Dan White, Publisher of Indirect Books, offers editorial feedback on in-progress manuscripts.
I have an M.F.A. in Fiction from Otis College and will graduate in May 2026 with my Ph.D. in Creative Writing from the University of Chicago-Illinois, where I teach fiction workshop. I also teach in the M.F.A. Program at Roosevelt University in Chicago, where I focus on graduate seminars that combine applied literary theory with craft-focused work on students’ theses. Alongside my creatives projects, I am currently finishing work on a scholarly monograph studying narrative form in the novels of Rachel Cusk, which will be released next year at Indirect.
Before launching Indirect, I broke into editing at West Trade Review, first as Associate Fiction Editor, then Fiction Editor, and now Prose Editor. At WTR I edited stories across the genre spectrum, working closely with authors and sharpening my editorial style and instincts. I was involved in the launch of WTR’s associated independent press, Iron Oak Editions, where I serve as the Director of Prose, overseeing both editorial and acquisitions in fiction and nonfiction and working on several full-length manuscripts as part of IOE’s critique services.
Wanting the scope to expand my vision as an editor and carve out space for writing with more sentence-level risk, I began L’Esprit Literary Review, along with Jessica Denzer, the sister journal to Indirect. At L’Esprit I have continued to develop my editorial craft, working on some of the best up-and-coming avant-garde writing anywhere in the literary scene, as the journal has continued to grow.
Before my M.F.A., I earned my J.D. from Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles and have helped prospectus and current law students with legal writing and research. I have worked with writers at every step of the editorial process, and can provide services including manuscript evaluation, developmental editing and line editing.
My editorial philosophy prioritizes guiding authors to the best version of the story they want to tell. My role as an editor is not to dictate, but rather to help writers bridge the gap between vision and execution, to help realize their work’s internal goals, and to strike the balance between artistic conviction and readership needs. The best editorial feedback takes into consideration the overall arc of the book and its compositional goals, while retaining a focus on the line level—the words, the phrases, the sentences—that propel a project from the inside-out.
My focus is hands-on and real-world; I bring a novelist’s eye to all my editorial work, infused with my extensive creative, academic, and professional experience and training. I offer advanced developmental editing services for novels, story collections, memoirs, literary nonfiction, short stories, and essays across genre, with a specialty in challenging, innovative literary fiction. I can also provide copyediting work for projects with fewer developmental needs.
My rates vary depending on the project, but generally fall within the average range reported by the Editorial Freelancers Association. To discuss a project or inquire about rates, you can reach me at editorial@indirectbooks.com. In your email, please include a brief description of the project, an approximate word count, and ideally ~20 pages of sample material.
A portion of all editorial services proceeds are used to pay our contributors, maintain the journal and the press, and put out new titles of literature beyond convention.
Thank you for your support of fearless writing.
Testimonials
Dan is both a dream reader and sharp editor. His passion for books is contagious and his commitment to good literature is fierce. He knows the rules, isn’t afraid of taking risks and pushing the work toward excellence. Most importantly, he’s also an excellent writer himself.
Yara Zgheib, award-winning author of No Light To Land On and The Girls at 17 Swann Street
I have known Dan White since late 2022, when I began to submit work to L’Esprit Literary Review, a journal he established earlier that year. I was thoroughly impressed by the ambition and artistic dedication that had motivated L’Esprit, along with its promptness in responding to submitted material. I was impressed again to discover that he was also Prose Editor for an established periodical, West Trade Review. Dan is a man of quite formidable energy and capacity for work. Further proof of this is afforded by the fact that he (and his colleague Jessica Denzer) have now set up their own press, Indirect Books.
Over the last year, I have worked closely with Dan in the editing of my novel Talbot & The Fall, which will be the debut publication of Indirect Books. Having worked professionally with around half a dozen editors in the course of a pretty long writing career, I can state with confidence that Dan is outstanding in his attention to literary copy. He has an excellent ear for the ‘off’ line; and an excellent eye for deficiencies in scene. This is combined with an attitude of gentle persistence – a really valuable quality in an editor, and one I’ve often found lacking in others: this quality is, in my view, cardinal for the successful collaboration of writer and editor. I should mention here another element of Dan’s editing which I’ve not encountered before. This is his willingness, and skill, in suggesting addition or amplification in a ‘place-holding’ manner; by which I mean that he doesn’t suggest what one should add to a scene, but how one might. This is a really effective way of improving copy, while looking after the writer’s sense of ownership.
I would recommend Dan without reservation to any writer who wishes to improve a literary manuscript.–Michael Nath, novelist, professor of creative writing, and literary critic
Michael Nath, novelist, professor of creative writing, and literary critic
I can’t express enough how much Dan has helped me with editing my essays over the years. As an undergrad student at Georgetown, Dan was instrumental in improving the overall quality of my work. He also helped me with my law school personal statements and supplemental essays, which I believe played a significant role in my acceptance to UCLA law school. Dan is incredibly versatile and will take your work to an entirely different level.
Bianca, undergraduate / law school student
His suggestions were helpful and acute, creating small improvements seamlessly and appropriate to my writing but always Dan left the final choice to me. Dan works with respect and empathy which I appreciated, and I felt my imperfect writing was in safe hands.
Dan has edited two of my short stories – my winning entry for the West Trade Review 2023 Phyllis Grant Zellmer Prize for Fiction and a short story published in L’Esprit Journal. As someone who is unused to the process of professional editing and use of Google Docs, Dan accommodated my Luddite ways with grace and sensitivity for which I was grateful.
Shannon Savvas, Winner of the West Trade Review 2023 Phyllis Grant Zellmer Prize for Fiction
Dan helped me edit a short story that wasn’t landing quite right. His guidance enabled me to edit the story to finally match my vision for it. He especially helped me make bolder choices with time, pace, and memory, rendering the story into something more striking and cohesive.
Emily Weisenberger, “Open Relationship,” L’Esprit Issue Three
I appreciated that the notes focused on a line-by-line, sentence-by-sentence level, which showed the edits understood my intent and wanted to make that intention clearer. Having received several editorial notes that bordered on story suggestions, I experienced a tremendous amount of relief reading notes that dealt with matters of clarity.
Bennett Durkan, “Land Wars In Asia,” L’Esprit Issue One
Indirect Books 