Angela Brown

Angela Brown – Editor

Editor of more than 800 books. I specialize in sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, horror, mystery, thriller, YA, and dystopian fiction.

Overview

During my career in publishing, I've edited more than 800 books, most notably the bestselling BLUE DAYS, BLACK NIGHTS by Ron Nyswaner, Oscar-nominated screenwriter of PHILADELPHIA. For seven years, I worked at Alyson Books in Los Angeles, where I spent three years as the company's editor in chief. I've edited many high-profile and award-winning titles, including NEW YORK TIMES bestseller Teresa Mummert's PERFECT LIE, Dete Meserve's GOOD SAM (number-one Amazon bestseller and now a Netflix film), Chaz Bono’s memoir THE END OF INNOCENCE, Tom Kakonis's TREASURE COAST, five novels in Elizabeth Sims’s acclaimed Lillian Byrd Crime Story series, and two graphic novels by National Book Critics Circle nominee Alison Bechdel. I've worked with established and up-and-coming authors as a developmental editor, writing mentor, line editor, and copy editor. My essays and commentary have appeared on NPR and Pacifica Radio and in USA TODAY, among other places.


I specialize in genre fiction (sci-fi, fantasy, mysteries, thrillers, horror, speculative/paranormal, dystopian fiction, action-adventure, romance, chick lit, YA, westerns, and children's books), as well as literary fiction if it's influenced by one or more of these genres. Occasionally I will take on a nonfiction book if it feels like a good fit, so try me. Once we begin collaborating, I'll work side by side with you as your editor, mentor, nagging pal, helicopter mother/tiger mom, kindly sleeve tugger, and loudest cheerleader. We will come up with a plan to help you either find a traditional publisher for your book or create a road map for self-publishing, identifying goals along the way. We'll work together as a team to develop your ideas and your book and make sure it tests your chops as a writer—I'm here to challenge you and help you produce writing you never thought possible! When things click into place like this, it is magic. And the angels sing. At least this one does.


I’ve been told I have a knack for making books the best they can be while retaining the author’s voice and style. In other words, I don’t change an author’s writing to suit my personal style; I let her or his voice shine through on each page. It is my passion to take great books and help make them fantastic. As one of my authors says, I push writing "over the brink of what's acceptable into the realm of what's extraordinary.”


Come join me on this adventure.


And don't forget to bring a book!


Services
Fiction
Fantasy Horror LGBTQ Fiction Literary Fiction Middle Grade Mystery & Crime Science Fiction Thriller & Suspense Young Adult
Languages
English (AUS) English (CAN) English (NZ) English (UK) English (US)
Awards
  • Five-time Lambda Literary Award nominee

Work experience

Self-employed

Nov, 2009 — Present

Developmental editor, writing mentor, line editor, ghostwriter, and anthology editor for a variety of authors and publishers, including Kensington Books, Cleis Press, First Books, University of Wisconsin Press, Inkwater Press, Daedalus Publishing, Watermark Entertainment, Midnight Shadow Productions, and Little Acorn Press.

Alyson Books

Oct, 2002 — Nov, 2009 (about 7 years)

Hired and managed editorial staff for a midsize trade book publisher and oversaw the timely completion and overall quality of all books from manuscript to final product. Acquired 50–60 novels and nonfiction books per year. Edited 20–25 titles per year while working closely with authors on character development, story development/structure, tone, style, grammar, and commercial viability. Worked closely with the copy editing, art, production, and marketing departments to ensure the delivery and promotion of all titles. Negotiated contracts with agents and authors. Monitored sales data and industry trends. Pitched titles at sales conferences and spoke on publishing panels on behalf of the company. Wrote and reviewed jacket copy and Amazon promo material.

