Hi there! I’m Anita Mumm: developmental editor, writer, and publishing consultant.

A decade of experience in the publishing industry and a lifelong passion for books brought me to this work I love. Prior to starting Mumm’s the Word, I worked in submissions and foreign rights at Nelson Literary Agency and taught writing workshops around the country. Before that, I taught English as a Second Language at universities, nonprofits, and refugee programs in the U.S. and abroad. Blending my skills as an editor and teacher, I combine honest feedback with a deep desire to help writers bring forth their best work.

My clients’ books have held top spots on the New York Times and other bestseller lists, earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus, and achieved international acclaim. But you don’t have to be there yet. I’m here to help wherever you are in your writing journey, whether that means polishing your manuscript for submission to agents, publishing a quality book on your own, or simply getting that first draft on the page.

A little more about me:

I grew up miles from a paved road in western Kansas, surrounded by unbroken stretches of wheat, pastureland, and blue sky. That’s a lot of space for the imagination, but I also value how those roots kept me grounded as I roamed the creeks and limestone bluffs around our family farm. Nowadays, my home base is in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, where my love of nature can once again flourish.

In addition to my editorial work, I teach English and creative writing in correctional facilities as an adjunct professor in the Adams State University Prison Education Program and for the nonprofit Unbound Authors. I have an MFA from Western Colorado University. My own writing focuses on the natural world and has appeared in Twenty Bellows, Colorado Central Magazine, and The Alma Journal (anthology), a finalist for the Colorado Book Award. In 2023, I was The Colorado Sun’s inaugural SunLit Writer-in-Residence.

Thank you for visiting my site, and I hope we’ll have a chance to work together!