Frank Cernik

As an Autistic story editor, it brings me great joy to work with Neurodivergent and otherwise marginalized and genre-expanding speculative fiction authors.

I delight especially in helping horror and science fiction novelists convert readers to fans: by pulling story elements like characterization and worldbuilding into tighter resonance with your themes and vision, I give books the kind of staying power that keeps readers coming back. My feedback will help your next draft build you a sustainable career.

I first began work with individual clients in 2016, but you can find me in literary magazine mastheads dating back to 2009. Along the way, I’ve earned a Fulbright teaching grant, as well as degrees in Creative Writing, English Literature, and an interdisciplinary MA from NYU that focused on horror studies and philosophies of emotion.

In the years since then, I have continually developed my editorial and craft expertise through workshops, conferences, and master classes offered by Editors Canada, the Editorial Freelancers Association, and others.

Most valuable and thrilling of all has been the hands-on experience with authors and their novels, whether they publish independently or through traditional paths.

Education

• Master of Arts (M.A.) New York University (2014 — 2016)
• Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) University of Arizona (2007 — 2011)

Companies

• Editing Instructor Crystal Lake Publishing (2018)
• Reader Entangled Publishing (2017)
• Narrative Consultant Fight or Flight Games (2016)
• Editor and Co-Founder Scoria Press (2016)
• Guest Speaker NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development (2016 — 2016)
• Research Fellow NYU Stern School of Business (2015 — 2016)
• Editorial Intern New York University Press (2015 — 2015)
• Independent Tutoring Contractor Varsity Tutors (2013 — 2014)
• English Teaching Assistant Fulbright Korea (2011 — 2013)

Skills

• English
• Intercultural Communication
• Written Communication

Other

Qualitative Research, ESL, Social Justice, Compassion, English as a Second Language (ESL), Literary Criticism, Kindness, Literary Theory, Written Word, Writing, Copy Editing, Higher Education, Proofreading, Tutoring, Literature, Teaching, Creative Writing, Linguistics, Public Speaking, Research, Editing