Nick Mamatas

Nick Mamatas – Editor

I am an author, editor, and anthologist—Tor Books, Skyhorse, VIZ Media and many more. Clients have published with Orbit, Ace, St. Martin's.

Overview

I am an author and editor, working primarily in the field of science fiction/fantasy/horror. I spent ten years at VIZ Media, editing Japanese SF in translation, and have published novels and short fiction anthologies of my own with Tor Books, Skyhorse, Dark Horse, and many other leading publishers. I offer what you would get from an editor at a New York publishing house—a marked-up manuscript and lengthy editorial letter making suggestions for changes, some of which may be substantive (e.g., combining characters, adding or dropping subplots, moving or eliminating chapters and story arcs).Here's a free tip. In virtually any fiction manuscript, the best choice for dialogue tag 90 percent of the time is "said." Just said. Most other verbs are inappropriate and distracting. There's no reason to try to vary dialogue tags or think up inventive ones. The dialogue itself carries most of the information. I will tell you that editors and agents glance at submissions, see a bunch of intoned/shouted/murmured/replied/cried/began/continued etc. and reach for a form rejection slip. There's a reason almost every novelist uses "said" for 90 percent of their speech tags.
Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs Political Science & Current Affairs
Fiction
Dystopian Horror Post-Apocalyptic Short Story Space Opera Steampunk
Languages
English (US)
Awards
  • Bram Stoker Award, Hugo Award nominee, Locus Award nominee
Certifications
  • MFA Western Connecticut State University

Work experience

VIZ Media

Aug, 2008 — Present

Portfolio

NAMED ONE OF THE 40 BEST BOOKS OF 2016 BY THE NEW YORK POSTA New York Times Editor's Choice pick“Ruth Whippman is my new favorite cultural critic...a shrewd, hilarious analysis.” ―Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take, Originals, and O... read more
Original and classic science fiction about Japan from some of the greatest writers in the world.A web browser that threatens to conquer the world. The longest, loneliest railroad on Earth. A North Korean nuke hitting Tokyo, a hollow asteroid full of automated ... read more
Harmony

Project Itoh

In a perfect world, there is no escapeReads L to R (Western Style). In a perfect world, there is no escape In the future, Utopia has finally been achieved thanks to medical nanotechnology and a powerful ethic of social welfare and mutual consideration. This pe... read more
The first of a pair of memoirs in collection form, featuring essays, interviews, and even a brief comic on the history of airline food, from the master animator. In the first two decades of his career, filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki laid the groundwork for his legen... read more
Sabbath

Nick Mamatas

The infamous eleventh-century warrior Hexen Sabbath is plucked from death and certain damnation by a being claiming to be an angel of the Lord, and finds himself dropped into contemporary Manhattan with no clothes, no weapons, no resources, and one mission―to ... read more
The life of the internationally famous professional wrestler Shinsuke Nakamura, from his childhood to the International Wrestling Grand Prix championship, and beyond!Before he became a star of American professional wrestling, Shinsuke Nakamura was Japan’s “Kin... read more
In the 1960s, after four years with IBM and two more with the U.S. State Department, William Blum became a radical dissident. As an insider in two worlds, he is well suited to assess the people, events, and ideology of both the “bourgeois” and “radical” cultur... read more
When the alien Mimics invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor called a Jacket and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to be reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On his 158th iterat... read more
First publication in English of this eyewitness account of the 1980 civilian uprising against Chun Doo Hwan's military coup. First published in Korean in 1985 under the name of dissident novelist Hwang Sog-yong, this revised edition includes an introduction by... read more
Winner of the 2010 Bram Stoker Award for Best Anthology!Darkly thrilling, these twenty new ghost stories in Haunted Legends have all the chills and power of traditional ghost stories, but each tale is a unique retelling of an urban legend from the world over.M... read more
This flash fiction can be sipped or slammed, just like the booze it represents! A cocktail is like an excellent story—bitter and sweet and over too quickly, but the memory of it stays with you. From the Pimm’s Cup to Smoking Bishop, the Manhattan to the Moscow... read more

Nick has 10 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Michael M.

Michael M.

May, 2022

I would not recommend Nick to budding writers. Although he did give me some good feedback, most of his comments were quite cynical and his catch-all response was "if you want to get published, make the changes." rather than trying to understand what the writer is trying to achieve. Within days of...
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S F.

S F.

Apr, 2021

It has always been a dream of mine to write a sci fi novel. Ideas come easily to me but my downfall is that writing is almost torture for me. On top of that I spent a great deal of my life listening to employers telling me how bad my writing is. Undaunted by past experience I wrote the novel and ...
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Logan T.

Logan T.

Nov, 2020

Nick was an excellent editor. Great insights, great suggestions. A pleasure to work with.
A. J. J.

A. J. J.

Oct, 2020

Nick offered an excellent critique of the manuscript. He identified major plot problems and highlighted certain character traits that needed expanding. Overall very satisfied with collaboration. Highly recommend.
Matt C.

Matt C.

Aug, 2020

Nick gave great advice on my query letter. I plan on incorporating all of his comments and his tips. I would like to hire him again!

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