Bio

Christopher Fisher joined The Editorial Department in the fall of 2010 and, in addition to editorial acumen, brings with him considerable skills in book layout, production, and design. He has a keen eye for everything from font selection and page design to cover art and layout considerations, and is available to help with both traditional and self-published efforts.

Christopher enjoys reading most anything, from award-winning novels to his kids' cereal boxes, and his experience in publishing is just as eclectic. He has worked with authors of academic non-fiction as well as literary and historical fiction and creative nonfiction; edited for peer-reviewed journals in criminal justice and psychology; was Editor-in-Chief of the journal Relief: A Christian Literary Expression, which publishes spiritual fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry for a literary audience; and also served as a judge for The Christy Awards, which recognizes "excellence in Christian fiction written by contemporary writers" and highlights "the breadth and diversity of Christian fiction."

Christopher holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine, and he recently taught English Composition at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. His own fiction has been honored with a Pushcart Prize Special Mention and an honorable mention in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, 2007. He also interned with The Texas Review and wrote several articles for the religious satire magazine, The Wittenburg Door. Included among his many favorite authors are David Sedaris, Flannery O'Connor, John Gardner, Neil Gaiman, Richard Russo, Nick Hornby, Marilynne Robinson, and Leif Enger.

In his own words:

When editing, whether fiction or non-fiction, I tend to take a teaching approach to the manuscript. I'm more interested in helping the author develop good writing habits for the future than simply "fixing" the problems on the page (though I do spend considerable time pointing out those pesky little comma splices and misspellings). To me, it's not enough to point out to the author that something is not working. I feel I haven't done my job until the author understands why it's not working. And I believe that if I'm doing my job well, my authors will need me less after each consultation together, and will eventually not need me at all.

Concerning services, I enjoy both the Manuscript Evaluation and the Annotation. Each one has its advantages, and each will give an author a clear idea of what's working and what's not. But for a detailed offering of solutions, there's really nothing that beats the Annotation. That said, however, it's been my experience that some manuscripts are not yet ready for annotation, while I've come across others that don't really need it. So it's always a good idea to start out with the Introductory Critique, which is an excellent way of gauging the best service for a particular author. The $35 is also a pretty reasonable investment, when you consider that it's going to help us recommend the best way to proceed and thereby give you the most bang for your buck.

Preferred Genres

Absolute favorite genre: humor/satire

Preferred fiction genres: literary, Christian/inspirational fiction, mainstream, horror, dark fantasy, apocalyptic, dystopian

Other fiction genres Chris enjoys working on: action/adventure, historical, fantasy, science fiction, mystery/suspense, crime, magical realism

Genres Chris prefers not to work on: romance, erotica, women's lit

Absolute favorite nonfiction category: humorous memoir

Other areas of interest in nonfiction: humor, memoir, politics, psychology, philosophy, religion, cooking, how-to, gardening, religion/spirituality, health, true crime, criminal justice, academic, history, autobiography,

Submissions

Interested in working with Christopher? Please visit our editor availability inquiry center.

Testimonials

"When I decided to publish my first book, one of my biggest concerns was the interior layout. Being a collection of humor essays that included letters, speeches, sketches, tables, lists, etc., my manuscript presented numerous formatting challenges and I knew that proper presentation was critical for the humor in my book to succeed. When I discussed this project with Chris Fisher at The Editorial Department, I knew he was the perfect person for the design job. Chris immediately understood my goals for my book and made design recommendations that complemented the tone in the best possible light. He also patiently accommodated numerous content changes and was an absolute pleasure to work with. In the end, I was ecstatic with the final results as Chris did everything that I wanted while at the same time producing a book better than I could have ever imagined. I enthusiastically recommend him to anyone who is seeking a book designer."

Dan McQuinn

(author of Kids Say The Cutest Things When They're Drunk: A Book of Pointless Satire and Vulgar Humor)

Naperville, IL