Chris Barcellona

Chris Barcellona โ€“ Editor

Former Big 5 editor with 10+ years of experience in publishing/media. Fave genres: romance, sci-fi, fantasy, YA, historical

Overview

I excel at editing genre fiction, and love to assess and restructure plots (I typically use the Save the Cat method of plotting.) I've also helped out literary fiction authors with plotting issues using techniques I've learned from editing genre fiction.

While at Macmillan, I worked with high-profile authors, including R.L. Stine and Meg Cabot.

I am also a strategically-minded person with a solid understanding of both the traditional publishing and self-publishing businesses.

Favorite genres:
๐ŸŽ” romance (especially LGBTQ+)
๐ŸŽ” fantasy
๐ŸŽ” historical
๐ŸŽ” science fiction
๐ŸŽ” young adult
๐ŸŽ” non-fiction
๐ŸŽ” middle-grade

Types of edits that I offer:
โœŽ Developmental Edit
โœŽ Editorial Assessment
โœŽ Copy Edit
โœŽ Proofread
โœŽ Query letter review

I'm also happy to work with you to figure out an out-of-the box service that will best help you with your project.

For example:
โ˜… If you're in the planning stages of a new project, I can read your character descriptions and beat sheet/plot summary and give feedback
โ˜… If you're actively drafting something, I can act like a critique partner and read your pages week by week (or month by month) and give feedback while you're still working on it.
โ˜… If there's something else you need help with, let me know!

And of course, if youโ€™re unsure of what service you need, let me know!


Also, Iโ€™d like to try to work with your budget, so if you have one, please let me know. I set my prices based on a variety of factors, including (but not limited to) word count, type of edit, amount of work the manuscript needs, etc.



Selected past experience:
๐Ÿ•ฎ Editor at Macmillan Children's Publishing Group (5 years)
๐Ÿ•ฎ Editorial and project management for nonfiction projects at McGraw-Hill (2 years)
๐Ÿ•ฎ Head of Production at chart-topping podcast + serialized fiction studio (3.5 years)
Services
Fiction
Coming of Age Fantasy Historical Fiction LGBTQ Fiction Middle Grade Romance Science Fiction Young Adult
Languages
English (US)

Work experience

Realm (formerly Serial Box)

May, 2018 โ€” Dec, 2021 (over 3 years)

Ushered projects through the editorial and production process, project managed serialized audiobooks and podcasts, wrote and proofread copy for new projects.

Macmillan

Jan, 2014 โ€” May, 2018 (over 4 years)

From 2011-2018, I worked in the editorial department at Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, working my way up from intern to editor. I edited a variety of projects, including young adult books (mostly romance, historical, fantasy, and non-fiction) and middle grade novels. I also wrote, edited, and proofread cover and jacket copy, wrote selling points, and project managed a variety of books.

McGraw-Hill Education

May, 2012 โ€” Oct, 2013 (over 1 year)

Project managed nonfiction books, researched and requested permissions, and handled editorial schedules.

Condรฉ Nast

Sep, 2010 โ€” Dec, 2010 (3 months)

Fact-checking, writing, interviewing, researching, web editing.

The Fordham Ram

Jan, 2010 โ€” Dec, 2011 (almost 2 years)

As a section editor at Fordham University's journal of record, I brainstormed story ideas, contacted writers, edited stories, designed The Ramโ€™s 3-4 page opinions section in InDesign, wrote stories almost weekly. Also created graphics featured in the publication.

WFUV (90.7 FM)

May, 2009 โ€” Dec, 2009 (7 months)

Copywriting, research, image and newsletter creation.

Portfolio

Queens of Geek

Wilde, Jen

Developmental Editing
Editorial Assessment
Made with Reedsy
Moon Dust in My Hairnet

Creaden, J.R.

Developmental Editing
Made with Reedsy
Scythe and Pen

Hobbs, A C

Developmental Editing
Meg & Linus

Nowinski, Hanna

Developmental Editing
P.S. I Miss You

Petro-Roy, Jen

Developmental Editing
Developmental Editing

Chris has 39 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Tessa W.

Tessa W.

Apr, 2024

Chris was a gift to a first-time author! They provided loads of feedback about what worked and what didn't and helped me feel prepared to tackle my next steps in this project. In addition, they were super amenable when a last-minute issue came up on my end, which saved me a whole host of anxiety.
Alyson K.

Alyson K.

Mar, 2024

Would 100% recommend Chris as a copy editor. The style sheet Chris provided me, along with all the edits to my manuscript have been so valuable. Communication throughout the entire process was professional and timely as well.
Linda R.

Linda R.

Feb, 2024

Chris was smart, savvy, thoughtful and a pleasure to work with. He was absolutely the best possible editor I could have had for this one. Not only was he key to bringing out the best in my book and giving me the peace of mind to be 100% confident in what I'm marketing - as any editor should, but he was also brilliant in his comments. I mean where I'd gone off track, he succinctly nailed the pla...
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Kistal G.

Kistal G.

Dec, 2023

Chirs went above and beyond with their work! I wasn't finished with my draft and needed some guidance with an ending. Chris provided suggestions in the form of beats and options on where my characters would end up with the results. Their editorial letter was long and detailed with a breakdown of my characters, plot, world-building, and more. It was exactly what I needed in a development edit to...
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Carly H.

Carly H.

Dec, 2023

Chris has been incredible! The editor of my dreams. The edit letter is impeccably detailed and the spreadsheet provided works perfectly with my brain and thoughts. I'm so thankful they agreed to work on my book!

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