Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial)
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joelbrigham.bsky.social
Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial)
@joelbrigham.bsky.social
Developmental Editor, Writing Coach, #RevPit Editor, MG/YA Author, Educator, and Overall Very Friendly Person.

brighameditorial.com
brighameditorial.substack.com
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If you hire Brigham Editorial, you'll get the following:

1. Detailed, actionable feedback that meets you exactly where you are as a writer.
2. Positivity and pep talks.
3. Fast communication and quick turnarounds.

Need an editor? Why not me? :)

brighameditorial.com/contact
Laszlo Krasznahorkai has won the 2025 Nobel Prize for Literature for his novel, "Herscht 07769." It's a book about a graffiti cleaner in Germany who writes letters to Chancellor Angela Merkel to alert her to the world’s impending destruction.

It features ONE period in 400 pages.
October 9, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Just wrote a note for a romance author that the two romantic leads need "to kiss earlier and more often, and probably engage in the horizontal polka."

At least no one will ever accuse me of editing with ChatGPT. A.I. *wishes* its sense of humor was as bad as mine.
August 8, 2025 at 9:24 PM
The best manuscripts I edit are the ones where the main character has a clear want, strength, and weakness.

Then the plot is geared toward exploiting that specific weakness, neutralizing that specific strength, and blocking that specific want with worst-case-scenario antagonistic forces.
July 17, 2025 at 2:07 PM
My office today:
July 15, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Tip for world-building to avoid info-dumps:

Imagine your reader has been dropped into your world with no warning, no notes, no maps... nothing. How would they learn about this world, its landscapes, its magic, its laws, etc?

By observing, living, making mistakes, and learning.

(1/2, cont'd)
July 11, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Reposted by Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial)
Get yourself a copy editor like Joel who fixes ALL your mistakes and makes your sentences flow without changing your voice… and also cheers for zombie rules by chopping heads 😂 (I think there is a Sir Gawain reference somewhere in that 👀)
@joelbrigham.bsky.social
a man with a tree face and a beard is holding a large axe
Alt: a man with a tree face and a beard is holding a large axe from The Green Knight
media.tenor.com
May 28, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Reposted by Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial)
Also huge thanks to Joel Brigham (@joelbrigham.bsky.social), whose newsletter alerted me to the existence of this contest!

Yay, @reviseresub.bsky.social!
June 10, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Reposted by Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial)
Query re-writes are hard, but I'm thankful for @joelbrigham.bsky.social's keen eye on my query package to identify why it's not working in the trenches! If you're only getting form rejections, consider booking a critique with him. He'll find the problems & give you tools to fix them.
#amquerying
June 26, 2025 at 6:35 PM
I was hoping you'd see the shout-out!!!
I worked with the insanely rad @joelbrigham.bsky.social on a few rounds of dev edits that reshaped and shined up THE KEEPERS before its eventual acceptance with @quillsandcosmos.bsky.social and the shoutout in today's Brigham Editorial newsletter has me 🥹🥹😭😭😭

#WriterSky
May 2, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Been a busy, busy month. But the latest newsletter is live:

open.substack.com/pub/brighame...
May Newsletter
Comic-Con, client book deals, hip-hop, and this months' reading list, all inside!
open.substack.com
May 2, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Clearly @rebeccawilcox.bsky.social is a talent unmatched in our day and time. Look at this adorable artwork!
Hi Campers!
A huge shoutout to the talented Rebecca @rebeccawilcox.bsky.social , who keeps #CampRevPit looking extra adorable! We're totally smitten with this year's charming bug buddies—aren't they the sweetest? Let's all give a big thank-you to Rebecca for sharing her beautiful art with us!
April 23, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Here's a little hack for your opening pages: make the first physical description of your main character anything other eye color, hair color, skin tone, height, weight, or clothing.

