Matt Belford

Matt Belford – Editor

I'm a literary agent with more than a decade of experience in genres spanning science fiction/fantasy, nonfiction, and graphic novels.

Overview

Hey there! I'm Matt and I'm a literary agent, having previously an editor at Penguin Random House. I've been fortunate enough to work on books in just about every genre: from illustrated titles and graphic novels to sci-fi/fantasy and even nonfiction! I'm available for editing projects, no matter where you may be in your process: from helping to edit your query letter to working on developmental edits or even just another set of eyes to help copyedit.

While a lot of the work that I do daily is in nonfiction or illustrated works, I have quite a bit of experience working in sci-fi & fantasy as well, so if you need help putting a proposal together or you're having a tough time getting those last couple of comp titles, I'm more than happy to help there as well!

Here what other satisfied writers have to say about my work:

"I must say Matt is one of the best editors I have worked with. He is very transparent with what he thinks regarding authors work. His editing comments are detailed which makes my writing process a lot easier. He is quick to respond to my questions too. I look forward to work with him in future projects."

-Arba

"I've had Matt critique two query letters now, and it's been so worth it! I used his feedback from my first to completely revise and resubmit for another critique. (He seemed happy to answer all of my follow-up questions without me resubmitting, but really, I just wanted him to see the whole redo and let me know if I applied his feedback successfully.) His response time is quick, and his feedback is succinct and relevant. I'd absolutely seek out feedback from him again!"

-Kristin C.

"Matt's feedback was extremely thoughtful and very specific. His guidance urged me to reflect on what the most compelling force of my story was, and pull it straight to the top. And his industry experience helped me identify poor phrasing that might become red flags to veteran agents. I believe my query letter — and even my book — are radically better for having Matt's help!"

-Patrick P.

"Fantastic feedback. Great insight and suggested changes that I couldn't personally see, being so close to the project. I'm excited to get to work and bring more clarity to my blurb. Matt is also very encouraging on the aspects I got right, so I'd highly recommend his services. Thank you very much, Matt."

-Nina

Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs Business & Management Comics Non-Fiction Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits Self-Help & Self-Improvement
Fiction
Comics & Graphic Novels Fantasy Science Fiction
Languages
English (US)

Work experience

The Rights Factory

May, 2025 — Present
Working with SF/F authors, comic book writers, and authors in the nonfiction space, my role as a literary agent includes representing thought leaders, business professionals, journalists, and other authors to help bring their stories to publication. I am also continuing my work with licensed titles, which requires me to formulate outreach plans to intellectual property holders in order to find licensing opportunities in the book publishing market, and any subsidiary rights therein (Film/TV, audio, translation).

Penguin Random House

Apr, 2022 — Sep, 2023 (over 1 year)
Conceptualize and ideate more than 12 projects with current and potential license holders, including the New York Times Bestselling STARDEW VALLEY COOKBOOK. Manage up to 15 titles yearly, develop and hone written concepts and larger client facing proposals. Responsible for hiring designers and writers. Edit and project manage the book creation process and the various phases of publication including contract negotiating, financial projections, P&L and assuring appropriate milestones.

New Leaf Literary & Media

Aug, 2023 — Apr, 2025 (over 1 year)
Literary agent specializing in nonfiction and licensed titles. My role was to help expand the New Leaf Literary & Media client roster to include more books for adults, specifically in the nonfiction and licensed spaces; namely in helping ideate, edit, and sell proposals and manuscripts to publishers.

Tobias Literary Agency

Jan, 2020 — Mar, 2022 (about 2 years)
Managing a roster of clients, I am responsible for editing, preparing, and sending out client works to sell to publishers, and entice other interested parties in subsidiary rights (i.e. Film/TV rights, merchandising rights, etc.). I specialize in representing science fiction and fantasy, and graphic novels. In January of 2021, I was promoted to Senior Literary Agent, responsible for managing junior agents. I’ve negotiated and sold projects to a wide variety of publishers, including Macmillan, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, IDW, and Wiley.

David Black Agency

Mar, 2017 — Jan, 2020 (almost 3 years)
Working as David Black’s personal assistant, I managed his schedule, while also facilitating client needs and preparing works for submission. These duties naturally transferred to my own work as a literary agent under the David Black Agency, where I represented my clients: acting as a fiduciary, preparing and editing works before submission, selling the proposals or manuscripts to publishers, and negotiating deals and contracts. These clients included legendary comic book writer Chris Claremont, interviewer Shanna Farrell, and several cartoonists in Rob Rogers, Nate Fakes, and Jeff Danziger, in addition to negotiating deals for David Black’s existing clients: Claire Saffitz, Erik Larson, and the Lorraine Hansberry Estate.

Aaron Priest Agency

Sep, 2016 — Mar, 2017 (6 months)
As office manager, I was responsible for all general office administration duties including answering the phone, taking detailed messages, managing contract mailings between both authors and publishers and general filing. As an assistant, I recorded author deals in BAITS and Publisher’s Marketplace, and I also read and reviewed author queries and manuscripts.

Charles River Labs

Feb, 2015 — Aug, 2016 (over 1 year)
My responsibilities included proofreading and editing all articles, posters, PDFs, and web pages posted to the Charles River website. In addition to growing organic web traffic by 30% year to date, I also was in charge of SEO, HTML5 coding, and integrating content from several website acquisitions.

Matt has 51 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Jared N.

Jared N.

Mar, 2025

Pinned
Matt was professional from beginning to end of the project. He was extremely quick to respond to any message that I sent. He charged less than what I was expecting. Matt was very polite and easy to work with when I had to change the brief and add more to the project. He returned the work complete...
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Heather D.

Heather D.

Mar, 2025

Pinned
Matt was fantastic to work with on my query. His advice was clear, insightful, and showed real expertise. He pointed out a key element I needed to add to help clarify the age category of my novel—something I hadn't even realized was missing. He also caught one line I had inadvertently included th...
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Konstantinos A.

Konstantinos A.

Mar, 2025

Pinned
Working with Matt was a great experience. He delivered thorough and insightful feedback ahead of schedule, providing a detailed editorial letter that pinpointed structural, pacing, and character development improvements in my graphic novel script. Beyond that, he was very responsive, addressing a...
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Luis H.

Luis H.

Nov, 2025

As informative as he was helpful. Worked timely and answered any questions raised with the right balance of details while not drowning in technicalities. Would definitely recommend working with and would work with again.
Pierpaolo B.

Pierpaolo B.

Nov, 2025

Matt is a treasure!

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Most recent contributions

How can authors effectively identify and describe their target audience for a book proposal?

The best thing authors can do is to be specific. It doesn't help to say something like "this book is for any adult over 18 as there are resources to help all ages." All that says to agents and editors is that you don't know who the primary market for your book is. The best advice is that author...
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What are the most common craft mistakes new authors make?

One of the biggest mistakes I see from new authors is that they finish writing their manuscript and then they think they are done and ready for an editor to go through and review. Writers need to be their own editors first. Because there are so many potential new authors every day, it's imperat...
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How did you get started as a literary agent?

Through a lot of luck and determination! I originally got started as a marketing intern for a high school textbook publisher, and from there I was able to transition to an editorial assistant role after nearly a year. When I realized that becoming a literary agent was my dream goal, I applied t...
Read more

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