“I think of Jim as an excellent coach, one gifted with an eye for potential and an intuition for how to realize it. He sees where I’m pulling my punches and shows me where I can jump higher. Dumbfoundingly, I jump higher, and then I do it again.”
—Rachel Hartman, New York Times bestselling author of Seraphina and Shadow Scale
“Jim Thomas is the gold standard of editors. His sensitivity to story, theme, character, and divining an author’s intent is uncanny. His understanding of the castle politics of publishing and the vagaries of the marketplace are second to none. He possesses the requisite skills of a midwife, and the bedside manner of a beloved small town doctor. I can’t envision the project that wouldn’t benefit from his discerning eye, I can’t imagine the writer whose life would not be enriched by his presence in it.”
—Mark Frost, New York Times bestselling author of The Paladin Prophecy, and co-creator of the TV show Twin Peaks
“Jim Thomas achieves a perfect balance between an editor’s two contradictory jobs: to be thoroughly picky and at the same time constantly encouraging. He made me stop and think, and he made me eager to keep going. I could not have had a better editor.”
—Jeanne DuPrau, New York Times bestselling author of The City of Ember
“Jim Thomas provokes and inspires. He brings out his writer’s best intentions—intentions the author may not even have been aware of. He reads and parses, goes back, combs, relates, asks why, remembers where you were before, prods and sometimes spears, remarks recurrent themes and arcs, sometimes suggests some, roots out the languorous, and bridles the errant hobby horses. He’s rigorous like a drill sergeant readying his troops for battle. His bubbles-in-the-margins technique is unavoidable, not like the usual editorial letter one opens like something from a doctor and puts away for later reading. He talks to you incessantly, peskily, helpfully, inescapably. He’s the best, the real thing.”
—Alan Armstrong, Newbery Honor-winning author of Whittington
“Jim Thomas is one of the sharpest—and kindest—editors in the business. I’ve always been impressed with his taste, insight, and ability to bring my authors’ work to the next level. A Jim Thomas book has always been a mark of quality, and it’s an honor any time I—or one of my authors—have the privilege to work with him.”
—Josh Adams, Adams Literary
“I could not speak more highly of Jim. He’s operated at the upper echelons of a major house, edited bestsellers, and is—wholly and truly—a fan of quality stories who only wants to make them better. He’s not only a sharp, shrewd assessor of prose, characters, and story, he’s a positive, can-do person. A pro’s pro. Hire him. You will not find a better, more experienced and insightful editor. The fact that he’s even freelancing at all is your good fortune. He is undoubtedly the best editor I have worked with.”
—Henry Neff, The Tapestry series
“I felt an instant connection with Jim. He heard me. He heard the story I was trying to tell. He has amazing insight, picking up on nuances embedded within the words that even I missed after four thorough rewrites, reconnecting me with characters I thought were going to be flat and uninspired forever, and setting the course for me to consider new avenues and fresh approaches to rejuvenate a story that had lost her way. His professionalism and unbounded capacity for helping his authors is both rare and precious. When I’ve sent panic-laced emails, he has responded with calm and reassurance. I cannot say enough, in gratitude. My only hesitation in recommending him to you, dear writer, is that I want to keep him all to myself.”
—Jennifer Sommersby Young, Sleight
“What discipline I have in my writing, I learned courtesy of the pencil of Jim Thomas. His great gift to me was his ability to hone and refine my work with a firm loyalty to my own vision. Jim is the trainer who got me into professional writing shape. I benefit from our work together every time I’m at the keyboard.”
—N.D. Wilson, Leepike Ridge, the 100 Cupboards and Ashtown Burials series
“Jim Thomas is an extraordinary editor. His knowledge of the children’s book market ranges from the youngest readers just learning to pick up their own chapter books to the farthest reaches of teen and new adult. From the silly, funny, and frothy to the serious, sophisticated, and edgy. I’ve seen Jim work side-by-side with authors to dismantle a manuscript and rebuild the story from the ground up, resulting in a better, faster, stronger book that is more saleable, yes, but also a worthier book at its heart. And most importantly, he understands what the author needs—when to push, and when to listen. I highly recommend him.”
—Dan Lazar, Writers House
“Working with Jim on my novels has been exiting, intense, and worthwhile. Not only has Jim helped me make my novels better through challenging insights and ideas, he’s helped me pinpoint some of my habitual weakness in order to overcome them, as well as to recognize my strengths so I can do better with future projects. Thanks to Jim, I’ve leveled up as a writer.”
—Tessa Gratton, the United States of Asgard series and The Blood Journals series
“I knew of Jim’s fine reputation as an editor before working with him. Yet entrusting anyone with my middle-grade ‘baby’ was a tad unsettling. Then I got his feedback. Thoughtful and respectful. Intently focused on strengthening my novel. It bowled me over. Jim’s mind ‘on story’ is amazing. He spent weeks thinking about my story, and it showed. His depth of feedback far surpassed what my busy critique group of seasoned authors could possibly offer. Working with Jim was like getting an informal MFA, helping take my storytelling to the next level. Worth every penny.”
—Rachel Rodríguez, Through Georgia’s Eyes and Building on Nature: The Life of Antoní Gaudí
“Jim Thomas took the first draft of my first book and led me, with much tact and even more firmness, through all the rewrites required to take it from what I thought was perfect into a manuscript that really was perfect. Without his keen eye and excellent creative judgment, it would not have been nominated in five states as one of the twenty best middle-grade books of the year and turned into a five-book series. Jim knows writing. He knows publishing. Best of all, he is an expert in the care and feeding of authors.”
