Bio

Peter Gelfan has been editing and ghostwriting both fiction and nonfiction for the past 17 years. His clients range from beginners to published and bestselling authors and celebrities. He also edits screenplays and has sold two he wrote under his own name, one of which was produced and recently released in France.

While experienced in most every genre from crime through mainstream to literary, he specializes in analyzing and strengthening underlying structure—plot, character, and scenes in fiction, and organization and argument in nonfiction. Peter has published a feature-length article on fiction craft in Writer’s Digest. He’s the author of TED’s e-book on novel structure. He has conducted a number of seminars and workshops at writers’ conferences and tutored a great many writers through numerous drafts.

In his own words:

I edit both fiction and nonfiction, and with either, I like projects that venture into new territory. In a novel, this might be a truly original character, an unusual setting, a clever and evocative premise, or just a new twist on an established genre. In nonfiction, a brand new take on a perennial topic or an emerging subject of debate can stretch the brain into healthy if at times painful new contortions.

Such projects are challenges. Agents and acquisitions editors are always saying they're looking for new voices, new topics, and new vision, and of course they are, but in any business, the tested and proven always stands a better chance than the exciting but untried. The challenge, then, is to make sure the new idea is so well executed that it's hard if not impossible to say no to it.

As for services, in fiction, I'm with Renni: annotation. Whether upon first reading or a reread, the annotation lets the editor then the writer work at two levels-the detail of the individual scene, paragraph, or sentence, and the overarching elements like plot and character development. In nonfiction, I have learned to love the despised: the book proposal. It's sometimes more difficult for the author to write the proposal than the whole book. But it performs a very useful function. It forces the author to examine in detail (and put into succinct words) the essential gist of the project-its purpose, audience, value, core information, and chain of argument. Writing a nonfiction book without first doing a proposal now sounds about as sensible to me as building a skyscraper without a blueprint. Working with the author on a proposal rather than a whole manuscript allows an editor to ruthlessly play devil's advocate and spur the writer to clearer thinking and statement without requiring an entire rewrite of the ms. The back-and-forth between editor and author can then be measured in days rather than months.

Articles

Five Questions with Editor Peter Gelfan

Evaluating Nonfiction: One Editor's Approach

Five Short Steps to the Reject Pile

The Role of Mystery in Fiction

Also, find Peter's guide to Turning a Brilliant Premise into a Riveting Plot in our whitepapers section.

Preferred Genres

Absolute favorite genre: mainstream fiction

Preferred fiction genres: literary fiction, action-adventure, crime, mystery, detective, fantasy, science-fiction, military thrillers, political thrillers, conspiracy thrillers, techno-thrillers, eco-thrillers, legal thrillers, forensic, medical, or scientific thrillers, psychological thrillers, historical or biographical fiction, humor, satire, multi-cultural, women’s fiction.

Other fiction genres Peter enjoys working on: erotica, gay/lesbian fiction, horror

Genres Peter prefers not to work on: romance, western/frontier, Christian/inspirational, middle-grade and young adult

Absolute favorite nonfiction category: funny memoir

Other areas of interest in nonfiction: autobiography, memoir, arts/photography, business/investing, Christian, cooking, food/wine, crime/criminals, current events, education, entertainment, gay/lesbian, government, health/mind/body, history, home/garden, outdoors/nature, parenting/families, philosophy, politics, professional/technical, religion/spirituality, science, social sciences, sports, travel, transportation, true stories, urban planning/development, women's studies

Testimonials

"I appreciate Peter Gelfan's expertise as an editor. My manuscript was rejected at least 15+ times by various people. Peter saw the flaw in my manuscript and offered to help. I must admit, it's the best offer I ever accepted. Now, the project is moving along. He keeps me focused and his editorial skills exceeded my expectations. So glad I explored using an editor on this journey."

Valerie L. Rice
Lansing, MI

"Sometimes this writing process is a bit lonely. We're sticking our necks out and have no idea if we're the only ones that care what we've written. The Editorial Department changes this for me. I've come to think of TED as my easily accessible writing family. Like a good family, TED tells me what works, what doesn't, and shows me how to push forward. Peter Gelfan lends an incredible mind to this process, and your website offers writers information they'll not find anywhere else."

Charlene Dietz
Torreon, NM

"Peter expertly pulled out the key plot points I'd buried and was able to clearly and helpfully shine a light on what each section of the book was trying to achieve. He particularly improved the impact of two key chapters by showing that I'd emphasized the wrong part of the story. Altogether a real fresh eye and expert take. Very satisfied customer!"

Name withheld at author’s request
Los Angeles, CA

"I've been writing for ten years to marginal avail. But with assistance from TED my skills have accelerated. I could not have taken my novel to where it is now headed without you. Feedback is direct but encouraging, at times painful, worth every penny."

Andrew Quinn
Blaine, MN

"Very good service! Care for detail and promptness."

J. Ruben Deluca
Orange, CA

"I was looking for some honest analysis. Peter pointed out the good and the bad. Peter's questions about the audience helped me solidify them my mind. It was not the audience that Peter thought it was. In our phone conversation Peter suggested some changes I might make to make the book more appealing to the audience I identified. That type of flexibility is extremely helpful. Knowing the audience is one of the keys to writing and solidifying it in my mind will make the resulting book better."

Chris Delap
Charlotte, NC

"We received superb advice from Peter Gelfan. He nailed the book's structural problems and gave us the the tools to fix them."

Rick Becker and Ann Brandvig

Portland, OR

"I think most of Peter's input was spot on and will greatly assist me in improving the manuscript. It will, I now realize, be more of a deconstruct/reconstruct effort than a polish, but based on Peter's insights I think I have a good handle on how to proceed."

"I could go on, but I think I can sum it up best with the simple phrase, 'money well spent.' "

R.E. (Bob) McDermott

Old Hickory, TN

 "We are happy with Peter's help, and feel he did a great job. This being our first book, we had no idea how hard it would be to write, and Peter's hand holding was a strong aide for us. Peter did a phenomenal job building more character into our book and streamlining it. Overall, we are happy and would work with Peter again."

Ben Miller & Travis Wolfe

Grandville, MI

"Peter's evaluation helped me to revise and significantly improve my manuscript. Very pleasant and effective."

Patrick Thompson

Georgetown, SC

"Peter is just the right fit for me. I get the feeling he really understands what I'm trying to do and he has the expertise and sensitivity to help me do it.  
I'm so glad I'm not alone in all this."

Charlie Knudsen

Shizuoka, Japan

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Submissions

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