Erin Young - Editor
Experienced writer, editor and agent with an MFA in Creative Writing. I have experience editing New York Times bestselling authors.
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Overview
I am a literary agent, an experienced writer and a freelance editor.
I have worked at several literary magazines, editing stories for publication. This allowed me to work with shorter forms of fiction and nonfiction and to understand how to make these stories stand out.
As an agent, I understand the traditional marketplace. This makes me qualified to edit fiction and nonfiction, while also giving it a salable direction. I have worked with New York Times bestselling authors as well as many other critically acclaimed authors through my agency. I have seen manuscripts at all levels and have helped them develop from ideas into a polished work, ready to be published.
As a writer, I understand the importance of preserving the integrity of a work. I understand how important it is while editing to make sure not to stifle the voice, intent, or diction of the author. This can be easily overlooked when editing an early draft or copy editing for grammar, but I feel confident that I will preserve your work and make it shine.
Additionally, I love to give my clients help with publishing, whether it's through query letter review or knowledge and a good word. The publishing industry can be tough to get into if you don't know how. That's where I come in.
Why should you hire me?
It was my job to get books in shape to be sold to traditional publishers. This is how I learned to edit, always with the direction of how to make a book more marketable, how to make it sell for the most money possible. Most editors from the top five do not have to think about editing this way because they edit books that have already proven to be marketable--this is the only reason they acquire them--so they don't have the skill set to make a book more marketable. They only know how to clean it up. If you want to sell more books or position your book to be sold to these acquiring editors, you need an editor who knows how to take you from a middling story to something that stands out. This is my specialty.
I have worked at several literary magazines, editing stories for publication. This allowed me to work with shorter forms of fiction and nonfiction and to understand how to make these stories stand out.
As an agent, I understand the traditional marketplace. This makes me qualified to edit fiction and nonfiction, while also giving it a salable direction. I have worked with New York Times bestselling authors as well as many other critically acclaimed authors through my agency. I have seen manuscripts at all levels and have helped them develop from ideas into a polished work, ready to be published.
As a writer, I understand the importance of preserving the integrity of a work. I understand how important it is while editing to make sure not to stifle the voice, intent, or diction of the author. This can be easily overlooked when editing an early draft or copy editing for grammar, but I feel confident that I will preserve your work and make it shine.
Additionally, I love to give my clients help with publishing, whether it's through query letter review or knowledge and a good word. The publishing industry can be tough to get into if you don't know how. That's where I come in.
Why should you hire me?
It was my job to get books in shape to be sold to traditional publishers. This is how I learned to edit, always with the direction of how to make a book more marketable, how to make it sell for the most money possible. Most editors from the top five do not have to think about editing this way because they edit books that have already proven to be marketable--this is the only reason they acquire them--so they don't have the skill set to make a book more marketable. They only know how to clean it up. If you want to sell more books or position your book to be sold to these acquiring editors, you need an editor who knows how to take you from a middling story to something that stands out. This is my specialty.
Languages
English (US)
Fiction
Fantasy
Literary Fiction
Middle Grade
Middle Grade Fantasy
Romance
Thriller & Suspense
Women's Fiction
Young Adult Fantasy
Work experience
Owner and Founder
Self-employed
February, 2016
–
Present
(about 7 years)
As an editor and a literary agent, I work with emerging artists to polish and sell their literary works.
Literary Agent
Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC
December, 2013
–
June, 2018
(over 4 years)
As a literary agent, I represent books to sell at publishing houses. I also do developmental editing and copy-editing for the agency.
Librettist
The Industry
February, 2013
–
Present
(about 10 years)
Co-wrote the libretto for the critically acclaimed Hopscotch: A Mobile Opera in Los Angeles.
Editor
tNY Press
January, 2013
–
September, 2014
(over 1 year)
Read and selected short story entries.
Edited various essays and books.
Collaborated with marketing and sales.
