Rachel Stout - Editor
Literary agent turned editor of fiction & memoir where narratives and protagonists have distinct, identifiable voices.
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Overview
As a former literary agent with over 10 years' experience in the New York trade publishing world, I not only offer editorial services on manuscripts and book proposals, but am also a great resource for strategy and research tips for authors to find the right literary agents for their work.
I am available to edit query letters and put together a list of recommended agents along with suggested notes of personalization for each query letter. I am also available for ghostwriting book proposals using my unique perspective from the other side of the desk!
My editing style is very hands-on, and so any work received back from me will be heavy on comments and notes with a lengthy editorial letter alongside it. No suggested change goes unexplained, and any issue I'm addressing in your work will come along with several suggestions for how to fix it. I'm big on followup questions and comments from my authors, so am always open well after the fact to brainstorm solutions and other avenues for any manuscript, as well as to give feedback on brief passages you've reworked since my edit.
I'm also happy to provide a sample edit of five double-spaced pages for a nominal fee (which would be deducted from the total cost of the full edit that follows).
Any and all question are welcome, so don't hesitate to ask!
I am available to edit query letters and put together a list of recommended agents along with suggested notes of personalization for each query letter. I am also available for ghostwriting book proposals using my unique perspective from the other side of the desk!
My editing style is very hands-on, and so any work received back from me will be heavy on comments and notes with a lengthy editorial letter alongside it. No suggested change goes unexplained, and any issue I'm addressing in your work will come along with several suggestions for how to fix it. I'm big on followup questions and comments from my authors, so am always open well after the fact to brainstorm solutions and other avenues for any manuscript, as well as to give feedback on brief passages you've reworked since my edit.
I'm also happy to provide a sample edit of five double-spaced pages for a nominal fee (which would be deducted from the total cost of the full edit that follows).
Any and all question are welcome, so don't hesitate to ask!
Languages
English (UK)
English (US)
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Fiction
Historical Fiction
Humor & Comedy
Literary Fiction
Middle Grade
Romance
Women's Fiction
Young Adult
Work experience
Editor, Query Letter Master, Writer & Ghostwriter
Self-employed
November, 2015
–
Present
(about 6 years)
Since leaving the life of a literary agent, I've been really excited to take on all types of editorial projects. I have extensive experience working mainly with fiction and memoir, including YA and Middle Grade titles. If you have a manuscript or book proposal that needs an editorial eye, I'm a very detail-oriented, attentive editor.
In this time, I have also ghostwritten book proposals for authors of my former agency and have become a consultant for all things querying. Whether it's just working on your query letter and writing sample, tightening up your synopsis, researching agents to query or everything at once, I have worked with dozens of authors on their projects.
Literary Agent
Dystel & Goderich Literary Management
October, 2010
–
October, 2015
(about 5 years)
Portfolio (12 selected works)
Some Kind of Magic (Flirting with Fame)
Mary Ann Marlowe
“An amazing first novel.” –Sydney Landon, New York Times bestselling authorIn this sparkling debut novel, Mary Ann Marlowe introduces a hapless scientist who’s swept off her feet by a rock star—but is it love or just a chemical reaction?...Biochemist Eden Sinclair has no idea that the scent she spritzed on herself before leaving the lab is designed to enhance pheromones. Or that the cute, grun... read more
Rochelle Bilow, a classically trained cook and aspiring food writer, was nursing a broken heart and frustrated with her yet-to-take-off career when she set out to write a short profile of a small, sustainable CSA farm in central New York. At most, she expected to come away with a cute city-girl-in-the-country piece. But after just one day of moving hay bales, feeding pigs, and tapping maple sa... read more
From the author of the Lucinda Pierce series, comes a thrilling new mystery, set during the Second World War . . .Oak Ridge, Tennessee, otherwise known as the Secret City, rose seemingly overnight in 1942, built by the US Government. No one was quite sure what its purpose was or where it came from, but there was certainly something going on . . . Libby Clark, a gutsy Bryn Mawr graduate, is det... read more
A call from the police telling single mom Wendy Gaynor that her 18-year old daughter, Ruby, had been in an extremely serious car accident changed October 5, 1995 from an ordinary fall day to an extraordinary one. On the sixty minute drive through torrential rain and gusting winds to get to the hospital, Wendy didn’t know if Ruby was dead or alive. The grim diagnosis: Ruby was in a coma, on a r... read more
