Ben Hourigan - Editor
Melbourne + Bangkok
Editor, copywriter, self-publishing consultant, and independent novelist. Specialist in digital media.
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Overview
Ben Hourigan has been an editor since 2004, working freelance and in-house in a variety of editorial and managerial roles. He is also an independent novelist, the author of “Kiss Me, Genius Boy” (2011) and “My Generation’s Lament” (2013).
Coverage of Ben and his novels in Australian news media in early 2013 led to a flood of requests from fellow authors for help self-publishing their own work. His freelance practice, Hourigan & Co., has editing and book production (print and electronic) for independent authors as one of its specialties, along with editing for business, academia, and digital media. It provides a turnkey service that can take you all the way from manuscript to published book, even including such things as cover design and printing.
Ben’s book editing is intensive and detailed, upholding high literary values while prioritizing simplicity, clarity, and readability. With all clients, he adopts the role of mentor as well as editor, offering detailed feedback on manuscripts and in emails, and provides advice on book production, publishing, and marketing as well as style, content, and structure.
In book production, he draws on his extensive experience in magazine and digital publishing to create books with elegant, minimal designs and high technical standards. Hourigan & Co. uses professional typographical software to produce its print interiors, while innovative digital production methods informed by web development best practices ensure your e-book files are styled attractively and predictably on all reading platforms.
TESTIMONIALS
"You've x-rayed my text, spotted anomalies and fixed them. I have been lucky to have great editors and this only keeps getting better. Thank you for taking the time and patiently waiting for all my answers. It has been a pleasure working with you. Next time you are in Mumbai, for work or on a vacation, the breakfast/lunch/dinner is on me." —Abhishek Kumar, correspondent for The Economist
"Please accept these words: you are awesome. I love it beyond words. It is perfect in every which way. I do not know how to say thank you. I bloody love what you have done with all of the information I have given you. I would hug you right now, but lets not go that far, lol. :) Thank you so much, Ben. I could not have done a better job even If I tried. This is by far the best way anyone could have explained this. Like I said, I am so very glad you are my editor. Thank you so much." —Michael Johnson, author of "Keep it Clear"
"Really impressive work here, well done. The level of professionalism you work towards … I can only say I am glad I found you." —Grant Finnegan, author of "The Seventh List"
Languages
English (AUS)
English (UK)
English (US)
Fiction
Adventure
Crime & Mystery
Inspirational
Literature
Poetry
Thriller
Young Adult & Teen
Non-Fiction
Architecture
Art
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Management
Design
Economics
Health & wellbeing
Photography
Politics & Current Affairs
Psychology
Self-help & Self-improvement
Certifications
- Accredited Editor (IPEd – Institute of Professional Editors, Australia)
- BA (Hons), The University of Melbourne
- MBA, The University of New England
Work experience
Manager, digital
Architecture Media
January, 2009
–
January, 2013
(about 4 years)
Manager of digital publishing operations for Architecture Media, Australia’s leading publisher of magazines for architecture and design professionals. Key responsibilities involved supervising product development, sales, and content production for Selector, a directory of architecture and building products, and ArchitectureAU, Australia’s most-read website for architecture professionals. Revenue for the digital publishing division increased nearly 300% during this period.
Editorial director
Hourigan & Co.
January, 2004
–
Present
(almost 15 years)
Freelance editor of a wide range of material, including corporate annual reports, websites, marketing collateral, academic theses, novels and non-fiction books. Hourigan & Co. has developed a particular specialization in self-publishing since 2011, when national news coverage of Ben Hourigan’s novel "Kiss Me, Genius Boy" resulted in a high volume of requests for help from other independent authors.
Portfolio (21 selected works)
How to Buy Unlimited Investment Properties
Mark Reister
“Emulate those people who are where you want to be.”Before embarking on his property investment journey, real-estate agent Mark Reister attended numerous investment seminars, sitting with everyone from battlers to academics in search of the path that lets some people afford whatever they want.In the end, Mark decided to forge his own path, developing a strategy that enabled him to secure thirt... read more
The hCG Protocol Companion
Anna Kurz Rogers
The hCG Protocol Companion was developed to help those embarking on the hCG protocol journey achieve a better understanding of how the protocol works to restore health. Author Anna Kurz Rogers is a professional hCG protocol coach who has successfully guided hundreds of people to achieve their health and weight loss goals. In this clear and compact guide to the protocol, Rogers communicates the... read more
The Versailles Memorandum
Peter Saunders
What if Osama bin Laden had lived?The year is 2046. Millions of people across Europe live in Special Islamic Zones governed by sharia law. In East London, Aisha Sharizi is on the run from the religious police after having an affair with an infidel boy. Meanwhile, failed historian Harry Davidson has stumbled on a secret that security services on both sides of the Atlantic will stop at nothing t... read more
Whether you:• beat up on yourself or put yourself down,• miss out on promotions or are not progressing in your career,• are not making enough money or hesitate asking for a pay rise,• settle for less than what you deserve in your career, relationships, and life,• worry about your job security or about money,• procrastinate about taking action, or• lack clarity, passion, or direction in your li... read more
The Seventh List
Grant Finnegan
For thousands of years, they have known when you were born and when you will die.Uluru is Australia’s most recognisable landmark. Around it, there are six sites sacred to indigenous Australians. Only a select few of the local Anangu tribe are permitted to enter.But the top three elders of the Anangu, and one other local character, know there is one more sacred site at Uluru.At this site lies a... read more
"In that moment, there arose all the resolve I hoped would be with me when I finally met her, and my vertigo turned to exultation. So what if she was married? I had contemplated that long ago, and decided I'd have her anyway."Joshua Rivers was born to expect great things. A former child prodigy and the son of a lottery winner, he also believes himself blessed with a vision of his perfect desti... read more
Are we happy with the present, and with what we think the future holds for us?Most people will face devastating setbacks at some point: it’s part of life. Often, what separates the successful and the happy from the rest is their resilience—their ability to pick themselves up and bounce back.In Pick Yourself Up, Simon Templin offers advice on how to get back on track at any point of your life, ... read more
Keep it Clear: Personal Excellence through Clarity of Self
Michael Johnson
For the past twenty years, Michael Johnson has lived and worked up and down Australia's east coast, in almost every industry you could name, gathering experience and studying topics from eastern philosophy to personal finance on his path to becoming an entrepreneur, personal trainer, martial arts instructor and life mentor.Now he hands you the keys to personal mastery, success, and achieving y... read more
"I saw that everything going on was tied up in a knot that held this at its center—'I'm not what I wanted to be.' "It's been ten years since Joshua Rivers had his dream of the girl he believes he is supposed to marry, and she's still nowhere in sight. Now twenty-two, Joshua is stuck in a life markedly different from what he expected: he's unhappy with his current girlfriend and struggling with... read more
Departures & Arrivals
Pete Shmigel
“Departures & Arrivals” is a haiku and poetry collection by a voluntary migrant born to forced migrants. It’s about different places and different states, and the search for sense through the senses.
