Mike Levine – Editor

Before becoming an independent editor in 2016, I an acquisitions editor for Northwestern University Press, where I published Jen Beagin (Whiting Award winner), A. E. Stallings (National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry finalist), and Stephen Karam (Pulitzer Prize in Drama finalist). Since 2000, I've taught literature and film seminars in several continuing education programs. I have a BA from Washington University and a PhD in English from Rice University. My clients value my sensitivity to language and literary form, my soft touch in critiquing their work, and my understanding of what they want their books to be.

Services:

Manuscript Critique —You’ve written a complete draft of your book, but it hasn’t reached its full potential. You’re not sure exactly why it falls short, or you know what’s wrong but don’t know what to do about it. I'll read it, makes notes in the file, and write an editorial memo identifying strengths and weaknesses and offering suggestions for addressing the latter..

Substantive Edit — Rather than an overview of various aspects of the manuscript, I’ll suggest changes, usually noted in the file, wherever I think they are needed – for example, moving or deleting a paragraph, condensing or expanding a scene in a novel, or streamlining a digressive chapter.

Manuscript Consultation — A response to an excerpt from a manuscript, whether or not you have finished writing it, can sometimes help you see the whole more clearly.

Line Edit — A line edit attends to the smallest details, such as word choice, word order, the order and length and rhythm of sentences, and punctuation. The goal is to make the prose resemble a piece of glass – smooth and transparent.

Proposal Edit — A good proposal casts a book in the most interesting possible light, identifies its audience, and makes an argument for why people will want to read it. I can give your manuscript a better chance to meet the challenges of the publishing marketplace.

Testimonials:

It took me five years to write Pretend I'm Dead, and another three to find a publisher. I was convinced it was garbage and was this close to giving up on it entirely, but then I met Mike through a good friend. The original manuscript contained three gimmicks: a surprise sex change, a surprise cancer diagnosis, and a surprise ending (the protagonist falls in a dog. Surprise!) For some baffling reason, I had been very attached to these surprises. Thankfully, Mike convinced me to get rid of them. He is an outstanding reader/editor/human, so smart and kind and funny, and just a pleasure to work with in general. I would happily recommend him to anyone. — Jen Beagin, author of Pretend I’m Dead

Whenever I was fortunate enough to be entrusted with an ambitious and brilliant novel from a client but found that a second opinion was needed, the outside reader I often sought was Mike. His editorial insights were invaluable. — Marly Rusoff. literary agent