—Steve Cotler, the Cheesie Mack series
“A discerning reader, an insightful editor, and a patient and tactful critic. I knew that anyone he edited was in the best of hands.”
—Nancy Gallt, Nancy Gallt Literary Agency
“It was an absolute pleasure to collaborate with Jim. I appreciate his strategic thinking in making my books accessible to the broadest readership possible. Jim’s artistic sensibility helped me craft books that are distinctively mine, and true to the stories I intended to tell. His mentoring through a process of publication has made me more able to mentor myself over time.”
—Rosanne Parry, Heart of a Shepherd, Written in Stone, Second Fiddle
“Fantastic. Out of this world. His analysis was scary insightful. He kept better track of my plot and characters than I did. His ideas were brilliant. And he is super, super nice. Jim’s suggestions made so much sense, I was exhilarated to tackle the rewrite.”
—Gwen Burrow, Fool’s Blood
“Jim has an extraordinary talent for seeing exactly what a story needs. Working with him, I learned a tremendous amount about storycraft as well as how to polish up my novels, remove the clutter, and let my characters shine all the more brightly.”
—John Claude Bemis, The Clockwork Dark series, The Prince Who Fell From the Sky
“I’ve seen Jim give invaluable feedback to authors at all stages of their career. In his work at our Children’s Big Sur Writing Workshop, he helped writers elevate their game immeasurably. He gave them tools not only for working on the projects at hand but also insight into their own process, both strengths and weaknesses, that they can bring to bear on future projects. Jim is a terrific editor, and any writer would be fortunate to have the opportunity to work with him.”
—Laura Rennert, Andrea Brown Literary Agency
“In the past I have found editors can be difficult to work with, and the process can be strained. But with Jim the editing was a lot of fun. His incisive comments and deep insights made me question many aspects of my manuscripts, forcing me to re-evaluate characters and plot-points, raising the story to a whole new level.”
—Brian Falkner, The Tomorrow Code, Brain Jack, and the Recon Team Angel series
“Working with Jim on my middle grade novel was a truly rewarding experience. Jim is a patient, attentive, and kind editor. He was clear and honest about the strengths and weaknesses of my manuscript and offered specific suggestions for how to improve it. His feedback was full of wisdom and useful insights. He wouldn’t let me settle for ‘good enough’ but pushed me to take my book to the next level. Jim not only made my novel much stronger, he also gave me advice that has stayed with me and continues to serve me in my writing.”
—Eleanor Glewwe, Sparkers
“One of New York City’s best children’s book editors. Recently, I sent Jim the first seventy pages of a new novel and his response was everything I could have hoped for, leading to an in-depth discussion of the manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses and leaving me with a clear plan for how to improve it. A great experience.”
—Dan Elish, The Worldwide Dessert Contest, Born Too Short, and co-bookwriter of the Broadway musical “13”
“Plot, pacing, character, world-building, writing style. Fantasy, humor, contemporary, literary, commercial, graphic novel, middle grade, or YA. Jim Thomas has the editorial chops to tackle them all. Jim uses brains and heart, logic and intuition to inspire writers to do their absolute best, and then go the steps beyond their best that they didn’t know possible. I cannot recommend him more highly, for both a top-level finished book and for the process that brings it there.”
—Mallory Loehr, VP and Publishing Director, Random House Children’s Books
“Smart, meticulous, tactful, intuitive, and infinitely caring, Jim is the wind beneath the wings of countless noteworthy and soaring writers. I’d trust him with my magnum opus.”
—Kate Klimo, the Dragon Keepers series
“Jim Thomas is a stunning talent. Insightful, diligent, efficient, and communicative, his involvement lifts any project to a much higher level and provides immediate credibility. As tremendous as those short-term benefits are, it’s the long term that’s even better. Jim teaches skills authors will use for a lifetime. Character development, plotting, dialogue, description—he does it all.”
—Stephen Frey, New York Times bestselling author of the Red Cell series
“Jim Thomas is a phenomenal editor. He has a sharp eye, a gentle touch, and a big, big heart. I was blessed as a new author to work with someone who guided me through the publication of my first books with so much wisdom and warmth.”
—Jake Wizner, Spanking Shakespeare
“Jim’s understanding of story, of what works and doesn’t work, is simply invaluable. I wish I’d known him when I worked at Dimension Films.”
—Michael Zoumas, Executive Producer, Coraline; coauthor, The Ghost Hunter’s Manual
“Jim is thorough, astute, and above all passionate, and has an eye for the market that, perhaps, many of us mere authors sometimes lack. If you want an expert pair of hands, you won’t find better. Jim gives you all he’s got, and you won’t find more.”
—Tim Willocks, Doglands
“Nice guy. More importantly, smart guy. Very experienced guy. Jim knows what the kids want, and what the publishers want. He knows what the “push-back” points will be. Most authors I know are sensitive to criticism. I’m in the ‘hot-house flower’ segment of the sensitive category, and, thankfully, Jim is a tender gardener. His suggestions are always well-considered, to the point, and balanced with much-needed compliments. He gave me excellent advice regarding every aspect of the rewrite—plot construction, character development, pacing and ‘information scaffolding’ (ask Jim to explain that for you). Long story short (he’s good at that, too), I felt like my work was in capable and caring hands with Jim.”
—Richard Long, The Dream Palace, The Book of Paul, a #1 Amazon Bestseller in Horror