"What's left?" you're asking. That's up to you, but you can bet it'll be unique.
April 19, 2025 at 1:30 AM
From the logline, I knew this was going to be one I would love. The book lived up to expectations, and plenty of potential yet to tap into. Can't wait to work with Kirra!
Editor Joel Brigham @joelbrigham.bsky.social will work with Kirra Joan Herter on FELICITY PURN BECOMES THE FALL (MG Fantasy) #RevPit
April 14, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Well, since #RevPit winners have to be submitted to the board by tomorrow, I figure now is as good a time as any to run another #10Queries.

If you were mentioned in this one OR my first batch a few weeks ago, I'll send an email after the winners are announced!

Alright. Let's party, Dear Revelers:
April 10, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Closing in on my #RevPit winner. It's down to two manuscripts but I'm leaning more and more heavily toward one...
a man in a suit and tie is standing in front of a wall that says are we having
ALT: a man in a suit and tie is standing in front of a wall that says are we having
media.tenor.com
April 8, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Hey Revelers! Been a busy week, but here's a #RevPitTeaser for ya: I'm down to four books under consideration.

Oddly, two are the exact same age group and genre, and the other two are also the exact same age group and genre.

I'll narrow it down further this weekend. I'm closing in!
a man is sitting in a car and the word soon is on the screen
ALT: a man is sitting in a car and the word soon is on the screen
media.tenor.com
April 4, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Just bought a ticket for Chicago. I've wanted to meet Chris for years. "Lamb" changed my life!!!
April 2, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Reposted by Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial)
Welcome back, authors, for my third and final #RevPit #10Queries

All good things must come to an end. Like my PTO, which ends today, so my holiday of hanging out with my submissions is over. We’re going out with a bang.

Other editors have different schedules and may be coming up soon – patience!
March 31, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Well, Revelers, I did a LOT of reading and evaluating over the weekend, which means I've narrowed my list even further.

About 12% of my submissions are still under consideration (down from 29% my last go-round), but I'll be down to 5-7% in the next day or two. Exciting! And nerve-wracking!
a cartoon of two women in a car with the words " you 've given me a lot to think about " on the bottom
ALT: a cartoon of two women in a car with the words " you 've given me a lot to think about " on the bottom
media.tenor.com
March 31, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Reposted by Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial)
✨ Find your people ✨

👉 RevPit feed
bsky.app/profile/jeni...
👉 2025 RevPit Editors
bsky.app/profile/jeni...
👉 2025 participating authors
bsky.app/profile/jeni...

lmk if you need to be added to the list
March 31, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Reposted by Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial)
#RevPit update

✨ Editors - reading submissions!
✨ Editor updates on #10Queries + #RevPitTeaser / #RevPitTeasers
#RevPitWaiting games
@reviseresub.bsky.social + @ambucsaru.bsky.social
March 31, 2025 at 9:35 AM
my Pie Chart Colleagues are absolutely killin' it with these visuals!
I know some of the other #RevPit editors are doing #RevPitWaiting and #RevPitTeaser posts, but just like some of you get anxious about reading them, I get anxious writing them 😅, so it’s unlikely I’ll have any of my own to share. We’ll see how it goes!

Please have a couple of #RevPie instead:
March 31, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Reposted by Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial)
#RevPitWaiting day 15!

With #revpit 10queries starting to pop up, this is a great chance to give a shoutout to someone who helped you with your QP or MS!

Did anyone post their query on r/pubtips? Do you have any great beta readers or critique partners?

Resources to share?
March 31, 2025 at 8:22 AM
For those of you who missed my #RevPit #10queries session yesterday:
I just finished my second round of #RevPit submission read-throughs, and I think this is a good time for a good, old-fashioned #10queries, where I provide general (anonymous) feedback about ten random submission packages. "Q" = query, and "P" = pages. See if you can find yourself in these!
March 31, 2025 at 11:51 AM
I just finished my second round of #RevPit submission read-throughs, and I think this is a good time for a good, old-fashioned #10queries, where I provide general (anonymous) feedback about ten random submission packages. "Q" = query, and "P" = pages. See if you can find yourself in these!
March 30, 2025 at 3:51 PM