Nicole Frail - Editor
Publishing house senior (acquiring and project) editor with nine years of professional experience. Offering freelance editorial services.
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Overview
I am a professional fiction and nonfiction editor working remotely from my home office in northeastern Pennsylvania. I have edited more than one hundred titles for my full-time job, headquartered in New York City, and have worked with both first-time and celebrity/bestselling authors. I am looking to extend those services on a freelance basis to writers wishing to brush up their manuscripts before submitting to agents/publishing houses or before custom/self-publishing.
At this time, I'm available for full and partial manuscript critiques/assessments, developmental editing, and copy editing, proofreading, and query letter reviews. I have experience with children's, middle grade, young adult, and adult publishing.
Regardless of the service booked, when you work with me, you are working with a publishing consultant, as well. Included in any services booked, you'll also get answers to any of the traditional publishing questions you've always wondered: What genre does my book fall under? How can I make my book summary/blurb stand out? Is my audience adult or young adult? Is there crossover potential? What do you think of my title/cover? What's my next step? As we work together, I'd be happy to answer any of these and more.
Note: I will help you write queries and will examine lists of agencies you may want to submit to, but I will not make the connection/do the outreach for you.
Feel free to contact me for more information about my services or me.
At this time, I'm available for full and partial manuscript critiques/assessments, developmental editing, and copy editing, proofreading, and query letter reviews. I have experience with children's, middle grade, young adult, and adult publishing.
Regardless of the service booked, when you work with me, you are working with a publishing consultant, as well. Included in any services booked, you'll also get answers to any of the traditional publishing questions you've always wondered: What genre does my book fall under? How can I make my book summary/blurb stand out? Is my audience adult or young adult? Is there crossover potential? What do you think of my title/cover? What's my next step? As we work together, I'd be happy to answer any of these and more.
Note: I will help you write queries and will examine lists of agencies you may want to submit to, but I will not make the connection/do the outreach for you.
Feel free to contact me for more information about my services or me.
Languages
English (US)
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Fiction
Coming of Age
Contemporary Fiction
Cozy Mysteries
LGBTQ Fiction
Romance
Women's Fiction
Young Adult
Work experience
Publishing Consultant/Editor
Self-employed
August, 2015
–
Present
(almost 7 years)
I offer editorial services via my website, where I also keep a complete list of all titles I've worked on at my full-time job, as well as those titles I have worked on as a freelancer/consultant that have either sold to publishing companies or were successfully custom/self-published.
Senior Editor
Skyhorse Publishing
May, 2012
–
Present
(about 10 years)
I do everything you can possibly imagine—seriously. From acquiring and editing, to photo research for cover designs, and everything in between (writing sales points and cover copy, securing endorsements, directing interior design), I have my hands in just about everything for every one of the books on my list. Seasons come and go, but I'm happy to say that I remain in touch with many of my authors, even after publication. My main focus areas including adult nonfiction cooking and lifestyle titles, as well as young adult fiction and nonfiction and picture books. (I know this is an odd combination, but I'm more than pleased to be doing all of it!)
Editor/Content Developer
Northeast Editing, Inc.
February, 2009
–
May, 2012
(about 3 years)
Honed my writing skills here! I co-authored and was a ghost writer for many Cram Plan and For Dummies books, including Culinary Careers for Dummies. (That one was my favorite!) I wrote test-prep materials for grades K through 12, as well as for professionals such as vet techs and lawyers.