In 1885 Iowa, Sara Moore is a dutiful daughter, but when her father tries to force her to marry his younger partner, she must choose between the partner—a man who treats her like property—and James Youngblood—a kind man she hardly knows who has a troubled past. When she confronts her father, he beats her and turns her out of the house, breaking all ties, so she decides to elope with James to K... read more
Deep Down Things
Tamara Linse
Deep Down Things, Tamara Linse’s debut novel, is the emotionally riveting story of three siblings torn apart by a charismatic bullrider-turned-writer and the love that triumphs despite tragedy. From the death of her parents at sixteen, Maggie Jordan yearns for lost family, while sister CJ drowns in alcohol and brother Tibs withdraws. When Maggie and an idealistic young writer named Jackdaw fal... read more
The Thunder Beneath Us
Nicole Blades
To the world, Best Lightburn is a talented writer rising up the masthead at international style magazine James, girlfriend of a gorgeous up-and-coming actor, and friend to New York City’s fabulous. Then there’s the other Best, the one who has chosen to recast herself as an only child rather than confront the truth. Ten years ago, on Christmas Eve, Best and her two older brothers took a shortcu... read more
The founders of Brooklyn Grange, the world’s largest green rooftop farm, share their inspirational story of changing the world through entrepreneurship. In their effort to build the world’s first and largest commercial green rooftop farm, the founders of Brooklyn Grange learned a lot about building and sustaining a business while never losing sight of their mission—to serve their community by ... read more
Fated (Fate of Love) (Volume 1)
AJ Brooks
Until you discover the truth in love you will only be half. Until you find the one who makes you whole. Cassius, the god of love, is stripped of his status and left as a demi-god with a quiver full of arrows and a riddle he’s no closer to solving. When he fell in love with a mortal, he thought he'd broken the curse. But when he chose godhood over the woman he loved, Cassius ended up in servitu... read more
Waking in Time
Angie Stanton
Still mourning the loss of her beloved grandmother and shaken by her mysterious, dying request, Abbi has just arrived at UW Madison for her freshman year. But on her second day, she wakes up to a different world: 1983. That is just the first stop on Abbis journey backward through time. Will is a charming college freshman from 1927 who travels forward through time. When Abbi and Will meet in th... read more
The Sisterhood
Helen Bryan
Menina Walker was a child of fortune. Rescued after a hurricane in South America, doomed to a life of poverty with a swallow medal as her only legacy, the orphaned toddler was adopted by an American family and taken to a new life. As a beautiful, intelligent woman of nineteen, she is in love, engaged, and excited about the future—until another traumatic event shatters her dreams. Menina flees ... read more
Rachel has 68 reviews
Professionalism
Professionalism
Quality
Quality
Value
Value
Communication & Punctuality
Communication & Punctuality
Rachel's insights about my query letter are very helpful. She has given me clear direction about what to improve and how, and is still available as I make my second and third draft revisions. Throughout this process she has been very prompt and attentive to all my questions. I really appreciate how she set realistic expectations about when she could perform the work, and has followed through on...
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James Parsons, January 2022
Boy do I wish I had done this sooner.
Using only written words, Rachel led me out of the trees to a view of the whole forrest. She showed me what is really working in my draft, what needs help, and what is sorely lacking. I got way more value from her than I could have reasonably expected. Right on time, she delivered a dense cover letter so rich with targeted insight that I've read it half ...
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Jeffrey Van Dyke, November 2021
This review is such a long time in the making, so apologies to Rachel!
Rachel was fantastic. She was prompt, professional, and great with communication.
I appreciate the time she took to read pages of my novel so that she could better understand what I was trying to do with my query. I immediately connected with her feedback and couldn't be more thrilled with my experience. I highly recommend.
S V, October 2021
Rachel's feedback has been helpful in moving forward on my manuscript. She told me what I absolutely needed to hear and her feedback was on point. We continue to fine tune what needs to be done and I will most likely have Rachel continue working with me so I can see this book through to fruition. The only thing that is sometimes difficult is that we are communicating through Reedsy email.
Annette Becklund, August 2021
Rachael's sample edit was right on time and I learned some important things from it.
Sandy Miranda, July 2021
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