Buy Unlimited Properties and Retire in 10 Years
Mark Reister
This is the essential book for anyone who owns investment properties or is thinking about investing in real estate. Here, property investor and real-estate agent Mark Reister explains how you can make money from your investment properties and retire in 10 years.The steps involved are easy to follow: anyone can do it.If you’ve already bought an investment property, well done! You’ve taken the f... read more
The Ton Run and Other Stories: A novel
Lester Brien
The year is 1973. On the run from a Sydney liquor heist gone wrong, professional thief Lawrence Hargreaves changes his name and moves to the Byron Bay hinterland with dreams of becoming a cattle farmer. In town, police sergeant Vic Malone stands like a deluded King Canute before the rising tide of surfers and hippies settling in the area. These events will change the region’s demographics fore... read more
Magna Carta: The Tax Revolt that Gave Us Liberty
Chris Berg, John Roskam
The Magna Carta is a founding document of individual liberty, the rule of law, and parliamentary democracy. In this accessible and engaging book, Chris Berg and John Roskam explain what the Magna Carta is, where it came from, and why it matters.The barons demanded of King John nothing less than a wholesale revolution of government. The Magna Carta established the fundamental link between tax a... read more
Spreading the Honey
Doug David
“Spreading the Honey” is a collection of autobiographical short stories and anecdotes that offer a humorous view on life and humanity, through the eyes of a man who’s seen it all. Here, Doug David shares his journey through life, from small boy to middle-aged man, in whimsical tales of matters from schooling and selling to sailing and signet rings. His stories range in tone between good humour... read more
In Clarinets, Pipelines and Unforeseen Places, Grahame Campbell tells the story of a world-spanning career in engineering that took him from the first steps as an undergraduate student all the way to the decision-rooms of power. As a young man, Grahame envisioned a career in music, playing professional gigs as a jazz clarinetist and saxophonist. Even as the demands of reality intervened, inclu... read more
Rich, Thin and Happy: A memoir
Sharon Mitchell
Sharon Mitchell sat and looked at the man who was going to change her life. He was mesmerizing.‘So you want to be rich, thin and happy?’ he asked.Sharon nodded as she stared past him to look at the Buddha statue behind, and wondered how she, an ordinary mother and wife, from an ordinary suburb, had ended up sitting with a monk on the dry, hard dirt of a remote town in Southeast Asia.‘I can hel... read more
Discover the lost history of the Ancient Olympic Games. In popular belief, the Olympic Games were primarily a Greek invention. Yet, this perception covers a secret history that connects the games not only to the “classical” societies of the Greeks and Romans, but also to the Bible, earlier Middle Eastern mythologies, and the supposedly barbarian tribes of northern and western Europe. Chariot o... read more
Why are the most vulnerable children in Australia abused and neglected in plain sight of the child welfare authorities supposed to protect them? The over-emphasis placed on 'family preservation' at almost all costs keeps exposing children to prolonged - and sometimes fatal - maltreatment by highly-damaged parents...who damage their children. When finally removed as a last resort, children are ... read more
The Road Leads Home: A Country Romance
Linda May
Anna Jackson was happy. Her life had always been perfect. In Southern Plains, New South Wales, where she lived with her parents, two homesteads sat amid the green pastures. Anna’s family had built their house when they purchased the property years ago. In the other lived Anna’s aunt and uncle, and her cousin Mollie. For as long as Anna could remember, Zach Sinclair had been a part of her life,... read more
September Chill: A detective romance
Linda May
As late September wraps its chill around Mackenzie, she can still hardly believe that she’s achieved her dream of living in New York, which often seems to her like the very heart of the world. Her move from country Australia seems like a distant memory. She’s already fallen in love with a New York detective, Digby, who is opening her eyes to life—its wonders and dangers both. But as time passe... read more
Find out why you should learn the world's most beautiful language, and how you can achieve fluency more effectively. Gerry Dubbin is a native English-speaker who, after discovering the charms of Italy as a business traveller, set his mind and will to the goal of achieving fluency in Italian. Hoping to more fully enjoy the country, its culture, and the friendship and hospitality of its people, ... read more
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