noveldoctor

First things first – I actually do have two eyes of essentially equal size and, no, the left side of my face is not horrifically deformed (just normally deformed like the the right side thanks to that unrelenting beast we call “time”). I thought it would be fun to play the part of the artsy, pretentious editor and this photo fit the bill. It would be rather pathetic of me to attempt such pretense in real life, so this is my only chance.

Who am I? Well, my name is Stephen Parolini. And I’m an editor. I’ve been editing for more than 20 years – everything from curriculum to study guides to self-help books to fiction. I even had a two-year stint as a columnist for a bi-weekly trade publication in the video game industry. So, yeah, I’ve got a diverse resume. Why, then, is this site dedicated primarily to fiction?

The short answer: I love fiction. Also, I’m pretty good at editing it.

For most of the past 20 years I’ve been a freelance editor, collaborating with a variety of publishing houses and individuals on books of all kinds. In the world of non-fiction, I’ve worked in varying editorial capacities on books by Donald Miller, David Crowder and Warren Wiersbe. I’ve edited novels by the brilliant Greg Garrett as well as Christy Award nominees Jeffrey Overstreet and Richard Doster. I am particularly drawn to contemporary general market novels with a literary bent. Well, that and science fiction. And fantasy. And just about everything else. I like my books the same way I like my music – I don’t care what genre label it wears, if it’s good, I’ll read it.

The bottom line is that I love well-told stories. And the line just above that is that I like helping writers tell their stories well. Guess that’s why I’m an editor.

Is there anything else you’d like to know? Just ask. I might actually tell you.