Portfolio (26 selected works)
All your questions are answered in the fifth book in James Dashner’s #1 New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series. The story that fans all over the world have been waiting for — the story of how Thomas and WICKED built the Maze — is finally here. You do not want to miss it. Once there was a world’s end. The forests burned, the lakes and rivers dried up, and the oceans swelled. Then came a ... read more
The Game of Lives (The Mortality Doctrine, Book Three)
James Dashner
From James Dashner, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series, comes The Game of Lives, the final book in the Mortality Doctrine series, an edge-of-your-seat cyber-adventure trilogy that includes The Eye of Minds and The Rule of Thoughts. Michael used to live to game, but the games he was playing have become all too real. Only weeks ago, sinking into the Sleep was fun. The... read more
The Astonishing Color of After
Emily X.R. Pan
A stunning, heartbreaking debut novel about grief, love and family, perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson and Celeste Ng.Leigh Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: when her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird.Leigh, who is half-Asian and half-white, travels to Taiwan to stay with her maternal grandparents who she never met. There, she is determined to find her mother, the bird.... read more
The Hotel Between
Sean Easley
A magical hotel, a mysterious tree, and a cryptic story about their missing father leads twins Cam and Cass on a worldly adventure in this enchanting debut novel that’s perfect for fans of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and Wildwood. Twins Cam and Cass have never known their parents. They’ve been told their mother died, and Cass is certain their father abandoned them. Cam isn’t so sure. ... read more
Leave Me: A Novel
Gayle Forman
“This surprising, compassionate story brings to life the secret, guilty fantasy of many overworked moms.” —People “In an enthralling novel reminiscent of Anne Tyler’s Ladder of Years, a woman who recently suffered a heart attack runs away to recover her equilibrium.” —O, The Oprah Magazine Every woman who has ever fantasized about driving past her exit on the highway instead of going home to m... read more
Spontaneous
Aaron Starmer
"Aaron Starmer skillfully welds sharp humor, deep loss, and roaring escapades. Truly the smartest and funniest book about spontaneous combustion you will ever read." —John Green, #1 bestselling author of The Fault In Our StarsA TIME magazine Top 10 YA & Children's Book of 2016!An ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults selectionWith all the perfectly lovely young adult novels out there, you decided ... read more
Story Thieves
James Riley
This “clever opener likely to leave readers breathless both with laughter and anticipation” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) is the first in the New York Times bestselling series from the author of the Half Upon a Time trilogy.Life is boring when you live in the real world, instead of starring in your own book series. Owen knows that better than anyone, what with the real world’s homework and ... read more
Helena Rose #1
E.O. Levendorf
An alien child prodigy must embark on an adventure through space to find a cure for her terminal illness.
The Stolen Chapters (Story Thieves)
James Riley
Owen, Kiel, and Bethany confront secrets, stolen memories, and some very familiar faces in the second book in the New York Times bestselling series, Story Thieves—which was called a “fast-paced, action-packed tale” by School Library Journal—from the author of the Half Upon a Time trilogy.Owen Conners’s whole life changed the day he found out his classmate Bethany was half-fictional, and could ... read more
Towers Falling
Jewell Parker Rhodes
From award-winning author Jewell Parker Rhodes, a powerful novel set fifteen years after the 9/11 attacks. When her fifth-grade teacher hints that a series of lessons about home and community will culminate with one big answer about two tall towers once visible outside their classroom window, Deja can't help but feel confused. She sets off on a journey of discovery, with new friends Ben and Sa... read more
All Better Now
Emily Wing Smith
An honest and captivating memoir of the author’s childhood struggles as a result of a brain tumor, only discovered following a near-fatal car accident. All her life, Emily has felt different from other kids. Between therapist visits, sudden uncontrollable bursts of anger, and unexplained episodes of dizziness and loss of coordination, things have always felt not right. For years, her only esca... read more
Diplomatic Immunity
Brodi Ashton
Anna and the French Kiss meets The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks in a romantic and hilarious new novel from Brodi Ashton, the author of the Everneath trilogy. Raucous parties, privileged attitudes, underage drinking, and diplomatic immunity . . . it’s all part of student life on Embassy Row.Piper Baird has always dreamed of becoming a journalist. So when she scores a scholarship... read more
Still Life with Tornado
A.S. King
A heartbreaking and mindbending story of a talented teenage artist's awakening to the brokenness of her family from critically acclaimed award-winner A.S. King.Sixteen-year-old Sarah can't draw. This is a problem, because as long as she can remember, she has "done the art." She thinks she's having an existential crisis. And she might be right; she does keep running into past and future version... read more
Ticket to India
N. H. Senzai
A family trip to India turns into a grand adventure in this contemporary novel about the Great Partition, from the award-winning author of Saving Kabul Corner and Shooting Kabul.A map, two train tickets, and a mission. These are things twelve-year-old Maya and her big sister Zara have when they set off on their own from Delhi to their grandmother’s childhood home of Aminpur, a small town in No... read more
Lotus and Thorn
Sara Wilson Etienne
A thrilling fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce and Sarah MaasRavaged by a plague known as Red Death, the planet Gabriel, a former colony of Earth, is a barren wasteland. Since being abandoned by Earth 500 years ago, resources are scarce and life is cheap. To stay alive, the survivors, the Citizens, scavenge the remains of a now dead city, trading for food with the resource-ric... read more
The Blood Between Us
Zac Brewer
"This book will seem fresh to new readers for decades to come." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)Family secrets turn deadly in this edgy page-turner about the insidious limits of labels and the ties that bind just a little too tightly, from the New York Times bestselling author of the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod.Growing up, Adrien and his sister, Grace, competed viciously for everything. It wasn... read more
Illustrated by Coretta Scott King Award winner Floyd CooperTold for the first time in picture book form is the true story of James Lafayette, a slave who spied for George Washington's army during the American Revolution. But while America celebrated its newfound freedom, James returned to slavery. His service hadn't qualified him for the release he'd been hoping for. For James the fight wasn't... read more
Library Day (A My First Experience Book)
Anne Rockwell
Beloved author Anne Rockwell celebrates books, the love of reading, and of course, libraries, with a gorgeous new picture book about a child’s first visit to the library!One day, a young boy visits the library for the very first time. While he’s there he listens to stories, reads books and magazines, and learns that there are also movies, crafts, chess, and puppet shows—something for everyone!... read more
*Chosen as one of Amazon's Best Books of 2015!**An ALA Notable Book of 2015*The story of the men and women who drove the Voyager spacecraft mission— told by a scientist who was there from the beginning. The Voyager spacecraft are our farthest-flung emissaries—11.3 billion miles away from the crew who built and still operate them, decades since their launch. Voyager 1 left the solar system in 2... read more
The Fix-It Friends: Have No Fear!
