Nora Bellot – Editor

In my seven years with Writers House literary agency, I worked with just about everything: picture books, MG, YA, adult fiction and nonfiction, even a couple of New York Times bestsellers. Now I’m working with authors like you, one-on-one, bringing you all the insider knowledge you need to make your book a success, from brainstorming to developmental editing to line editing and beyond.

A Midwestern girl by origin, these days I live in Queens with my wife and our alarmingly full bookshelves. I read widely, I love lots of kinds of books, but there will always be a special place in my heart for the weird and genre-bendy. I love high-concept sci-fi/fantasy, I love queer love stories that fall outside of easy labels, I love stories that read like fanfiction, or even have their roots in fanfiction; I can be a good advocate if you’re looking to make the jump to traditional publishing.

So, if you have a great idea and you’re not sure how to translate it onto the page… let’s chat. If you have a rough draft and you’re not sure what happens next… I know exactly what agents are looking for. If you’re self-publishing, or even if you have a book under contract with a publisher and need help getting it over the finish line… I’ll be right there with you, every step of the way.

TESTIMONIALS:

“Nora read an early version of this manuscript and had the most amazing reader’s eye to know exactly what it needed. She wrote me a six-page, detailed editorial letter encouraging me, challenging me, and guiding me through a major revision that would then be ready for submission.”

— Lynn Plourde, author of MAXI'S SECRETS

“If you were like, “Wow, that author wasn’t as dumb as I thought she was going to be”: thank you, Nora, who sat through many early drafts without complaint or suggesting my demise, and absolutely made this book, and the ideas contained within it, far smarter and more elegant. I learned so much throughout this process, and I am so grateful for your mentorship.”

— Ash Ambirge, author of THE MIDDLE FINGER PROJECT

“Dear Nora, nightly, I thank the stars (aloud) for having brought you into my life and the life of I Am Yours. As I Am Yours was my first stab at writing and submitting a manuscript of any kind and length, you were my first editor, ever. Thank you for teaching me leagues about writing, revision, editing. It is so evident, how perfect this path has been: to write first in utter solitude, without any other voice in the room, then, to connect and revise not with just any person, but you. Your masterful eye and deep wisdom.”

— Reema Zaman, author of I AM YOURS

“Nora, oracle of visions, who saw in early versions of this work the beginnings of a tale beyond my wildest imaginings, then pointed the way.”

— Josh Kaufman, author of HOW TO FIGHT A HYDRA