Mo Crist – Editor

From scholarly nonfiction by leading academics to works of practical philosophy, journalism, memoir, experimental fiction, and short stories, I've edited them all! I'm an acquiring editor at one of the largest publishers in the country with a deep love for prose and over 5 years of experience working with authors from all walks of life. My expertise is in cutting-edge debut fiction by queer and trans authors, and I am honored to have made a career out of amplifying the voices of marginalized writers.

On the developmental editing side, I work closely with authors to outline, shape, and organize their narratives. On the page, I am an astute line-editor with a keen eye for grammar, word choice, and sentence structure. Each edit I complete combines big-picture ideas with sentence-by-sentence edits. I provide an editorial letter as well as in-line edits and comments and, often, an outline of a revision schedule to ensure that the next draft incorporates all the feedback I've woven into the text itself.

I've worked with authors on refining non-fiction proposals before books are under contract, developing the plot and characters in novels and short stories during the revising stage, and have connected authors with literary agents who can help them locate the perfect editor for their project. My biggest goal is for my feedback to guide (but doesn't force!) authors toward the best final product. Writing a book is hard, and revising one can be even harder. But with care and detailed attention, your work can and will soar.