Alison Cherry

Alison Cherry – Editor

Editor with years of experience in contemporary fiction, sci-fi, and fantasy. I especially love working on middle grade and YA books.

Overview

I have years of experience doing copy editing and developmental editing, and I can't wait to help you make your writing as clear, beautiful, and effective as it can be! I especially love working on books for kids and teens—I've published nine middle grade and young adult novels of my own, so I'm intimately familiar with the world of children's books. I'm currently employed as a copy editor by ABRAMS, Candlewick, Algonquin, Sourcebooks, Astra, and Scholastic, specializing in books for kids and teens, and worked for several years for DAW Books, which specializes in science fiction and fantasy for adults. I do not work on picture books.


If you hire me as a developmental editor, I will write you a thorough edit letter detailing how you can improve your manuscript in ways large and small, from the emotional arcs of your characters and big-picture world building to small continuity issues. This service doesn't include line edits or copy edits—I won't comment on word choice or fix your commas—but I will return your manuscript to you full of margin notes asking smaller and more specific questions that occur to me as I read. If you're looking to tighten up your manuscript, I'm excellent at suggesting cuts. If you have further questions after you've read my initial letter, I'm happy to exchange a few emails with you to brainstorm or clarify.


If you hire me as a copy editor, I'll return your manuscript to you with all spelling, punctuation, and grammar issues corrected in track changes. I won't fully rewrite sentences for you unless you specifically ask me to, but I’ll suggest ways to rephrase if something is unclear, awkward, or redundant. I use The Chicago Manual of Style and Merriam-Webster as my style guides.


If you hire me to edit a query letter, I'll look at as many drafts as you'd like over the course of one week; I want you to feel 100 percent confident about your finished product! I'm also happy to edit your synopsis and provide feedback on your first few chapters before you submit them to agents.


My superpower is making books shorter—if you're looking for someone to trim unnecessary clauses and streamline your writing, I'm the editor for you. I once cut 40,000 words from an epic fantasy novel without removing any plot points, and I'm ready to help you do the same!


Please reach out if you feel my services could be useful to you! I look forward to seeing what you've written and helping your stories reach a wider audience.

Services
Fiction
Contemporary Fiction Fantasy LGBTQ Fiction Middle Grade Science Fiction Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction Young Adult
Languages
English (US)

Work experience

Astra

Jul, 2022 — Present

I edit books for all ages for Astra, including graphic novels.

Sourcebooks

May, 2019 — Present

I edit books for kids and teens for Sourcebooks.

ABRAMS

Jan, 2019 — Present

I edit books for kids, teens, and adults for ABRAMS.

Scholastic

Jan, 2019 — Present

I edit primarily books for kids and teens for Scholastic.

Self-employed

Jan, 2013 — Present

I've provided freelance developmental editing services on dozens of books for kids, teens, and adults—some of them are listed in my portfolio!

Portfolio

Copy Editing
Furia

Méndez, Yamile Saied

Copy Editing
The Nature of Witches

Griffin, Rachel

Copy Editing
This is the first of three young adult novels from New York Times best-selling author Mackenzi Lee that explores the untapped potential and duality of heroism of popular characters in the Marv... read more
Editorial Assessment
An Instant New York Times Bestseller!"One of the biggest new YA Fantasies." —Entertainment Weekly "Empowering." —BuzzFeed The stunningly original, must-read fantasy of 2018 follows two fiercel... read more
Copy Editing
Spell and Spindle

Michelle Schusterman

Doll Bones meets Splendors and Glooms as a boy who trades bodies with a wooden marionette. . . . The Museum of Peculiar Arts holds many oddities--a mechanical heart, a diary bound in its owner... read more
Developmental Editing
Sister of the Bride

Morrill, Lauren

Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Made with Reedsy
Moths and Moonlight: A Fleur Harkyn Mystery

Fazendin, Krista

Developmental Editing
Made with Reedsy
Of Feathers and Thorns

Vincent, Kit

Copy Editing
The Abandoned Realm

Hansen, Brittany

Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Why We Fly

Jones, Kimberly

Copy Editing
Be Dazzled

La Sala, Ryan

Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
The Campaign

Sales, Leila

Copy Editing
A joyous short story collection by and about Muslims, edited by New York Times bestselling author Aisha Saeed and Morris finalist S. K. Ali Once Upon an Eid is a collection of short stories th... read more
Copy Editing
The incredible conclusion to the trilogy that started with the instant New York Times bestsellers Furyborn and Kingsbane!In this epic finale to the Empirium Trilogy from New York Times bestsel... read more
Copy Editing
Before the war, Eden’s life was easy. Then the revolution happened, and everything changed.Now a powerful group called the Wolfpack controls the earth and its resources. And even though Eden h... read more
Developmental Editing
Finder

Suzanne Palmer

From Hugo Award-winning debut author Suzanne Palmer comes an action-packed sci-fi caper starring Fergus Ferguson, interstellar repo man and professional finder Fergus Ferguson has been called ... read more
Copy Editing
Unraveling

Karen Lord

In this standalone fantasy novel by an award-winning author, the dark truth behind a string of unusual murders leads to an otherworldly exploration of spirits, myth, and memory, steeped in Car... read more
Copy Editing
Welcome to Topsea, the strangest place you'll ever visit. In this town, the coves are bottomless and the pier has no end in sight. There's a high tide and a low tide... and a vanishing tide. D... read more
Developmental Editing
Lucky Girl

Amanda Maciel

Lucky Girl is an unflinching exploration of beauty, self-worth, and sexual assault, from the author of the acclaimed Tease.Rosie is a beautiful girl—and it’s always been enough. Boys crush on ... read more
Developmental Editing
Twin Peaks meets Stars Hollow in this paranormal suspense novel about a boy who can reach inside people and steal their innermost things—fears, memories, scars, even love—and his family's secr... read more
Developmental Editing

Alison has 38 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Natasha A.

Natasha A.

Mar, 2024

Pinned
Alison is a fantastic editor! Her communication was always quick, professional and friendly. She finished ahead of schedule and her feedback was thoughtful and clear. She made connections between small pieces of the story that I didn’t see. Her comments and questions drew my attention to issues I had missed. She drew on her experience and knowledge of similar books when I had questions. Overal...
Read more
Rebekka S.

Rebekka S.

Jan, 2024

Pinned
Alison has been a joy to work with. She has an eye for detail that cannot be understated. My manuscript went from being good to fantastic and professional.
Renee W.

Renee W.

Jun, 2023

Pinned
This is the first time I hired an editor through Reedsy and I had the incredible opportunity of working with Alison. Her professionalism and expertise elevated my YA novel. Through her copy editing and proofreading, her notes were insightful, guiding me towards improvements with clear explanations and thoughtful suggestions. Her attention to detail is consistent throughout my manuscript: catchi...
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Leon-is -.

Leon-is -.

Feb, 2024

I loved working with Cherry. She made me realize there were areas in my story that needed help and that could’ve been improved by changes, additions, and cuts. I can’t wait to work with Cherry again. I’m excited to work with her again. If I self publish this book, I will definitely try to hire her again. 🤩🤩
Eric O.

Eric O.

Feb, 2024

Alison helped me tailor a direct submission packet to the specifications of a particular press with a somewhat niche market. She got everything back to me on-time, responded quickly to questions and comments, and we did about three rounds of edits for this project. The feedback she provided was well-tailored to my specific needs, but will also help me with general queries going forward, so it w...
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