Bio

Andy Meisenheimer has been working in books since 1999—first as a retailer, then a sales rep, then an acquisitions editor for a division of Harper Collins. He now spends his time as a freelance editor working with both published and unpublished authors on fiction and non-fiction projects. Andy's appreciation for writing was shaped by an early love for Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, Michael Crichton, Chaim Potok, and Ray Bradbury. In addition to his work here at TED, he is also a fiction editor for Red Fez Publications, an online literary journal, and the creator of storypraxis, a creative writing initiative and community blog that helps writers write creatively every day.

He enjoys thrillers, sci-fi, fantasy, suspense, humor, horror, and pop fiction with literary leanings. His favorite novelists include Douglas Coupland, John le Carré, Orson Scott Card, Nick Hornby, Stephen King; favorite books include East of Eden, The Brothers K, The Sparrow, and Battle Royale. Non-fiction favorites include Jon Krakauer, AJ Jacobs, and David Mamet. In his spare time he enjoys gardening, cooking, making music, and playing geeky epic games (card, board, and video).

In his own words:

I’m a big fan of smart thrillers, sci-fi and fantasy, horror, and comedy. The type of manuscripts I love to work on those that bridge the gap between literary and pop, where conventions are turned on their heads and genres are blended. A good place to start with your manuscript is either the evaluation or the annotation—depending on how committed you are to the process. While TED’s services have been developed over several decades to meet the needs of most manuscripts, one of the advantages of working with TED is that we recognize that each manuscript is different, and the author-editor relationship is key. Our services are not the end goal—perfecting the manuscript is. That gives me the freedom to be the best editor for you and your book that I can be.

Articles

Write!Canada: A Freelance Editor's Perspective

iPad Advice for Writers, Part I

Preferred Genres

Preferred fiction genres: legal thrillers, conspiracy thrillers, psychological thrillers, political thrillers, horror, action-adventure, crime, mystery, detective, military thrillers, techno-thrillers, eco-thriller, young adult, humor, satire, multi-cultural, literary fiction, mainstream fiction

Other fiction genres Andy enjoys working on: Christian/inspirational, forensic, medical, or scientific thrillers, historical, biographical fiction, conspiracy thrillers

Genres Andy prefers not to work on: children's, middle grade, women's fiction, romance, erotica, gay/lesbian fiction, western/frontier

Absolute favorite nonfiction category: narrative

Areas of interest in nonfiction: narrative, creative, autobiography, memoir, arts & photography, cooking, current events, crime & criminals, education, entertainment, history, home & garden, parenting & families, philosophy, politics, religion & spirituality, science, social sciences, travel, true accounts

Testimonials

"Well, after my sobs subsided, I realized Andy's comments were right on. He pointed out the flaws I knew were there but couldn't identify. Thanks for choosing him to read my long, long manuscript. Based on his remarks I suspect the reading was arduous."

Sarah Bates

Fallbrook, CA

"The Editorial Department has proved invaluable in the long edit/revision process of my novel."

John F.

Palo Alto, CA

"I have paid for editorial services before. Working with The Editorial Department has been, by far, my best experience in working with such a service. As well as feeling very supported, I felt that the editing comments I received from Andy Meisenheimer were like a graduate course in writing - something that has continued to help me in other writing projects. I was impressed by all the staff I worked with - their prompt communication, professionalism and friendly manner."

Susan Fish

Waterloo, Ontario

 "This was my first time working with a professional editor and to summarize I'd say the information I received was not really what I wanted to hear but definitely what I needed to hear. After taking time to digest the information and advice given, I can see merit in virtually every comment. I feel I have taken another step toward being a more professional writer, I'm working on revisions and will likely pursue having The Editorial Department give me additional feedback at some point in the future."

Thomas M.

Ovid, MI

I was extremely pleased with the evaluation I received. At first I was disappointed that I only got six pages of notes, but then I read them and went into panic mode. There was so much work to do! But after digesting the contents of the evaluation, I realized they were exactly what I needed, and my book would be so much better if I did what Andy said. I'm very happy with the outcome.

Sonja Hutchinson

Olympia, WA

 This feedback is posted with permission. If you’ve worked with us and would like to share your comments, please use this quick form.

Submissions