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
Made with Reedsy
Together in a Broken World

Winters, Paul Michael

NineStar Press

Developmental Editing
Made with Reedsy
Earth to Alis

Carlow, Lex

Spinning Rock Press

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 42 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Linda R.

Linda R.

Feb, 2024

Pinned
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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Alex C.

Alex C.

Oct, 2024

Chris was an outstanding copy editorโ€”helpful, patient, and always prompt. His organization and attention to detail made the entire process smooth and stress-free. I highly recommend him for his expertise and reliability.
Johnny N.

Johnny N.

Jun, 2024

I've worked with two editors now and I particularly appreciated what Chris brought to my work and process. For context, I am a new writer (well an old writer but new at taking my writing to the next level). Chris provided an informational sheet up front to help me understand what to expect from the service and how to make the most of our engagement, which honestly was a whole service offering i...
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Logan C.

Logan C.

Jun, 2024

Chris gave the most amazing and comprehensive feedback, that cut to the heart of potential issues in my plot and character development. The proposed solutions were well considered too. I'd work with Chris again in a heartbeat.
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.

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