Portfolio (24 selected works)
The Art of French Kissing
Brianna Shrum
Seventeen-year-old Carter Lane has wanted to be a chef since she was old enough to ignore her mom’s warnings to stay away from the hot stove. And now she has the chance of a lifetime: a prestigious scholarship competition in Savannah, where students compete all summer in Chopped style challenges for a full-ride to one of the best culinary schools in the country. The only impossible challenge i... read more
Alien queen Kora has a problem as vast as the endless crimson deserts. She’s the first female ruler of her territory in generations, but her people are rioting and call for her violent younger twin brother to take the throne. Despite assassination attempts, a mounting uprising of nomadic human rebels, and pressure to find a mate to help her rule, she’s determined to protect her people from her... read more
Seventeen, fashion-obsessed, and gay, Abby Ives has always been content playing the sidekick in other people’s lives. While her friends and sister have plunged headfirst into the world of dating and romances, Abby’s been happy to focus on her plus-size style blog and her dreams of taking the fashion industry by storm. When she lands a great internship at her favorite boutique, she’s thrilled t... read more
Falling Softly: A Novel
Maria Duffy
Holly Russo couldn’t be happier. Christmas, her favorite time of year, is only seven weeks away, and her boyfriend has just popped the question. David is steady and reliable, and Holly knows he’ll give her a wonderful life. The kind of life she’s always wanted. Then her new neighbor moves in. Josh O’Toole is also approaching the festive season with joy. He loves his teaching job. He’s about to... read more
Love, Lucas
Chantele Sedgwick
A 2015 Whitney Award Nominee!A powerful story of loss, second chances, and first love, reminiscent of Sarah Dessen and John Green.When Oakley Nelson loses her older brother, Lucas, to cancer, she thinks she’ll never recover. Between her parents’ arguing and the battle she’s fighting with depression, she feels nothing inside but a hollow emptiness. When Mom suggests they spend a few months in C... read more
From New York Times bestselling author, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, philanthropist, photographer come a full-color children’s book that will spark the imagination and teach about the environment.Jump aboard the White Feather Flier, a magical plane that can go anywhere on Earth! This time, Lennon’s book immerses boys and girls into an interactive and unique journey where they can:Plant ... read more
Kissing Ezra Holtz (and Other Things I Did for Science)
Brianna R. Shrum
A fun, witty, light-hearted romantic comedy—The Rosie Project, for teens Seventeen-year-old Amalia Yaabez and Ezra Holtz couldn’t be more different. They’ve known (and avoided) each other their whole lives; she unable to stand his buttoned-up, arrogant, perfect disposition, and he unwilling to deal with her slacker, rule-breaking way of moving through the world. When they are unhappily paired ... read more
House of Rage and Sorrow: Book Two in the Celestial Trilogy
Sangu Mandanna
One kingdom. One crown. One family.“Maybe it’s time the great House of Rey came to an end. After all, what are we now? Just a house of rage and sorrow.” Esmae once wanted nothing more than to help her golden brother win the crown of Kali but that dream died with her best friend. Alexi broke her heart, and she vowed to destroy him for it. And with her sentient warship Titania beside her, how ca... read more
The Summer of Lost Things (4) (A Love, Lucas Novel)
Chantele Sedgwick
This book, fitting into the same niche as John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and Jennifer Niven’s All the Bright Places, will be a must-read for those fans."—School Library Journal on Interlude by Chantele SedgwickNew town, new friends, new guy . . . and an old bucket list. The past haunts the present in the newest installation in the Love, Lucas universe. After her dad is sentenced to prison... read more
This is the illustrated story of 23 soccer players who worked together to become World Cup champions and heroes to millions of men, women, boys, and girls across America and around the world. In July 2019, a record number of people all around the world tuned in to watch the Women's World Cup, which took place in France. Fifty-two games, twenty-four teams, four weeks . . . one winner. Megan Rap... read more
The Little Red Book of Kitchen Wisdom (Little Red Books)
Nicole Frail, Matthew Magda
From Thomas Keller to Julia Childhundreds of quotes that are sure to please anyone who loves to cook, bake, drink, and eat.As American chef and food writer James Beard once said, "Food is our common ground, a universal experience." Everyone has a favorite food or meal, a method of cooking or baking they swear by, or a secret ingredient they utilize whenever possible. Food brings friends and f... read more
The Little White Book of Wedding Planning Wisdom
Nicole Frail
From engagement to honeymoon, this little book will provide you with all the basics to start planning your dream wedding.The moments after accepting a marriage proposal are exciting and romantic, but they can also be overwhelming and sometimes even confusing. Immediately after sharing the news, brides are often bombarded with questions: Have you set a date? What are your colors? Who are your b... read more
An inspiring story about determination, bullying, and the invisible hands that brought a man and dog together to overcome their dark legacies. While hiking on a solo vacation in a remote, uninhabitable region of Arizona, Zachary Anderegg happened upon Riley, an emaciated puppy clinging to life, at the bottom of a 350-foot canyon. In a daring act of humanity that trumped the deliberate savagery... read more
In Short Measures: Three Novellas
Michael Ruhlman
A propulsively well-written trio of novellas linked by a sense of loss and an inquiry into the impossible past.” Kate Christensen In his three novellas, In Short Measures,” Strong Conspirators,” and Sally Forth,” Michael Ruhlman delves deeply into the nuanced complexity of romantic and sexual loveand the inevitable evolution of the heart over the span of years and decades. Each novella a... read more
