Brent Howard

Brent Howard – Editor

Editor with 19 years at Penguin Random House, editing narrative history, thrillers, mysteries, spy stories and horror.

Overview

I'm a freelance editor with nearly two decades of experience at a major NYC publishing house.


For fiction, I love thrillers, suspense, espionage, horror--especially if the stories have a historical setting. I can help you tighten your story, sharpen your characters, fine tune your language and help grab an acquisition editor's attention from page one.


When it comes to nonfiction, I specialize in history, military, politics and biographies. I'm drawn to sharp, perceptive storytelling, descriptive prose and authors with the ambition to write definitive accounts. It's easy for nonfiction writers to get lost in the research. I can help you find the essence of the story, cut out the clutter, and sharpen your descriptions, putting a picture in the reader's head and making your writing come to life.


Over the course of my career, I have reviewed thousands of query letters. I understand the pitfalls to avoid, how to hold an editor's attention and make your letter stand out, leading the editor to jump to the proposal for an immediate read.


Serious inquiries only, please.


"Brent is a real author's editor, gifted in his knowledge of narrative and nuance."--Martin Dugard, #1 New York Times bestselling author of KILLING LINCOLN and TAKING PARIS

Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs History Political Science & Current Affairs True Crime
Fiction
Historical Fiction Thriller & Suspense
Languages
English (US)

Work experience

Self-employed

Jan, 2024 — Present
Recruiting authors in the areas of history, military, politics, biographies, journalism, memoirs, science, as well as thrillers, suspense, espionage, historical fiction, and horror.

Self-employed

Jul, 2023 — Present

Penguin Random House

Apr, 2004 — Jul, 2023 (over 19 years)
I acquired and edited bestselling and prize-winning nonfiction books. Earlier in my career, I published many bestselling historical and suspense novels.

Portfolio

Developmental Editing Editorial Assessment Query Letter Review
Developmental Editing Editorial Assessment Query Letter Review
Developmental Editing
Developmental Editing
Developmental Editing Editorial Assessment Query Letter Review
Developmental Editing Editorial Assessment
Developmental Editing Editorial Assessment
Developmental Editing Editorial Assessment Query Letter Review
Developmental Editing

Brent has 15 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

M G.

M G.

Apr, 2025

Brent was really helpful in drafting and editing my query letter!
Mark S.

Mark S.

Apr, 2025

I had Brent review a query letter I was drafting for my nonfiction book and he was absolutely wonderful to work with. Not only was he incredibly responsive, but his knowledge of the industry is simply unmatched. Could not recommend him more highly.
Jane H.

Jane H.

Mar, 2025

Excellent experience working with Brent on a complicated co-authored biography project, involving an obscure family who lived in the U.S. in the late-19th-early 20th century. Brent completed a very close read of the manuscript, noting everything from comma errors to logic problems and even one re...
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David F.

David F.

Mar, 2025

Brent took a hard to follow manuscript and gave me the path to make it work. Throughout the manuscript were inserted notes with questions about the narrative, and suggestions to make it more entertaining and believable. I can’t recommend Brent highly enough. Thank you!
Sean C.

Sean C.

Jan, 2025

Brent did a nice job of editing my manuscript. He added comments to many edits to provide feedback and completed the project on time.

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