Gina Sorell - Editor
I specialize in attention grabbing query letters and fiction ms consults. I've been where you are and can help!
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Overview
After two decades as a working actor of stage and screen in, Toronto, NYC, and LA, I returned to my first love–writing, and graduated with distinction from UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. For over a decade I've worked as a brand storyteller and creative collaborator helping companies craft their brand messaging and writing compelling copywriting. My acting experience taught me about story, characters, relationships and dialogue. While my experience in the advertising and branding world has shown me how to write succinctly and craft pitches and queries that stand out and get noticed.
In addition, my years studying and developing my own debut novel have given me great empathy, understanding, and insight into the journey of first time authors. I understand how hard it can be to get agent representation, and also how challenging it can be to get published. But most of all, I know how important it is to find and connect with an editor that understands you and your work and can champion you through the hard work of editing and revising.
Praise:
"An Author to Watch" (Globe and Mail)
"Sorell knows her stuff" (The Toronto Star),
"Riveting" (Good Housekeeping)
"A Best Book Pick of 2017" (Refinery 29)
"A Great Group Reads" (Women's National Book Association).
Testimonials:
"I met Gina Sorell when we were both students in a novel writing class at the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program. In class, I remember being immediately drawn to Gina’s insight and story perspective on the work I submitted for workshop. Not only my stories, but other students work as well. I knew then that I wanted to keep in touch with Gina and continue to work with her. We have. Over the past several years, Gina has edited my work for live readings and has copy edited my work for print. She has been an invaluable resource for my writing and is a valuable resource to any writer looking for a keen eye for detail and story. For these reasons, I highly recommend Gina Sorell."
-Natashia Deon, Author of GRACE, Counterpoint Press, PEN Emerging Voices Fellow and Pushcart Prize Nominee
-Author, Eric Rubin, author of SCHOOL OF VELOCITY, Doubleday.
In addition, my years studying and developing my own debut novel have given me great empathy, understanding, and insight into the journey of first time authors. I understand how hard it can be to get agent representation, and also how challenging it can be to get published. But most of all, I know how important it is to find and connect with an editor that understands you and your work and can champion you through the hard work of editing and revising.
Praise:
"An Author to Watch" (Globe and Mail)
"Sorell knows her stuff" (The Toronto Star),
"Riveting" (Good Housekeeping)
"A Best Book Pick of 2017" (Refinery 29)
"A Great Group Reads" (Women's National Book Association).
Testimonials:
"Every writer needs a developmental editor--you cannot do it yourself. And that is why I cannot imagine writing a book without the help of Gina Sorell. She's been with me for my last three novels, two of them which were New York Times Bestsellers. Gina worked with me from synopsis to first, second and third draft. She found things I never would have seen, and deepened the writing until it shone."
-Caroline Leavitt, New York Times Bestselling author of Pictures of You, Is This Tomorrow, and Cruel Beautiful World
"I met Gina Sorell when we were both students in a novel writing class at the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program. In class, I remember being immediately drawn to Gina’s insight and story perspective on the work I submitted for workshop. Not only my stories, but other students work as well. I knew then that I wanted to keep in touch with Gina and continue to work with her. We have. Over the past several years, Gina has edited my work for live readings and has copy edited my work for print. She has been an invaluable resource for my writing and is a valuable resource to any writer looking for a keen eye for detail and story. For these reasons, I highly recommend Gina Sorell."
-Natashia Deon, Author of GRACE, Counterpoint Press, PEN Emerging Voices Fellow and Pushcart Prize Nominee
"I call Gina Sorell a 'plotmaster' because of the ideas that spring effortlessly from her head. When faced with a problem, her close reading of the work will mean she is in a position to suggest a range of solutions. Speaking with her is enormously energizing, as anyone who has dealt with her can attest. Her imagination and experience will improve your work."
-Author, Eric Rubin, author of SCHOOL OF VELOCITY, Doubleday.
