Plenty of writers have benefitted from working with Brigham Editorial on their manuscripts:
“As the owner of The Purcell Agency, I feel Joel has added wonderful services to the agency by critiquing manuscripts. His thorough notes and helpful suggestions have brought manuscripts from good to great, allowing them to sell to publishers. His work has been so professional and profound. I recommend him to any author, 100%!”
-Tina P. Schwartz, agent, The Purcell Agency
“Joel reviews and edits words with a unique sensitivity to detail and an uncanny ability to understand exactly what you’re trying to achieve. Whether you’ve hit a creative wall and feel like you’ve forgotten what words even are, or you’re trying to polish something you’re proud of into something even better, Joel’s insights will help. He is encouraging and funny in his guidance, and helpfully specific in his advice. in some of my darkest moments as a writer, Joel’s input has given me hope and restored faith in my project. I highly recommend working with him!”
-Audrey Burges, author, The Miniscule Mansion of Myra Malone (repped by Maria Whelan, Inkwell)
“Joel is fantastic as an editor. He’s able to provide honest and actionable feedback in a way that is encouraging and uplifting. His insights on pacing and character development made a huge difference in my manuscript.””
-Kelly Ohlert, author, To Get to the Other Side (repped by Emmy Nordstrom Higdon, Westwood Creative Arts)
“Joel has a unique way of finding the heart and soul of a story. Working together, he saw the vision I had for my characters in those early drafts and helped blaze a trail to get there. Once we knew where we were going, he coached me along in stages, and it wasn’t until I saw the finished product that I realized how much work we’d done to get there.”
-Pete Fanning, author, Spellbound, and winner of PitchWars 2021
“I’ve worked with Joel on everything from polishing queries to editing full manuscripts to sharpening opening pages and crafting log line pitches. His feedback is invaluable across the board. Joel has a keen eye for identifying a manuscript’s structural issues like pacing, stakes, and beats, while providing suggestions to pull out and support the heart of the story, building on the manuscript’s strengths. He delivers honest and straightforward edits, bringing the many perspectives from his multifaceted experience in the literary world. Whether a messy first draft or a near-final draft in need of line edits, Joel does it all. He’s super fun to work with, sticks to deadlines, and is reliably thorough. Whatever stage of your writing career you’re at, Joel can and will help—I can’t recommend him enough!”
-Elora Ditton (repped by Jon Darga, Aevitas Creative)
“Joel’s focus on expanding my protagonist’s motivations made my story so much more compelling. He took the time to ensure that I understood all of his suggestions and was always available if I had questions. If you’re looking for someone to push your story from good to great, I highly recommend working with Joel.”
-Sierra Isley, author, In the Ring (repped by Tina P. Schwartz, The Purcell Agency)
“Joel is a master at story craft. His edit letters provide insight into your story’s structure, pacing, character development, and emotion, and he offers suggestions that are concrete and easy to understand and implement. He’s also a really nice guy, and someone I trust to be honest about my writing while letting my vision and unique brand of storytelling shine. After following recommendations from Joel, I was offered representation by an agent. I had gotten close before, but it took a trained set of eyes to help the pieces click into place. Joel was able to see what I couldn’t, and the payoff (an agent!) was totally worth it!”
-Shannon Balloon (repped by Christa Heschke, Mcintosh & Otis)
“Joel worked with me on my manuscript, helping me prepare it before my agent began submitting it to publishers. He’s smart, professional, and thorough. He explains everything. His feedback was organized and easy to follow. I think he took my book to the next level, and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to work with him!”
-Sarahlyn Bruck (repped by Tina P. Schwartz, The Purcell Agency)
“When I first saw how long Joel’s critique on my novel was, my heart sank. Was it really that bad? But when I read his comments, I could tell that he was as invested in my manuscript as I was. The feedback Joel provided was what I needed to hear. He even targeted issues that I had been willfully ignoring, thankfully giving me suggestions on how to achieve what I didn’t know how to fix. Joel also respected what I was trying to do with my story. His suggestions maintained the integrity of the plot and characters, yet challenged me to push my creative vision. I am thankful for his critique and know that my novel is stronger because of his guidance.”
-Angelique Burrell (repped by Bonnie Swanson, The Purcell Agency)
“Joel’s edits helped me land my agent. His editing style combines encouragement and praise with straightforward actionable steps you can take to level up your writing and reach your goals. He is also the best pep-talker I’ve ever met!”
-Christy Swift (repped by Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong, The Purcell Agency)
Brigham Editorial 