Erik Klass - Editor

I have published my own stories and essays in a variety of literary journals, including New England Review, Yemassee, Slippery Elm, Summerset Review, Maryland Literary Review, and Open: Journal of Arts & Letters, and I have been nominated for multiple Pushcart Prizes. I run a submission service for literary journals, and I have published several writing and grammar guides.

As an editor, I have worked with dozens of professional writers, including Erin Rose Belair (Glimmer Train, Narrative, Greensboro Review, Juked), Dvora Rabino (The Lascaux Review, Santa Fe Writers Project, Best of the Net nominee), Dominica Phetteplace (Zyzzyva, Copper Nickel, Ecotone, The Los Angeles Review, PANK, multiple Pushcart Prizes), and many more. Stories and essays I've edited have appeared in dozens of literary journals, including Southern Indian Review, October Hill Magazine, Green Hills Literary Lantern, Charge Magazine, Five on Fifth, Fiction on the Web, and many, many more (see Gallery below).

Over years of publishing my own and others' stories and essays, I've learned a few tricks:

First, your work must be grammatically impeccable and follow standard usage rules (I adhere primarily to the Chicago Manual of Style and Garner's Modern American Usage). There's too much competition, especially among the top publishers, to submit imperfect work. Journal readers, bombarded with towers of submissions, are looking for excuses to send work to the burn pile; failures in grammar and usage make for easy disqualification.

Second, your story or essay needs to 'work.' Plot is important, of course (usually), but I'm often more interested in craft and character. Once we've dotted our grammar i's and crossed our usage t's, we need to focus on bigger picture items, such as consistency of voice and tone, beauty of language, clarity of intent (even if our intent is to obfuscate), and plausibility of character.

Third, we sometimes need to focus on those topics that go beyond your actual writing: bios, cover letters, making sure your work is formally appropriate (font, pagination, line spacing), and so on.

Finally, if you're planning to submit your work to literary journals, we need to target the right ones. This is one of my greatest strengths. I've read and analyzed literally hundreds of literary journals, and I've created an algorithm that will ensure your work goes to the journals that best match your writing.

From the minutia of copy editing, to broader topics such as story, character, language, and voice, I will help take your writing to the next level. And when you're ready to start submitting your story or essay to literary journals, I can help. And, of course, I'm happy to help with longer works. I look forward to working with you!

Testimonials:
"Erik brings kindness, wisdom and deep knowledge to the submission process.” —Dominica Phetteplace (Pushcart Prize, Zyzzyva, Copper Nickel, Ecotone, The Los Angeles Review, PANK)

"I gave Erik three pieces so far to edit and submit on my behalf. He was prompt, responsive, cordial, and a pleasure to work with. His comments and suggestions improved my essays and stories immensely. His copy-edits were impeccable. And he placed all three of my pieces [in literary journals] within three months. He totally knows his stuff, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with the process and results!" —Dvora Wolff Rabino (The Ignatian Literary Magazine, Linden Avenue Literary Journal, The Lascaux Review, Santa Fe Writers Project, and Steam Ticket)

"Getting published in a literary journal was a lifelong dream of mine. After years of rejections, Erik helped me get there! The algorithm is particularly helpful, but the sensitive and thoughtful copy editing and comments made my stories better. I’m deeply thankful and urge writers to give them a try.” —Jane Van Cantfort (Fiction on the Web, and others)

"Erik has a unique process, where he not only serves as an editor and, in some ways, mentor who encourages and helps improve your writing, but he also has an algorithm that gets to the heart of submission. I have no idea how long it would have taken me to have stories accepted if I didn't have Erik's clear guidance. I, without reservation, suggest you try Erik's service. He cares about writing and writers and he knows how and where to submit your stories." — P. A. Farrell ( McGraw-Hill and Demos Health)