Dan Crissman

Dan Crissman – Editor

Professional editor with over a decade of experience at W. W. Norton, FSG, and top-tier indies.

Overview

I'm a professional editor specializing in history, popular science, memoir, how-to, and travel books. I've worked at major publishing houses—including HarperCollins, Macmillan, and W. W. Norton—for over a decade, editing books as varied as a sweeping history of African Americans (CHILDREN OF FIRE by Thomas C. Holt) to a mystery series set in 1930s New York (Peter Quinn's Fintan Dunne novels) to a coffee table book about beer label design (OH BEAUTIFUL BEER by Harvey Shepard). I've also written two books: BREWING EVERYTHING (Norton, 2018) and CLEVELAND IN 50 MAPS (Belt, 2019).For the past several years, I've been working with self-published authors on a freelance basis and have found it extremely rewarding. Whether it's an in-depth edit or just a finishing touch, I love helping authors who might not fit the traditional publishing model realize their vision and get their work out into the world.
Services
Non-Fiction
Business & Management Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits History Nature Political Science & Current Affairs Travel
Fiction
Comics & Graphic Novels Historical Fiction
Languages
English (UK) English (US)

Work experience

Indiana University Press

Nov, 2021 — Present
Acquires trade and regional titles and directs scholarly editorial strategy for a list of 75+ new titles per year

Belt Publishing

Sep, 2017 — Oct, 2021 (about 4 years)
Acquires and edits for an independent press based in the Rust Belt.

Self-employed

Jan, 2017 — Present
Works with agents, publishers, and authors across a variety of genres.

W. W. Norton & Company

Oct, 2014 — Jan, 2017 (about 2 years)
Acquired and edited roughly 30 titles per year for the Countryman Press imprint.

The Overlook Press

Aug, 2011 — Oct, 2014 (about 3 years)
Acquired and edited an eclectic list of history, popular science, memoir, and fiction of all stripes. Worked with authors such as Charles Portis, Milton Glaser, and Elizabeth Drew.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Mar, 2009 — Jul, 2011 (over 2 years)
Edited scholarly and crossover trade history for the Hill & Wang imprint. Worked with authors such as Elie Wiesel, Eric Foner, and the late Harvey Pekar.

Portfolio

Brewing Everything: How to Make Your Own Beer, Cider, Mead, Sake, Kombucha, and Other Fermented Beverages (Countryman Know How)

Crissman, Dan

Cleveland in 50 Maps

Crissman, Dan

Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography

Jacobson, Sid

Rotten: Why Corporate Misconduct Continues and What to Do about It

Epstein, Marc J.

An Alternative History of Pittsburgh

Simon, Ed

Troubled: The Failed Promise of America’s Behavioral Treatment Programs

Rosen, Kenneth R.

Bad Data: Why We Measure the Wrong Things and Often Miss the Metrics That Matter

Schryvers, Peter

Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park

Knighton, Conor

Citizen Reporters: S.S. McClure, Ida Tarbell, and the Magazine That That Rewrote America

Gorton, Stephanie

Midwest Futures

Christman, Phil

Clutter: An Untidy History

Howard, Jennifer

Storied Bars of New York: Where Literary Luminaries Go to Drink

Delia Cabe

Explore the fabled past and vibrant present of New York’s literary bar scene Want to know what it’s like to pull up a stool with the likes of Hemingway, Updike, or Capote? Curious how Jay McInerney takes his martini, or where to find Colson Whitehead’s favorit... read more
The Homebrewer's Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to Making Your Own Beer from Scratch

Marika Josephson

The complete resource for brewing beer with farmed and foraged ingredients, featuring over 50 recipes Forget hops: The revolution in craft beer is taking place in gardens, farmer’s markets, and deep in the woods outside rural towns across the country. It’s bee... read more
Not the Israel My Parents Promised Me

Harvey Pekar

Harvey Pekar's mother was a Zionist by way of politics. His father was a Zionist by way of faith. Whether Harvey was going to daily Hebrew classes or attending Zionist picnics, he grew up a staunch supporter of the Jewish state. But soon he found himself quest... read more
Drinking Water: A History

James Salzman

When we turn on the tap or twist open a tall plastic bottle, we might not give a second thought to where our drinking water comes from. But how it gets from the ground to the glass is far more complex than we might think. With concerns over pollution and new t... read more
Dry Bones: A Novel

Peter Quinn

Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel Strand Critics Award for Best First Novel Fintan Dunne, the detective at the center of The Man Who Never Returned and Hour of the Cat, is back in this spellbinding story of an ill-fated OSS mission into the heart of ... read more
Children of Fire: A History of African Americans

Thomas C. Holt

Ordinary people don't experience history as it is taught by historians. They live across the convenient chronological divides we impose on the past. The same people who lived through the Civil War and the eradication of slavery also dealt with the hardships of... read more
The Fermented Man: A Year on the Front Lines of a Food Revolution

Derek Dellinger

Fermentation is all the rage in health and fitness circles, but can a person live for one year on nothing but fermented foods? One brave homebrewer tries to find out.On January 1, 2014, homebrewer and writer Derek Dellinger began a journey that would change ne... read more
The History of the Hudson River Valley: From Wilderness to the Civil War

Vernon Benjamin

Sailing down the river that would later bear his captain’s name, explorer Robert Juet described the Hudson River Valley in 1609 as a “drowned land” submerged by a “great lake of water.” Over the next two centuries, this drowned landscape would be the site of a... read more

Dan has 22 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

David B.

David B.

Sep, 2022

Dan was highly competent and very patient with the beginning stages of my project. He thoroughly reviewed the narrative as expressed by the illustrations, offering encouragement to the good and a keen insight to potential issues. I most highly recommend and plan to use him in the future.
Ly K.

Ly K.

Jan, 2022

I found most of Dan's suggestions helpful and provocative. I am re-writing using many of his suggestions. I am hoping to get a better, more publishable book from this experience. Dan and I were hoping to leave the collaboration open...
Avalon R.

Avalon R.

Nov, 2020

Dan was an absolute breeze to work with as a publisher: he was very communicative and detail oriented, and he stuck to his deadlines perfectly. His work is very thorough and brings the manuscript up to the level of professionalism we'd like to see for all manuscripts. We look forward to working w...
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Travis A.

Travis A.

Nov, 2020

Dan was great to work with throughout the entire process. With it being my first book, I had a lot of questions and many of them weren't part of editing but he was always more than willing to assist throughout the entire process. Dan was very timely and informative and did a tremendous job on th...
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Irma S.

Irma S.

May, 2020

Mr. Crissman was very professional. His edits were ready when he said. He had some great suggestions and was easy to talk to. I highly recommend him.

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