Portfolio

Inbiotic

James Suriano

The 21st Century will be remembered by the rise of the Android. Alia Vicadora is not your normal Android. Created at the hands of a disgruntled genius working in a Washington DC lab, she was e... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Is this The End of Sadie Myers? Ever since tragedy struck her family one year ago, Sadie’s life has become a dark brew of unearthly visions and vivid dreams in which a mysterious shadow man fo... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
The only things Alex Rains cares about are rock ’n’ roll, classic cars, and killing vampires—that is, until he meets Carmen, a tough-as-nails cop who's hot on the trail of her missing little s... read more
Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
The Resurrectionist

Meyering, A. R.

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment Query Letter Review
Developmental Editing Copy Editing
Developmental Editing Copy Editing
Silicon Override

Ketcherside, Shawn

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
From a #1 bestselling author:A fresh and funny romantic mystery series about a witty, down-to-earth heroine with a job you've never seen before..."So good I absolutely could not put it down! .... read more
Editorial Assessment
Treasure Coast

Tom Kakonis

Treasure Coast is the wild new thriller from Tom Kakonis, the acclaimed author of Criss Cross and Michigan Roll. A compulsive gambler goes to his sister's funeral on Florida's Treasure Coast a... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Perfect Lie

Teresa Mummert

Sometimes love burns so hot in your veins that it consumes all rational thought. That’s why Brock and I never had a chance. I had to start my life over. College was my chance to become someone... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Furious Angels

Dr Damien Mac Namara

Reunited by tragedy, Andrew and Will are unlikely pawns in a high-stakes game of A.I. and religious fanaticism. Answering a call from beyond the grave they are unwittingly thrown into a vast t... read more
Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Give It Back

Danielle Esplin

This novel follows three characters: Lorraine, Lexy, and Ella. Lorraine: Not long ago, Lorraine lost her husband to another woman. She thought that was the worst thing that could happen to her... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment Proofreading
Melody didn't create complex phrases. She didn't connect words together. She simply spoke by putting words one after the other...until a mysterious code written in an ancient language changed ... read more
Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
From the bestselling author of Good Sam comes a fast-paced and thought-provoking follow-up, Perfectly Good Crime. Featured as "Best Summer Read" in Parade, Sunset Magazine, BuzzFeed, Working M... read more
Editorial Assessment
Sarah and Nickolas McGuire—ages ten and twelve, respectively—never even knew they had a Great-Aunt Vivian. But now, all of a sudden, they’re being rushed off to her manor in Australia, where t... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
In the second book of The Odyssey of Jon Sinclair trilogy, Jon and his grandfather Alistair are desperate to return to the twenty-first century. Their space-time ship, however, lacks the antim... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
In 2099 the United States is gone. In its place stands the most powerful government the world has ever seen: the Kingdom. Led by King Charles and his Centurion Guard, Americans live in fear of... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
WINNER OF THE 2015 NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARD IN FANTASY!On the heavily forested planet of Lumin, the Network has slept, dormant, for over six hundred cycles. Only a select few remember t... read more
Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
New York City, 1949. At the Candy Box Club, three steps below the street, the show is about to begin. But in this club, the world is upside down. Emcee Blackie Cole is Blanche Cohen, the choru... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing
Lillian Byrd is a small-time reporter with a flair for making big-time mistakes--so her investigation into the disappearances of women around the Detroit area might not be the best idea. But w... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing
"My father’s body was found floating facedown in the waters off Chappaquiddick. Naturally, everyone assumed a Kennedy did it." Well, perhaps not everyone, as Graydove Hoffenstein, the Native A... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing
Whaler's Gold

Charles E. Soule

In they heyday of pirating that was in the late 1600's, a group of pirates buried an enormous treasure of gold bullion in the Gallapagos Islands off the west coast of South America. It lay unm... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
As the gatekeeper of the Malibu social scene, Alana Fox is used to helping her clients with finding a bridge group, or even a new man. When Hollywood widow Francis Ferguson contacts Alana, how... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Good Sam

Dete Meserve

#1 Amazon Bestseller and multi-award winner! Romantic mystery with an uplifting ending. Good Sam is in production as a feature film. "If you are a Nicholas Sparks or Richard Paul Evans fan, I'... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
A Town Called America

