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Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial)

@joelbrigham.bsky.social

1.2K followers 400 following 860 posts

Developmental Editor, Writing Coach, #RevPit Editor, MG/YA Author, Educator, and Overall Very Friendly Person. brighameditorial.com brighameditorial.substack.com

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Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Nov 26

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

Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · 2d

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.

Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Aug 8

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.

Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Jul 17

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.

Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Jul 15

My office today:

Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Jul 11

Info-dumps are cheat sheets. They are notes and maps and guidebooks. Don't make it so easy on your reader! Make them LIVE in the world to figure it out!

"But they'll be confused!"

Yup. And they'll keep reading to get un-confused. Use disorientation and discovery to your advantage!

(2/2)

Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Jul 11

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)

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Reposted by Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial)

Kimberly Lynn Hanson @klynnhanson.bsky.social · May 28

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

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Reposted by Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial)

Jude Atwood @judeatwood.bsky.social · Jun 10

Also huge thanks to Joel Brigham (@joelbrigham.bsky.social), whose newsletter alerted me to the existence of this contest!

Yay, @reviseresub.bsky.social!

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Reposted by Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial)

Cat Burgess @catburgess.bsky.social · Jun 26

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

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Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · May 2

Being a delight is literally my only goal in life. Appreciate the boost!

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Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · May 2

I was hoping you'd see the shout-out!!!

Sarah Goehrke, Author (✨2026 Debut✨) @sarahgoehrkewrites.bsky.social · May 2

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

Screenshot from email in dark mode reads: Also, a big congrats to Sarah Goehrke, one of my most talented clients, who found a home for her witches with Quills and Cosmos, a small indie press that apparently has very good taste: [screenshot of Quills and Cosmos Press announcement of THE KEEPERS] Sarah and I did a lot of work on this book together (as well as the sequels, which, in my opinion, are even better than the first book, if such a thing were possible). It is not Goodreads yet, but rest assured, I will be noisy about when it is.

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Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · May 2

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

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Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Apr 23

Clearly @rebeccawilcox.bsky.social is a talent unmatched in our day and time. Look at this adorable artwork!

Revise & Resub @reviseresub.bsky.social · Apr 22

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!

On the same grassy green hill beneath a starry night sky, the firefly clings to a branch and dangles a tied stack of story notes from a stick with the label “Darlings” written on the top page. The caterpillar reaches for the tied bundle of notes with mouth wide open, ready to chow down. Behind the tree, which still has bite marks from the caterpillar’s previous meal, the mantis holds her claws to her face in dismay. Dawn is beginning to tint the horizon red.

On the verdant hill beneath the Camp RevPit flag, the mantis reads from her book to the caterpillar and the firefly. The firefly is measuring the book, which is much thinner than the giant stack of notes the caterpillar ate previously. The caterpillar lays on their back on the hill, still chewing, with a very round, full tummy. Some notes still stick out from beneath them. In front of the flagpole, a little sprouting plant with two leaves sticks out of the ground. The sky is blue with fluffy white clouds.

On a grassy green hill, a bright green praying mantis, a black and orange firefly, and a small green caterpillar examine the mantis’s very tall pile of story notes. The firefly is measuring the stack of paper with a tape measure while the caterpillar looks concerned. The stack of pages is waist-high to the mantis. A Campy RevPit flag flies from the top of a nearby flagpole. There is a bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds in the background.

On a grassy green hill beneath a starry night sky, the caterpillar nibbles on a tree while the mantis and the firefly work on their stories. The mantis lays in the grass writing in her journal with a fountain pen and her very tall stack of papers beside her. The firefly sits in the branches of the tree with a laptop. The firefly’s butt is glowing brightly so the mantis can see to write.

Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Apr 19

And may your pondering be fruitful!

Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Apr 19

It would not surprise me in the slightest!

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Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Apr 19

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.

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Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Apr 17

Yes! I'm doing that email before the weekend!

Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Apr 14

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!

Revise & Resub @reviseresub.bsky.social · Apr 14

Editor Joel Brigham @joelbrigham.bsky.social will work with Kirra Joan Herter on FELICITY PURN BECOMES THE FALL (MG Fantasy) #RevPit

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Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Apr 10

That's it for this batch, gang. You are all so talented and so creative, and I'm honored to have been chosen to consider your books!

If you're looking for my first batch of #10Queries, you can find them here:

Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Mar 30

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!

Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Apr 10

P10 – This is a romcom, not a contemporary romance. It’s too funny not to be. I do worry that these opening pages are too banter-heavy, as the conversation keeps the characters from actually doing anything. Let’s give the MC a tough choice to make, and then let’s see how she reacts!

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Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Apr 10

Q10 Adult Romance – We don’t meet the love interest until about 70% of the way through the pitch, which is way too late. Squash the stage-setting and let’s show the agent why these two will make for good romantic reading right out of the gate.

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Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Apr 10

P9 – The pages are really well done. Playful, tense, engaging prose and immediate clarity that this is an author who knows how to dance with words. This is basically a novella, though, which just isn’t my jam. Objectively very good, but will be tough to sell.

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Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Apr 10

Q9 Adult Fantasy – There’s no easy way to say this: your word count is going to hold you back with this manuscript. I’m used to seeing fantasy go way, way beyond reasonable debut author word counts, but going way, way under is less common. This is going to need some bulking up!

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Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Apr 10

P8 – The author is talented, and the pages are clean, though the portion I read felt a little devoid of emotional color and tone. Its sensory descriptions could use some punching up with more carefully-chosen descriptive words aimed at creating the mood/tone the author intends.

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Joel Brigham (Brigham Editorial) @joelbrigham.bsky.social · Apr 10

Q8 – Adult Contemporary – Billed as contemporary, the setting of this manuscript is more than old enough to classify as Historical, instead. Also, your word count is way, way too high. Big books are expensive to edit, print, and ship, and publishers tend not to take big financial risks on debuts.

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