Nicole C. Kear
Because being scared stinks!Seven-year-old Veronica Conti knows a thing or two. She knows that recess is the best part of the day. And if someone, like Maya, doesn’t play at recess because she’s too afraid of bugs, well, that’s a HUGE problem! And it has to be fixed, pronto!But when Veronica's big ideas to help Maya backfire, she learns that sometimes, to help others, you need a little help yo... read more
The Fix-It Friends: Sticks and Stones
Nicole C. Kear
Because words can hurt you too.Noah’s the quiet type, which makes him a great friend for Veronica. She chats. He listens. She gabs. He nods. Perfect!So when Veronica spots Noah getting teased, she decides that if he won’t speak up for himself, she will! What she doesn't expect is that the teasing will turn on her -- and her sense of style. Veronica's so embarrassed that she agrees to a mega Ma... read more
Gem & Dixie
Sara Zarr
“A story that broke my heart and put it back together again. You won’t want to let Gem and Dixie go.” —Sarah Dessen, New York Times bestselling author of Saint AnythingFrom renowned author and National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr comes a deep, nuanced, and gorgeously written story about the complex relationship between two sisters from a broken home.Gem has never known what it is to have sec... read more
Madness
Zac Brewer
New York Times bestselling author Zac Brewer delivers his most honest and gripping novel yet, about a girl who believes she’s beyond saving—until she realizes the only person who can save her is herself.Brooke Danvers is pretending to be fine. She’s gotten so good at pretending that they’re letting her leave inpatient therapy. Now she just has to fake it long enough for her parents and teacher... read more
Escape from Aleppo
N. H. Senzai
An Indie Next List Pick “Filled with kindness and hope, but also with the harsh realities of the horrors of war, this heartbreaking book is a necessary reminder of what many people live through every day.” —Booklist (starred review) Nadia’s family is forced to flee their home in Aleppo, Syria, when the Arab Spring sparks a civil war in this timely coming-of-age novel from award-winning author ... read more
The Prettiest One: A Thriller
James Hankins
When Caitlin Sommers finds herself alone in a deserted parking lot with blood on her clothes and no memory of the past few months, it seems like one of the nightmares that have tormented her for years…but it’s all too real. Desperate to learn the truth about where she’s been and what has happened to her but terrified of what she may find, Caitlin embarks on a search for answers. Her journey ta... read more
Secret Origins (Story Thieves)
James Riley
Bethany travels to a new fictional world to rescue her father in this third book in the New York Times bestselling series, Story Thieves—which was called a “fast-paced, action-packed tale” by School Library Journal—from the author of the Half Upon a Time trilogy.Owen and Bethany have sworn off jumping into books for good. But they didn’t make any promises about not jumping through strange port... read more
Erin has 193 reviews
Professionalism
Professionalism
Quality
Quality
Value
Value
Communication & Punctuality
Communication & Punctuality
She was very patient and willing to work with me through all our struggles of getting my payment to go through. She had very clear communication and the suggestions and help she offered were a hundred times better than any suggestions I received from beta readers and family. I loved working with her and loved the immense detail and description she gives to help my writing become the best that i...
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Spencer Potter, March 2023
Erin was an absolute delight to work with. Her feedback was thoughtful, thorough and in-depth. She called attention to structural issues we didn't even notice and gave us the framework to come up with solutions which best fit our book. Erin's commentary was incredible constructive and she gave us so much insight into how to structure the book in a way that would make it a more enjoyable read, b...
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Allison Wheeler Anthony Butler, March 2023
Erin goes above and beyond!
This was the first time I’ve experienced a professional edit.
When I first approached Reedsy marketplace and searched for editors, I was a bit pessimistic I wouldn’t find a good match because of how specific my story is (nonromance YA fantasy). Erin, however, was excited about my story and loves animal related fantasy, so we ended up being the best possible match....
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Nona Lea, March 2023
Erin goes above and beyond!
This was the first time I’ve experienced a professional edit.
When I first approached Reedsy marketplace and searched for editors, I was a bit pessimistic I wouldn’t find a good match because of how specific my story is (nonromance YA fantasy). Erin, however, was excited about my story and loves animal related fantasy, so we ended up being the best possible match....
Read more
Nona Lea, March 2023
Erin has been such a blessing for our novel. Extremely helpful, intelligent and professional. She went above beyond our expectations and offered insight into the publishing world. Highly recommend if you want to take your project to next level and more.
Andrew Espitallier, March 2023
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