Sleepwalker: The Mysterious Makings and Recovery of a Somnambulist
Kathleen Frazier
I came to in the middle of it, like waking inside a horror movie, silent scream and all. Eyes wide open. I was standing at an open window, staring at the dizzying curve of Riverside Drive, five floors below. I’d stopped, somehow, poised, about to jump.Growing up the good girl in an Irish American family full of drinkers and terrible sleepers, Kathleen Frazier was twelve when her seemingly inno... read more
The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality
Julie Sondra Decker
A finalist for the 2015 LAMBDA Literary Award.What if you weren’t sexually attracted to anyone?A growing number of people are identifying as asexual. They aren’t sexually attracted to anyone, and they consider it a sexual orientationlike gay, straight, or bisexual.Asexuality is the invisible orientation. Most people believe that everyone” wants sex, that everyone” understands what it means ... read more
Groggle's Monster Valentine
Diana Murray
Groggle has been up all night making a Valentine’s Day card. This isn’t just any Valentine, though, and it has to be perfectit’s for Snarlina, his beast friend in the whole wide world. Searching in the dark forest, he finds just the right heart-shaped leaves. He collects some bog slime and squirts everything he wants to say in bold, gooey letters. Groggle’s creation looks horribly good. But t... read more
Lucy Loves Sherman
Catherine Bailey
Girl meets lobster. Girl loves lobster. But can girl save lobster? That’s the question at the center of this sweet and sassy picture book about Lucy, her shell-y friend Sherman, and the seafood-loving town they inhabit. Lucy loves Sherman from the moment they meet at Flotsam’s Fish Market. Oh sure, he’s an eighteen-pound, eighty-year-old crustacean, but he’s also polka dotted. And blurble-y. A... read more
Antipodes
Michele Bacon
When Erin Cerise steps off her plane in Christchurch, New Zealand, she’s determined to overcome her losses of swim team captainship, her boyfriend Ben, and her reputation. Her mother is certain studying abroad will regain Erin’s chances of a good future. Once Erin meets her uninspiring host family and city, though, she’s not so sure. Before Christchurch, Erin wasn’t always intense and focused.... read more
Soulstruck
Natasha Sinel
Seventeen-year-old Rachel Ferguson is trying to get struck by lightning. Hopefully it will lead to finding her soul mate, like it did for her mother. And then maybe her mom will be as devoted to her as she is to her lightning strike survivors group.When Rachel discovers letters written by her mother's soul mate—the man she thought was her father—she begins to question everything she's always b... read more
How to Make Out
Brianna Shrum
Sixteen-year-old Renley needs three thousand dollars for the math club’s trip to New York City, and she knows exactly how to get it: she’s going to start a how-to blog where people pay for answers to all of life’s questions from a certified expert.” The only problems: 1) She doesn’t know how to do anything but long division and calculus. 2) She’s totally invisible to people at school. And not... read more
A Spark of White Fire (1) (The Celestial Trilogy)
Sangu Mandanna
“In this seamless fusion of fantasy and sci-fi, Sangu Mandanna combines a dazzling world with gripping, high-stakes family drama. An epic opening chapter.” —Samantha Shannon, New York Times bestselling authorThe first book in a scifi retelling of the Mahabrahata. When Esmae wins a contest of skill, she sets off events that trigger an inevitable and unwinnable war that pits her against the fami... read more
Switching Gears (Love, Lucas Novel)
Chantele Sedgwick
Still mourning the loss of Lucas Nelson, the boy she loved in secret for years, seventeen-year-old Emmy Martin turns to her passion for mountain biking to try to fill the empty void in her life. But just when things start looking up, Emmy discovers her mom has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Confused and angry, she throws herself into mountain biking like never before. She wants t... read more
Interlude (Love, Lucas Novel)
Chantele Sedgwick
When Mia Cox finds out she can’t donate her kidney to save her younger sister’s life, she doesn’t hesitate to jump on a plane to New York, convinced she can talk their estranged birth mother, Carmen, into donating hers instead. She doesn’t know the city or how she’ll find Carmen when she gets there, but she has to try. If she doesn’t, Maddy’s going to die. On the cross-country flight, Mia figu... read more
Nicole has 38 reviews
Professionalism
Professionalism
Quality
Quality
Value
Value
Communication & Punctuality
Communication & Punctuality
Nicole did a fantastic job and I could not be happier I worked with her. She provided detailed and insightful comments to my query letter and synopsis, and edits to the first 30 pages of my manuscript. I received 2 full requests and 1 partial in the first five days of using the updated query materials. I will hire Nicole again without hesitation.
HM Sofia, April 2022
Reply from Nicole Frail
As a new writer beginning my journey of independent publishing, Nicole has been very helpful! She explained some pieces of the process, understood my audience and was accommodating to my apprehension about making too many large changes to my novel. Nicole allowed me to get a sample portion of my novel reviewed and provided me an editorial assessment on just that piece while I determined if I wo...
Read more
Alysa Southall, March 2022
Reply from Nicole Frail
NA
Missy Greenberg, November 2021
Nicole's input proved invaluable! She provided terrific comments and guidance. As a matter of fact, I kid you not, the very next day after sending a query letter that she'd edited, I received a request for the full manuscript of my book. Brava, Nicole!
Richard
Richard Jordan, October 2021
Reply from Nicole Frail
Nicole's feedback was extremely helpful. I look forward to working with her again when I reach the next stage of my book. She is timely, professional, and knows her stuff!
Ellie Hayes, October 2021
Reply from Nicole Frail
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