Thomas Ross – Editor

I'm an editor because writing is hard—but I don't want to make it easier! A good editor pushes a writer to make the difficult cuts, to fully explore the subject, and to do it in clear, compelling language. I'm a professional writer, too, so I've been on both sides of the red pen. I know how important it is for an editor to be straightforward, honest, and kind. I was lucky enough to learn my trade at Tin House Books and Tin House magazine, where I worked for over ten years. Tin House has to this day a reputation for editors who are thoughtful, straightforward, and kind—and meticulously close readers.At Tin House, I worked with hundreds of writers. Many were just starting their careers as published writers, and some were even non-writers who happened to have a story to tell. I also worked with a lot of established writers, the intimidatingly well-respected kind, but I always found that any power structure fell away once we were both neck-deep in the margins of some essay or story.Many of the stories, essays, and poems I edited at Tin House magazine won prizes in anthologies—Best American Nonfiction, the Pushcart Prize, etc.—and some of the books I worked on at Tin House Books are still among my favorites. Nothing pleases me more than recognizing a writer's unique voice and seeing the way to coax it out of them and push it to its absolute best.I am available for developmental editing, line editing, copy editing, and ongoing coaching. One service I'm particularly proud of it my manuscript consultation package. I've been privileged (sometimes I have to force myself to see it that way, I'll be honest!) to be the first reader of many projects, and my experience running the literary magazine industry's largest multi-genre slush pile (all the "unsolicited" manuscripts submitted to a magazine directly from writers) has given me a great eye for what's exciting and unique in a piece of writing. I hope to find it in yours, but I also won't hesitate to tell you when you're treading familiar ground.If you'd like to know more about my work or writers I've worked with in the past, please reach out!