Brett Savory – Editor

I am a multi-award-winning horror/fantasy/science fiction editor with 28+ years experience at major publishers, small publishers, and freelancing. Career highlights include starting out at Harcourt Canada as a Developmental Editor, moving to Scholastic Canada to become a Senior Editor, running a small spec-fic press for over a decade, then going freelance for several small publishers over many years and many, many books. I am the winner of the World Fantasy Award, Bram Stoker Award, and British Fantasy Award—all for fiction editing. Several novels and short fiction I’ve edited have won or been nominated for the Nebula, Scotiabank Giller, Amazon Canada First Novel, Sunburst, Toronto Book, Shirley Jackson, Theodore Sturgeon, Bram Stoker, and Million Writers Awards.

Recent jobs include copy editing/proofreading Barbara Radecki's MESSENGER 93 for Cormorant books, and Craig Davidson's CASCADE for Knopf Canada. My specialties are horror, science fiction, fantasy, and thrillers, but mystery, crime, and contemporary fiction are also genres in which I have many years of experience. I am also skilled at editorial assessment, having appraised thousands of book submissions in my career.

I believe communication is the most important thing between an author and an editor, so I make myself available for my clients' needs in an extremely timely manner.

TESTIMONIALS:

"I couldn’t be more impressed with Brett’s feedback on my manuscript! His suggestions, especially around character dialogue and scene transitions, have greatly improved the story’s flow. By aligning the characters' actions with their dialogue and adding scene breaks, Brett helped key moments stand out and breathe more naturally. . . . On top of the technical improvements, his comments were insightful and even downright entertaining (I had a few good laughs!). Working with Brett has been such a rewarding experience. I’ve just started requerying my manuscript, and two agents who were previously interested have already asked to read the revised version!"

—Emily Fang

"WORTH EVERY PENNY. Just the meticulous attention to detail Brett used to technically edit my work was stunning. What I sent him was a raw first draft I had originally written on my phone using OneNote. What I got back was a finished manuscript ready for publication. Then there is the care and compassion he brought to the project. I felt like he really understood the story I was trying to tell and was committed to helping me tell it. Little comments he'd make on my characters and world building (both good and bad) let me know when I was on the right track or needed to dial something in. This was my first novel, having Brett's three decades of experience both in editing and writing is like a warm blanket. 10/10, would highly recommend and will definitely use again."

—Chris Kubiak

"As long as Brett is working as an editor, he's going to be my guy. He polished and tuned up the grammar and flow in my novel to absolute perfection. . . . There's a reason he's booked so far in advance. His work is that excellent."

—Pat Meehan