Services
Languages
English (CAN)
English (US)
Fiction
Literary Fiction
Women's Fiction
Certifications
- UCLA Writers Program
Awards
- Nominated for the James Kirkwood Literary Award
- Great Group Reads Selection
- Book of the Month Winner, Long and Short Reviews
- Sundance Pilot Lab- Finalist
Work experience
Manuscript Consultant/Novelist/ Brand Storyteller/Creative Collaborator
Self-employed
October, 2003
–
June, 2019
(over 15 years)
When not working on novels, I'm the Founder and Creative Director of my Words Make The Brand. I work with Fortune 500 Companies, as well as start-ups, small businesses and entrepreneurs, creating memorable names and compelling copywriting. To me it's all about telling a great story, be it with a one word name, a five word tagline, or an 80,000 word manuscript.
Portfolio (6 selected works)
Mothers and Other Strangers: A Novel
Gina Sorell
A “mesmerizing and quietly revealing” novel about a woman’s quest to understand her glamorous, cruel, recently deceased mother (Publishers Weekly). “My father proposed to my mother at gunpoint when she was nineteen, and knowing that she was already pregnant with a dead man’s child, she accepted.” Thus begins this spellbinding story of Elsie’s journey toward understanding her late mother, a nar... read more
Cruel Beautiful World: A Novel
Caroline Leavitt
Caroline Leavitt is at her mesmerizing best in this haunting, nuanced portrait of love, sisters, and the impossible legacy of family. It’s 1969, and sixteen-year-old Lucy is about to run away with a much older man to live off the grid in rural Pennsylvania, a rash act that will have vicious repercussions for both her and her older sister, Charlotte. As Lucy’s default caretaker for most of thei... read more
School of Velocity
Eric Beck Rubin
A wrenching and deceptively spare debut novel about an electric friendship between two boys that slowly reveals itself as a deep and lifelong love.Jan de Vries is a virtuoso pianist who would be in the prime of his career but for the crippling auditory hallucinations that have plundered his performances and his mind. As the disorder reaches its devastating peak the walls Jan has built around h... read more
Is This Tomorrow: A Novel
Caroline Leavitt
In 1956, Ava Lark rents a house with her twelve-year-old son, Lewis, in a desirable Boston suburb. Ava is beautiful, divorced, Jewish, and a working mom. She finds her neighbors less than welcoming. Lewis yearns for his absent father, befriending the only other fatherless kids: Jimmy and Rose. One afternoon, Jimmy goes missing. The neighborhood—in the throes of Cold War paranoia—seizes the opp... read more
Pictures of You
Caroline Leavitt
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER“Magically written, heartbreakingly honest.” —Jodi Picoult Two women running away from their marriages collide on a foggy highway, killing one of them. The survivor, Isabelle, is left to pick up the pieces, not only of her own life, but of the lives of the devastated husband and fragile son that the other woman, April, has left behind. Together, they try to solve the... read more
Daddy's Blue Eyes
Marnie Hill
Daddy's Blue Eyes is a story about a little girl whose father died and how much she misses him. But this little girl was given a gift-her daddy's blue eyes.Eyes that help her to see all the things her daddy can't see anymore. Eyes that help her to remember all the things she and her daddy loved. Eyes that help her see the sun shining each morning and know that her daddy is watching over her.Re... read more
Gina has 2 reviews
Professionalism
Professionalism
Quality
Quality
Value
Value
Communication & Punctuality
Communication & Punctuality
Gina Sorell was truly a pleasure to work with! She provided me with a positive, insightful edit of my novel in a consultation letter and in markup notes on the manuscript. Specifically, Gina offered valuable feedback addressing my concerns integrating frontstory and backstory, along with character/plot issues that had passed under my radar. I am currently revising my novel with confidence, tha...
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Mallory White, May 2021
Gina Sorell is a treasure. Lots of "show don't tell" instruction but with just enough suggestions to actually make that happen. I unequivocally recommend her as a fictional editor. You will be dealing with a careful reader who will point out your novel's strong passages as well as the ones that need shoring up. In the end, you will be getting honest and valuable help to make your story a more c...
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Philip Clarke, July 2020
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