interstellar and Apollo 13, get ready for a story destined to become a Sci-Fi classic – one with the potential to leap from fiction into reality and become the greatest adventure on which humankind has ever embarked.September 7 2030. Mission Day 1179. Late at night inside the two-person Dragon spacecraft rest... read more
Chersti has 155 reviews
Professionalism
Professionalism
Quality
Quality
Value
Value
Communication & Punctuality
Communication & Punctuality
I found Chersti very helpful. I knew there were thing wrong with my manuscript, but I couldn't my finger on them. Chersti's help was invaluable in helping my craft a better manuscript.
Christopher Burks, January 2023
In many ways working with Chersti is like the best writing seminar you always wanted, but never got in school! There were a series of issues that delayed things - but she communicated with me each time to explain these delays. In the end, as she promised, the delays did benefit the end result, so it was all worth it. As a busy professional myself, the delays were not really burdensome and I un...
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Jacquelyn Williamson, January 2023
Working with Chersti was a pleasure from beginning to end. It was so easy to speak to her and on every step of this process she was exceptionally helpful. More than anything though, working with Chersti was just plain fun! From the moment we started communications she was professional, clear, and detailed with her messages to me. She was very considerate and flexible with my budget and worked w...
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Allene Keshishian, December 2022
Top notch editor, my book will be immensely better thanks to her services.
Dean Whitford, December 2022
Chersti did an amazing job editing my first book. The experience was constructive, extremely educational, and well worth the time and money (it went well beyond what I had expected). I would highly recommend using Chersit for a multitude of services ranging from editing, proofreading, line editing, and/or just talking/mapping out where you want your book to go/flow. I'm not sure how she keeps...
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PHILIP ARCHER, December 2022
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