Joel Bahr

Joel Bahr – Editor

Competent. Sincere. Reliable. Trustworthy. Writing a great book is hard. Work with an editor who cares about your writing as much as you do.

Overview

A do-it-all editor of 10+ years and 100+ titles, my specialty is helping authors build, shape, and refine their novels. Through thorough and thoughtful editor's essays and margin notes, my feedback both strengthens your story as it is and reveals what it could be. Feedback from me is both extensive and collaborative. You want your work to be great. That makes two of us.


At this time I'm primarily interested in editorial assessments and developmental editing projects, though copy/line editing and proofing exceptions can be made for promising works. Send me your most beloved sections as a sample. I can't wait to talk with you about it.


Notable authors/books that I've worked with in the past include:


Paul Pen, "Light of the Fireflies"


Corina Bowman, "The Moonlit Garden", "Storm Rose", and "Butterfly Island"

▪ Moonlit Garden was a #1 Kindle Bestseller


David Machado, "The Shelf Life of Happiness"

▪ Winner of the European Union Prize for Literature (2015)

Services
Fiction
Action & Adventure Contemporary Fiction Fantasy Horror Literary Fiction Mystery & Crime Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction
Languages
English (US)

Work experience

Amazon Publishing

Jan, 2013 — Present

Provided developmental and line edits for 30+ titles. Genres include: translations, fantasy, romance, crime, fantasy, horror, women's and contemporary literature

Portfolio

Kathmandu (Leo Keane International Thriller)

Luke Richardson

“Luke Richardson’s right up there among the best writers I’ve come across” STEVEN MORE, BESTSELLING AUTHOR“A brilliant thriller that hooked me from the very beginning” AMAZON REVIEWER“Awesome ... read more
Developmental Editing
Made with Reedsy
Thunder, AZ

Ari Loeb

Proofreading
Made with Reedsy
An Ocean Gazes Through Human Glass

Nguyen, Emily

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment Proofreading
Made with Reedsy
Magnolia Parks: The Magnolia Parks Universe, Book 1

Jessa Hastings

Copy Editing
Made with Reedsy
Dark Green

Strand, Lif

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Murder Notes (Lilah Love Book 1)

Lisa Renee Jones

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones’s heart-pounding thriller of a woman’s secrets—and a past that’s about to come out of hiding…As an FBI profiler, it’s Lilah Love’s job to thi... read more
Developmental Editing
Relentless (Somerton Security Book 2)

Elizabeth Dyer

Ethan Somerton doesn’t do safe or easy. He’s all about the challenge. The risk. In order to rescue one of his agents, Ethan must infiltrate the ruthless Vega cartel. One tiny error—just one—an... read more
Developmental Editing
Defenseless (Somerton Security Book 1)

Elizabeth Dyer

How far will she go to protect the sexiest guy in tech?When ex-marine Georgia Bennett left the military for high-end private security, it was supposed to soften her snarky attitude. Instead, her short fuse just earned her a punishment of an assignment: protect... read more
A Tree Grows in Daicheng

Lu Nei

Through interconnected stories spanning four decades, A Tree Grows in Daicheng is a rich, multilayered portrait of life, love, and longing as the neighbors on Rose Street grapple with disease ... read more
Developmental Editing
Never Again So Close

Claudia Serrano

Where do the pieces of us end up, the ones that we traded for love?Antonia is ready for her life to start. A young woman from a small town in southern Italy, she wants to pursue her long-held ... read more
Developmental Editing
Wake in Winter

Nadezhda Belenkaya

Nina’s graduate program at Moscow University isn’t exactly cheap. So when she is offered work translating for Spanish families looking to adopt orphans from the provincial town of Rogozhin, sh... read more
Developmental Editing
The Shelf Life of Happiness

David Machado

Ripped apart by Portugal’s financial crisis, Daniel’s family is struggling to adjust to circumstances beyond their control. His wife and children move out to live with family hours away, but D... read more
Developmental Editing
To the Sky Kingdom

Tang Qi

When the immortal Bai Qian finally meets her intended husband, the heir to the Sky Throne, she considers herself in luck—until an old enemy returns to threaten everything she holds dear…When a... read more
Developmental Editing
Love in Exile

Ayşe Kulin

The bestselling author of Last Train to Istanbul returns with a tale of love defying all boundaries.Sabahat, a beautiful young Muslim woman, is known in her family for her intelligence, drive,... read more
Developmental Editing
In the Mouth of the Dragon

Myriam Millán

An evil force is mutilating people in modern-day London, and the horror resembles that of another era.In the 1600s, a small town in Transylvania grew increasingly panic-stricken as more than f... read more
Developmental Editing
The Moonlit Garden

Corina Bomann

Lilly Kaiser had come to terms with her solitary, uncomplicated life after becoming a young widow. So when a stranger delivers an old violin to her Berlin antiques shop and tells Lilly it belo... read more
Developmental Editing
Storm Rose

Corina Bomann

When newly single Annabel Hansen moves to the coastal town of Binz, all she wants is to leave her former life behind. Soon after settling into a beautiful home overlooking the Baltic Sea, she ... read more
Developmental Editing
Butterfly Island

