ABOUT
Marissa is the writer’s secret weapon (shh!). Based in Hollywood, LA, she helps clients all over the world create immersive story experiences and strong narratives. She specializes in science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction, with publishing credits that include award-winning indie novels, Amazon #1 bestsellers and National Geographic hardcovers.
She’s the book editor at Startup Guide, working with a team of international writers to help entrepreneurs navigate startup ecosystems across the globe; a manuscript editor at Evolved Publishing, working at all stages from story development to final polish; and a regular guest on the SFF Audio Podcast where she discusses Philip K Dick stories and other speculative fiction. She also co-hosts a writer’s meetup in East Hollywood. In addition to speculative fiction and popular science, she loves video games and interactive fiction and is currently seeking collaboration with writers in these fields.
TESTIMONIALS
Marissa is a consummate and talented editor, always challenging me to look at my own work with fresh eyes and think again how to make it better. I attribute much of my growth as a writer in the last two years to working with her, and I count it a privilege to have had that opportunity. I cannot recommend her enough.
Ciara BallintyneMarissa is a fantastic editor. … Her line edits are some of the best I’ve seen. I highly recommend her.
Dan JeffriesMarissa has reset my bar for creative collaborators. From the firm guiding hand, to the side conversations about literature, to the different points of view she was able to get me to look at my own work, our time together was invaluable.
Alys ArdenIt’s kind of creepy, how you get in my head and know what I mean even when I write it badly. Some authors I know resent the edit process, but it felt empowering to share the vision with you. I learned more during these edit sessions about my own weaknesses and how a reader views my words than I have in any other experience.
Ellen JoyceYour work is extraordinary. I can’t even begin to enumerate what I like about it. It’s all wonderful.
Bayard WestWorking with Marissa as a developmental editor was a wonderful experience from start to finish. She identified story issues that had escaped both me and my critique partners and made her suggestions with such insight and enthusiasm that I was left energized rather than anxious about the revisions ahead. I have no doubt my book is much stronger thanks to her guidance. Can’t wait to work with her again!
Megan CreweRECENT POSTS
HP Lovecraft’s THE SHADOW OUT OF TIME
I recently re-read HP Lovecraft's The Shadow Out of Time for an SFF Audio Podcast episode. It's one of my favorite Lovecraft stories because it's got all that obligatory cosmic horror, primordial masonry, and "unguessable horrors" (as Lovecraft calls it in the opening...
read more
MERMAIDS AND THE VAMPIRES WHO LOVE THEM by Debbie Goelz
"Everyone knows mermaid blood is like vampire crack ..." I had a reeee-diculous amount of fun helping the brilliant Debbie Goelz with early developmental edits on this gorgeous and funny YA novel. Mermaids and the Vampires Who Love Them is -- if you can't tell from...
read more
BORNE by Jeff VanderMeer (book review)
Another gorgeous and strange novel from the mighty lighthouse keeper of the Weird, Jeff VanderMeer (whose Southern Reach Trilogy blew me away a few years ago and is still the series I most often recommend to my friends and clients). Borne is a story about nature vs...
read more
Editing for the Voices of Reason!
Are you an atheist, humanist or science-loving writer who's looking a professional editor? I'm seeking new clients who write about free-thought, skepticism, and science, or whose love for these things seeps through into their fiction worlds and characters. ...
read more
The Strawberry Moon and What It Means For Your Love Life
Hey, northern hemisphere friends, tonight is the Strawberry Moon! AKA the Rose Moon, the Honey Moon, the Birth Moon, the Hot Moon, the Moon of Horses. Time to plant the corn and pick the strawberries! But more importantly, it’s a minimoon too, which means it’s...
read more
THE ROMEO CATCHERS Book Release Party in New Orleans
Recently, I got to do an editor’s favorite thing… attend a book launch and see a shiny new novel released into the wilds! Then watch the books be carried away into the night, clutched to the hearts of excited fans. And best of all, it was in the magical city of New...
read more