Andrew Alexander

No one in his small, impoverished town believes Rick when he announces that he heard a warning on his car radio. The townsfolk cling to the hope that Mors Mortis, the gang of violent vigilante... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Valencia Brandywine, heiress to a hotel empire, has been kidnapped, and the ransom is $7 million and her brother Rico's denouncement of his homosexuality. Valencia has been kidnapped by a grou... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing
Traveling The Silk Road: an interview with author Jane Summer"Adults have forgotten the feel of a teenager's love. For you a teenager will walk through glass doors, stay awake three days in a ... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing
Jo Jacuzzo is a bit down on her luck when she accepts a job offer that will take her from Buffalo, N.Y., to Tampa, Fla., to pack the belongings of the aged Mrs. Phipps and drive her back to Bu... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing
In this, the fourth Connor Hawthorne mystery, Connor (former prosecuting attorney turned novelist) and her partner, Laura Nez, travel to Boston to attend the funeral of Catherine Wainwright, t... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing
After vaccinations banished it to the history books, no one ever expected a second major epidemic of the bubonic plague. But it’s here, and deadlier than ever—sweeping around the world and res... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword"- Matthew 10:34Jennifer Ainsley: The First Demon War is a gripping, fast-paced fantasy/... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Sigve the Awful is a renowned swordsman, soon to fight for mighty kings. But his immediate task is to survive.The Lethal Oath, the second book in The Viking Series, continues the late-Viking A... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
From the depths of the spirit And the chasms of the darkness Eight precious stones Eight matters of the soul For Mattie who was eleven and just a frizzy red-haired fifth grader, magic wasn’t e... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Sheila Marie Palmer delivers a classic battle of good versus evil in "Life and Death on Siesta Key", her follow-up to "Life and Death on the Tamiami Trail", and the second installment in the "... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Before Bethlehem

James J. Flerlage

The Pinnacle of History through the Eyes of a Boy This spellbinding work of historical fiction offers the eyewitness account of 15-year-old James, son of Joseph bar Jacob, and the dangerous an... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Emma, Jason, and Danny Hollen are just three ordinary kids living near the Everglades National Park in Florida, that is, until they find an unexpected visitor in their backyard. To their surpr... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Syney's life may seem like a fairy tale but it is far from perfect... Six months after her coronation, the newly discovered seated queen of Altera Realm is finding it harder and harder to conf... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
"Jones' well-designed future world—and especially his driving, infectious storytelling—may win over all but the most adamant skeptics. Fans of S. M. Stirling's Dies the Fire (2004) and its seq... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
When a clandestine agency abducts his parents, a young boy escapes to the family’s remote beach hideaway. But as love blossoms on the beach, chaos overruns his village, and he eventually retur... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment

Angela has 160 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Kerry L.

Kerry L.

Apr, 2024

Working with Angela has been a wonderful experience! This is my second time working with her and I know it won't be the last. She is incredibly supportive and offers constructive criticism without being disparaging. Thank you so much for making my first self-publishing experience a lot less intimidating.
Aisha M.

Aisha M.

Apr, 2024

I had the pleasure of collaborating with Angela Brown to refine a query letter, and I am thoroughly impressed with her work. Angela exhibited remarkable efficiency, delivering results with an exceptionally quick turnaround time. Her insightful comments provided invaluable feedback, highlighting areas where sentences excelled and offering constructive suggestions for improvement. Working with An...
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Eric R.

Eric R.

Apr, 2024

Angela was incredibly professional and helpful in editing my query letter. I would absolutely enlist her services again. I highly recommend her!
Bob J.

Bob J.

Apr, 2024

Angela helped me fine tune my query letter. She is excellent at what she does. I now feel confident to go forward in my search for literary agent representation and would highly recommend her.
Joshua B.

Joshua B.

Apr, 2024

Angela was wonderful to work with on my query letter. Her feedback and edits were insightful and extremely helpful. I now have an excellent product that I feel confident sending to agents and publishers. Not only was she professional in her communications, but she was also very prompt and responsive. I will definitely engage Angela again.

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