Kirsten Bakis

Kirsten Bakis – Editor

I am an award-winning novelist who teaches at Yale Writers' Workshop, with 25 years experience as a writing coach and developmental editor.

Overview


Whether you have a complete manuscript ready for a final edit, or are in the draft stage, or even the idea stage, I'll help you bring your novel or story collection to the next level. I especially love working with writers of literary, popular, and genre-bending fiction. I love to talk plot, character, suspense, and voice.


I'm the author of the Reedsy Blog post "How to Outline a Novel in 9 Easy Steps," and am also happy to coach you on outlining and planning your novel.


Please note that my rate is on the higher end because when you hire me, you’re hiring an award-winning, working author with over two decades of professional experience, who is currently a resident faculty member at the Yale Writers’ Workshop. I love this work, and give each manuscript close, personal attention




Services
Fiction
Contemporary Fiction Historical Fiction Horror Mashups Short Story Steampunk Women's Fiction
Languages
English (US)
Awards
  • Iowa Writers' Workshop Teaching/Writing Fellowship; Michener-Copernicus Society of America Award, Bram Stoker Award, Whiting Award
  • 2021 Sustainable Arts Foundation Award

Work experience

Yale Writers' Workshop

Jun, 2012 — Present

Self employed

Feb, 1997 — Present

Author, KING NYX, Liveright/Norton 2024; LIVES OF THE MONSTER DOGS, 20th anniversary edition with new introduction by Jeff VanderMeer, Macmillan FSG classics 2017; FSG 1997.

Self-employed

Jan, 2003 — Present

Kirsten has 33 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

McKenzie W.

McKenzie W.

Jul, 2024

Kirsten gave me what I needed to push my agent materials to the next level: helpful questions, edits, and revision suggestions. Thanks!
McKenzie W.

McKenzie W.

Jul, 2024

Kirsten communicates clearly and kindly. I hired her to review my query letter for a speculative novel. I appreciate her close reading, her sharp rewrites, and her thoughtful comments. Looking forward to revising my query with her invaluable feedback.
Robert R.

Robert R.

May, 2024

Kirsten doesn't just flatter the author - her recommendations are honest and straight-forward. However, her reviews should be read multiple times. I found an underlying theme that I missed the first couple of times I read them. (My problem, not hers!) Her suggestions were actionable, but they made me THINK about the changes, and not just "copy and paste." There were multiple examples of "here's...
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Saul E.

Saul E.

May, 2024

Awesome!! She exceeded my expectations.
Gene H.

Gene H.

Apr, 2024

I appreciate the opportunity to work with the lady. Although I must admit that I have been taken aback a little by her suggestions for rewritting my query and synopsis--I didn't realize that mine were as bad as all that, but she has given me templates abd models for use with future novels, should I survive this one. It was worth the experience and added knowledge. She does the job.

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