Overview
In my formative years I worked as a Big Five editor and at some of the best literary agencies in Britain, but traditional publishing can be rather... dry, so I've spent the past ten years building The Pigeonhole, a social reading platform with the aim of bringing authors and readers together via the digital pages of their book. In 2015 I was named Bookseller's Rising Star and was also shortlisted for the Digital Achiever Award. Most recently I have been working with Pan Macmillan and Head of Zeus, while offering my services as a freelance mentor with TLC and Next Up. As such I would be thrilled to discuss a mentoring schedule via Reedsy.
I am a very hands-on editor. l'm here to help you to map your plot and perfect your characters, highlight any issues and inconsistencies, and work on language and speech. I will also strive to pick out spelling, formatting and grammatical errors along the way. The purpose of my services is to help you see your book through a reader's eyes, as well as understand how to communicate each thought perfectly. In addition to providing notes on your book, I like to get a meeting or a call in the diary to discuss the direction of the edit at the end of the project, just to ensure that you are confident with the next steps for your book.
This is a partnership and I want you to be as involved in the process as I am.
FEEDBACK
"Anna's editing encompasses a keen eye for technical detail and a passion for narrative and message. Her enthusiastic input helps the writer tell their story in the most effective manner possible, and she always keeps two things in the forefront of the process – what the writer is trying to convey, and what the reader is going to experience. She is an exceptional editor and a pleasure to work with."
Ian Green, author of The Gauntlet and the Fist Beneath
"Anna has been invaluable in helping me get my second novel ready for submission. Highly experienced and deeply insightful, she has the unerring ability to ask the right questions, call out half-baked thoughts and uncover a book’s best self from its early-draft mess. She’s given me some absolutely spot-on suggestions for how to streamline my structure, clarify my characters and superpower my stakes, and has made herself endlessly available to chew over ideas and thoughts. She’s also warm, kind, (very) funny and a total joy to spend time with. I cannot recommend hard enough."
Molly Flatt, author of The Charmed Life of Alex Moore
Services
Fiction
Languages
Awards
- Rising Star
Work experience
The Bookseller
In 2018 I judged, edited and published the Bookseller's first ever short story competition. The five winning finalists were then launched onto the Pigeonhole. The winner of the competition was interviewed by me on a panel with Aki Schilz (The Literary Consultancy), Natasha Bardon (Harper Voyager) and Anwen Hoosen (The Bird Literary Agency) at the FutureBook Conference. The winner is currently writing his second novel and has already been offered representation on the back of this win.
The Pigeonhole
I have spent the past five years building the number one social reading platform in Britain. We have honed the tech, built a team and serialised over one hundred books through the platform, including novels by Sophie Kinsella, Jeffrey Archer and Susan Lewis, as well as the Caine and Wellcome Prize shortlists. Our job is to build an online presence for all of our books, while acting as a soap box for authors to discuss their ideas through the pages of their book.
Peters, Fraser & Dunlop
- Negotiated and constructed contracts contracts
- Read and edited manuscripts in preparation for submission to publishers
- Offered structured reading reports
- Worked on a list of over fifty authors
Random House
ASSISTANT EDITOR at Arrow, Windmill & Hammer Horror
- Commissioned and acquired titles for both the commercial and horror imprints, including Tim Lebbon
- Created a YA crossover list within Arrow with six acquisitions in six months.
- Commissioned established authors for the Hammer novella scheme
- Contracts negotiations
- Oversaw the Hammer straight-to-digital list
- Agent negotiations
- Cover briefing
- Copyedit and proofread checks
- Structural editing
- Author care
- Creation of AIs and initial marketing plans
- Biblio management
Curtis Brown
Portfolio
Anna has 21 reviews
Professionalism
Quality
Value
Responsiveness
Peter M.
May, 2023
PinnedZena L.
Jul, 2024
Allison R.
Jul, 2023
Stefano S.
Jun, 2022
Elena K.
May, 2022
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