Bio

Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) is a freelance editor with over two decades of experience helping writers young and old find their story and their voice. He has a bachelor's degree in Creative Writing and a master's degree in Education and has been an RevPit editor for three years. He loves '90s hip-hop, fantasy football, genealogy research, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Pronouns: He/Him

MSWL

Look, friends. I'm not picky and have edited a little bit of everything over the years. More than anything, I want to work on something unique. I realize that's not specific, though, so I hope this MSWL helps a little:

• Age Level: MG, YA, NA, and Adult. I'm open to any of those.
• Preferred Genres: Romance, Historical. Literary/Book Club, Magical Realism/Speculative, Contemporary.
• Other Genres I'll Happily Consider: Action/Adventure, Gothic, or Fairy Tale/Mythology Retellings
• Genres I'll Take, But It'll Have to Completely Blow My Mind: Fantasy, Science Fiction
• Genres I'm Very, Very Unlikely to Choose: Horror, Mystery, Novels in Verse

There are a few weirdly specific things I'd actually love to read, but I always hated when agents put weirdly specific things on their MSWL documents. Please don't discount your book if your story isn't any of these things!

Weirdly Specific Wants:

• Sequels/Prequels/Retellings of Literary Classics (a la James, by Percival Everett)
• Unexpected hybrids of two genres that typically do not go together
• Any manuscript capable of both cracking me up and choking me up.

Q&A

How can a manuscript’s first five pages make you sit up and take notice?

I want to see mystery, tension, and/or suspense on Page One. Voice and stakes early on also get my attention!

If the lead gets me, I'll devour the first paragraph. If the first paragraph gets me, I'll devour the first page. It usually only takes me about that long to know if I'm going to fall in love with a manuscript.

More than anything, I want to see something new and unique. If the character and/or plot is something that feels original in some way, I'm in. Bonus points if you can make me laugh.

What can writers expect from working with you during #RevPit, including communication?

Well, let's run it down, shall we?

1. I work fast once I've gotten started.
2. My feedback style is to be constructive and actionable. I'll tell you what I love, but I'm a problem-solver by nature, so I'm primarily identifying areas of concern and then guiding writers toward removing any concern from those areas.
3. My specialties are plotting, pacing, flow, and maximizing for mainstream appeal. I do view literature as art, but my job is to help you write a book an agent can sell. That means my approach is a mix between maintaining the integrity of your artistic vision while also optimizing a manuscript for success.
4. I'm a great pep-talker and cheerleader.
5. I really like to respond to email quickly, and I often do. If I don't, reminders and nudges are encouraged. If it's three millimeters in front of my nose, I'll probably forget it exists.
6. I'm very, very hard to offend, so let's just be honest with each other, yeah? :)

What do you expect from writers during the #RevPit revision process, including communication?

When it comes to working with writers, I value grit, flexibility, and timeliness above all things.

Be ready to work. Be ready to try ideas you might not have considered trying. And please stay on schedule!

What hobbies do you have outside of writing and editing?

I am incapable of sitting still, so my list of beloved hyper-focuses is lengthy and eclectic. But quickly:

• I collect vintage Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys.
• I am the president of my town's recreational softball leagues (and I help coach both of my daughters' teams in the summer).
• I play a TON of fantasy football.
• I'm a huge fan of the Savannah Bananas.
• I'm obsessed with genealogy.
• I watch every Oscar-nominated film each year.
• I'm a big travel nut and love scouring every possible AirBNB in an area until I've found the perfect one for that year's family vacation.

And I'm sure there's more. Or at least there will be! I always find something new and shiny to keep the ol' dopamine flowin'!