Corina Bomann

From the bestselling author of The Moonlit Garden comes the sweeping, romantic tale of one woman’s quest across two continents and one hundred years of history to unearth her family’s deepest ... read more
Developmental Editing
The Oddfits (The Oddfits Series)

Tiffany Tsao

Eight-year-old Murgatroyd Floyd doesn’t fit in—not as a blue-eyed blonde living in Singapore, not in school, and certainly not with his aloof expatriate parents, who seem determined to make hi... read more
Developmental Editing
The More Known World (The Oddfits Series)

Tiffany Tsao

The Quest of the quirky Oddfits continues—and this time, beyond the Known World lies something unspeakable…Two years after Murgatroyd Floyd joined the Quest to understand and catalogue the won... read more
Developmental Editing
The Black Tongue

Marko Hautala

For generations, the urban legend of Granny Hatchet has plagued the quiet residential area of Suvikylä in northern Finland. As the story goes, this immortal killer murders her victims with a h... read more
Developmental Editing
Elven Winter (The Saga of the Elven)

Bernhard Hennen

An ancient war reignites as the international bestselling fantasy saga continues…At the height of its power, the elven court of Queen Emerelle revels in the joyful Festival of Light. Yet, as t... read more
Developmental Editing
The Elven (The Saga of the Elven)

Bernhard Hennen

The international bestseller and epic adventureA fierce and merciless demon has been unleashed on the world, spreading destruction and bloodshed in both the human and the elven realms. Northla... read more
Developmental Editing
The Tattooed Duchess (A Fire Beneath the Skin)

Victor Gischler

In the second installment of the A Fire Beneath the Skin trilogy, Rina Veraiin has youth, beauty, and strength. She is a born warrior, able to outride any man, deal death with her fierce blade... read more
Developmental Editing
A Painted Goddess (A Fire Beneath the Skin)

Victor Gischler

When the gods go to war, who will stand against their divine fury?In the thrilling conclusion to the A Fire Beneath the Skin trilogy, the enchanted kingdom of Helva faces a nightmarish future ... read more
Developmental Editing
1988: I Want to Talk with the World

Han Han

After a long day of driving, Lu Ziye just wants a good night’s sleep and decides to stop at The Golden Triangle, a seedy but convenient motel. There he meets Shanshan, a pregnant prostitute wi... read more
Developmental Editing
Dead Woods

Maria C. Poets

The body of thirty-four-year-old software developer Philip Birkner is found in the forest. Tracks at the scene of the crime point to several possible killers. Lina Svenson and Max Berg of the ... read more
Developmental Editing
The Orphans' Promise (Secret of Ji)

Pierre Grimbert

The second installment in the internationally bestselling and prize-winning Secret of Ji fantasy seriesThe Known World’s greatest secret has proven a heavy burden for the last heirs of the Ji ... read more
Developmental Editing
Shadow of the Ancients (Secret of Ji)

Pierre Grimbert

From Romine’s Deep Tower to the Grand Temple in Ithare, from the Murky Mountains to the Warrior’s Vale, the heirs continue their desperate quest—whose outcome will decide the fate of the Upper... read more
Developmental Editing
Six Heirs (The Secret of Ji)

Pierre Grimbert

The Known World is a sprawling region ruled by mortals, protected by gods, and plied by magicians and warriors, merchants and beggars, royals and scoundrels. Here, those with the gift of the E... read more
Developmental Editing

Joel has 61 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Beau B.

Beau B.

Nov, 2024

First off, I would like to say that I would happily work with Joel on another project at any time. He made the entire process a positive experience with his professionalism. Joel entertained all of my messages and questions while I was very early in the editing process without complaint. I found his responses and suggestions incredibly inciteful which were indicative of his years of experience....
Read more
Joel B.
Hi Beau, Thanks for the kind words and endorsements here. It's always great to work with someone as open to (and hungry for) feedback as you are, and I know the next draft will be even better as ...
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Lif S.

Lif S.

Aug, 2024

The ideal editor is someone who understands that the story is the writer's story, not the editor's. Joel Bahr is one of those editors. Not only do I give him five stars for having helped me to develop my vision to its fullest, I already know I want to work with him on my future novels - as long as he is willing and able!
Joel B.
Thanks for the kind words, Lif! I can't wait to see your next manuscript!
Jack A.

Jack A.

Mar, 2024

From the first messages exchanged to the EA he provided me and the phone call at the end, Joel has been a great companion and mentor with helping me refine my book. He provided me with excellent ideas, great and fair critiques, quick responses to my inquiries and messages, and I am overall very happy I chose him for this process. He gave me what I wanted and needed to move forward, and I strong...
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Jack A.

Jack A.

Feb, 2024

Joel was very kind. He offered me a sample package to show me how some of the packages he was offering worked, and it was everything I wanted. I am committed to working with him for the entire book.
Lif S.

Lif S.

Feb, 2024

I bless the day that I chose Joel Bahr for my editing needs. He shares my vision for my writing and zeros right in on problem areas in my manuscripts that detract from the vision without inserting himself. His feedback allows me to resolve the issues my own way, with my own voice.

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