Jaida Temperly

Jaida Temperly – Editor

Former Literary Agent of New Leaf Literary and Media with 10+ years experience editing Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Adult fiction.

Overview

From working with New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors as a former Literary Agent at New Leaf Literary & Media, to teaching craft courses at SCBWI, Columbia University, Yale University, Writer’s Digest, and Horror Writers Association, I am passionate about bringing stories to life.


I've had the pleasure of working award-winning fiction including The Grace Year by Kim Liggett (Macmillan), Destroy All Monsters by Jeff Jackson (FSG), and They Come in All Colors by Malcolm Hansen (Simon & Schuster). I have also provided editorial assistance on bestselling titles such as Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Macmillan), Frost Blood by Elly Blake (Hachette), and Trutwitch by Susan Dennard (Tor).


While I edit a variety of genres, I am best known for my work with fantasy, magical realism, horror, historical, romance, and science fiction. I love stories with epic world-building, complex plotting, strong characters, and a unique perspective


I approach editing with an eye for detail, a sense of humor, and a determination to help shape your story into the best possible version. I see my editorial role as a two-way partnership and strive to be transparent, proactive, approachable, and candid.

Services
Fiction
Fantasy Historical Fiction Middle Grade Mystery & Crime Romance Science Fiction Thriller & Suspense Young Adult
Languages
English (US)

Work experience

Self-employed

Jan, 2018 — Present

New Leaf Literary & Media

Nov, 2012 — Jan, 2018 (about 5 years)

As a Literary Agent, I acquired, edited, and sold picturebooks, Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Adult fiction titles. Among the many talented authors I worked with were Kim Liggett, Kody Keplinger, Jeff Jackson, April Tucholke, Malcolm Hansen, Fiadnait Moser, and Eric Telchin.

Writer's House

May, 2012 — Nov, 2012 (6 months)

Interning under agents Rebecca Sherman and Simon Lipskar, I evaluated queries, drafted pitch letters, and composed editorial letters.

Jaida has 4 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Nida F.

Nida F.

Apr, 2024

Jaida has been wonderful to work with. She has a great profile, having worked with many best selling authors. But the reason I picked her as one of the editors I sent the RFP to was because her profile said she likes stories with a quirky sense of humor. And it turned out that she really was the editor who resonated the most with my story. So it was a no-brainer to choose someone who would not ...
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Caleb W.

Caleb W.

Jun, 2023

Collaborating with Jaida was fantastic. Her industry experience is highly desirable and gave me confidence that I was receiving feedback from someone with an inside perspective. I really felt like Jaida's feedback struck a good balance between positive encouragement (fragile ego here) and practical advice for strengthening my work. Jaida provided editorial notes on my query letter and the first...
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Taylor H.

Taylor H.

Apr, 2023

Jaida was professional and exceptional from Offer to Project Completion! Her feedback was honest and actionable, and I am so excited to make my query and submission package stronger using her direction.
Megan Z.

Megan Z.

Mar, 2023

Jaida was fantastic to work with -- quick, professional, timely in her responses, and very thorough! I'm so glad I hired her and will undoubtedly be back to work with her again in the future.

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