What People Are Saying
“I am extremely indebted to Matt Ellis. His attentive, thoughtful editing during the final stages of this project is responsible for much of what is good about its writing.”
— Aaron Hunter, author of Authoring Hal Ashby
“Matt’s editing transformed my literary puttering into a mature, marketable novel that was reviewed with real interest by four agents, and picked up by one. His critique, delivered with a punctuality rare in the writer’s world, cut to the heart of my book, and inspired me to write into the dark corners I’d been tiptoeing around. As an editor he was smart, efficient, and articulate, timely and clear. His experience with the world of publishing is key, as he always keeps one eye on the prize of publication.”
— Seth Biderman, author of Ragers
“…thank you awesomely and massively for all.”
— Elizabeth Wurtzel, from the acknowledgments page of best-seller BITCH: In Praise of Difficult Women
“Highly, highly recommended. When I sent my manuscript to Matt Henderson Ellis for a critique and feedback, I feared he’d come back to tell me that the story was broken, the writing was terrible and the characters lame. I worried about that because I believed it was all true. What I got back from Mr. Ellis was a gentle confirmation of my worst fears. I also got back an incredibly insightful critique. And I got even more than that: Mr. Ellis spelled out the exact nature of the problems in a way that I had been unable or unwilling to see. He provided clear revision suggestions, citing specific passages from the manuscript along with a strategy to evolve the story from its then current state into a viable manuscript that I could immediately begin to work on. It was like he’d been reading the manuscript for years. After I put in some long hours and after I solicited additional feedback and did another round of editing and revising, later that year, I published my book on Amazon. As of now, the book has earned a 4.1 rating on Amazon, garnered 170 reviews, and created a small but growing fan base. I make a small but steady income from the book. For an honest critique of your work along with truly helpful suggestions on improving it, Matt Henderson Ellis is the man to work with.”
— Frank Freudberg, author of Baby Please Don’t Go
“Ten years of work went into my first manuscript, and despite my efforts, I still hadn’t written the book I wanted to write. I knew I needed help, someone to point me towards the shore. Matt proved to be the beacon I was looking for.
Matt offered to work in stages with me to explore my manuscript and determine what worked and what didn’t work. Writing is such a personal craft, and the story that is in your mind isn’t always the story that makes it onto paper. Matt quizzed me on the motivation of my characters and helped my realize how to better tell my story.
After working with me and understanding my goals, Matt was able to point out what I was blind to. While I had wanted to write a mystery, I had merely written a piece of historical fiction that had a murder victim and an unknown killer involved in the story, yet the air of suspense was absent. Matt explained to me what was lacking and together we figured out how to weave the element of mystery I was looking for into my tale."
Matt was my bridge from wanting to be a writer to becoming a writer.”
— Robert Colton, author of the Pompeii mystery series
“I thank my editor, Matt Ellis, who made the book what it is now and for helping me navigate the odysseys of writing.”
― Vicky Pinpin Feinstein, author of A Thousand Little Deaths
“Matt is a genius. I thought that he was helping me develop the plot of my first novel, but he did much more. He was developing me as a novice author at the same time. He helped me find my voice and my confidence to push harder while giving me my own reading assignments to help improve my craft. I learned how to build stronger character arcs for a more satisfying resolution. He prodded me to go further than I thought I could. A literary award and scores of strong online reviews would soon prove I made the right choice.”
—Evan J. Corbin, author of Atonement Camp for Unrepentant Homophobes
“I hired Matt to provide a manuscript critique for my novel. His feedback exceeded my expectations. His review consisted of a detailed breakdown of my novel, including high-level suggestions with respect to areas where the plot could be improved in addition to specific recommendations dealing with issues around character, setting, and theme. Highly recommended.”
— Andrew Paterson, author of An Idle King
"I feel like I really lucked out when I found Matt Henderson Ellis and booked him for a manuscript evaluation. My novel was stuck in 'second draft' mode and I knew it needed editing but wanted an expert's opinion on how to move forward. His feedback was the push I'd hoped for—detailed and constructive, with helpful notes about weak points but also encouragement about what was working. He offered excellent editorial insight, and after some revising, I've now had an offer of representation from an agent. I'd recommend Matt to anyone looking to hone their writing and take it to the next level." — Sarah Howden, author of forthcoming novel Not Myself These Days
Books I’ve Written
“Difficult to put down, unsettling yet addictive, the novel is a must-read for anyone who dares to peek behind the postcard image of a famously beautiful centre of European civilization.” —Winnipeg Free Press
“This book comes highly recommended along with the cliched statement, ‘If you’re going to read one book this year, have it be . . .’ Bedlam is chock full of hilarious set-pieces, strange characters, biting satire, and verbal bombast. . . . It is not only wonderfully written, but it is a book that has wide cross-over appeal. The Andrei Codrescu blurbs on the front and back cover give it the needed NPR hipster bona fides, but this is also a light comedy one can read on the beach, at the airport, and elsewhere.”
—Karl Wolff, Chicago Center for Literature and Photography
“With fresh and evocative language, Ellis delivers us into a frenetic and history-haunted world. By turns strange and subtle, imaginative and knowing—and also often very funny—this assured and original debut novel is a must-read for anyone, like me, who ever daydreamed about expat life in 1990s Eastern Europe but didn’t have the nerve to go for it.”—Rosie Schaap, author of Drinking With Men; Drink columnist, New York Times Magazine
"As the title suggests, disorder predominates in Ellis's debut novel set in Prague during the dizzying days of the early 1990s. John Shirting is a quirky and unbalanced former barista from Chicago with a pill habit who winds up in the newly capitalist city hawking a plan to establish a chain of mobster-themed coffee shops. . . . The picaresque absurdity will be familiar to fans of Thomas Pynchon, along with the low-grade paranoia and aggressively whimsical dialogue. . . . . Ellis vividly re-creates the atmosphere of a city in the throes of transformation as well as the American Quixotes who populate this new frontier." - Publishers Weekly
"An ode to expatriate living, culture clashes, and the heady days of early 1990s Europe, this novel is a manic, wild ride. . . . [D]arkly comic . . . immersive, nostalgic, and thoroughly enjoyable." - Booklist
“Ellis’s . . . years living in Eastern Europe give this steampunk fantasy, first in a planned trilogy, a strong sense of place and an unerring ear for the newspeak of totalitarianism. Archibald the Precious, a child dictator known to the Youth Groups that revere him as the ‘Number One Play Pal,’ takes the reins in Pava, the crumbling city-state in which Petra K lives. . . . Ellis’s pacing and plotting abilities show considerable gifts as Petra draws closer to the secret of Archibald’s power.” —Publishers Weekly
“A breathless . . . adventure pits a poor, fatherless girl against all sides in a battle for a dragon’s heart and a city’s freedom. . . . Meticulously imagined, Petra’s city is built on ancient layers of cultures and traditions, with magic woven into its fabric. . . .[A] remarkable and distinctive offering for devoted fantasy fans.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Mocked at school and neglected at home, young Petra K finds sanctuary in the streets of Pava, where forbidden magic is still practiced, mechanized automatons hawk their wares, and miniature dragons run wild. . . . The blend of magic and machinery is eerily intriguing, much as in William Alexander’s Goblin Secrets. Petra K is a stalwart but accessible heroine—her struggles with her friends and her mother give her immediate appeal while her transformation from schoolgirl to revolutionary is authentically bumpy, occurring in fits and starts as she is plagued by doubts and miscalculations. . . . [S]haring this as a classroom or family readaloud may . . . spur some thoughtful discussion about love, loss, and loyalty.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books