Clem Flanagan – Editor

I am responsible for commissioning and editing titles across the frontlist - predominantly YA titles, but also some crime, historical and commercial fiction. I also work on some non-fiction titles like cookery and lifestyle coffee table books. Notable titles include Philip Paris's bestselling title The Last Witch of Scotland, David Fenne's YA trilogy OVEREMOTIONAL, Jill Johnson's dark mystery Devil's Breath (as featured on BBC's Between the Covers; titled The Woman in the Garden in the USA) and the Irish Book Award-winning The Hike Life by Roz Purcell.

After working for six years in publishing, I've taken the plunge and gone freelance to continue vanquishing typos and grammar baddies. I offer core editorial services such as developmental editing, copy-editing and proofreading, as well as author mentoring and editorial reports through a literary consultancy.

My specialties include YA, fantasy, commercial fiction and science-fiction, although I also work on other genres when they need my help.

Taking a story from good to great is what I love most – and I’d love to work on your book next. Please get in touch through Reedsy, Twitter or my website.

I returned to my first university as a visiting lecturer to teach on the very course that inspired me to become an editor. On this course, I lectured on topics including plotting, characterization, style, line editing and proofreading, and conducted workshops with small groups of students to help them improve their craft as writers and sharpen their skills as editors.

My role as editor is really varied, taking me from writing book blurbs (my favourite part!) to adapting healthy cookery books to British English and preparing book files for print. I have the privilege of working on lots of different titles ranging from self-help to health, from the esoteric to the latest science. I also read submissions and assess them for publication. When we have author events on, I love to work in our pop-up bookshop.

As the publisher at Thomson Reuters' legal publishing arm in Scotland, I commissioned all new frontlist titles, acting as the first point of contact between our authors and TR. Titles spanned a wide spectrum of markets, from university study-guides to reference titles and annotated acts.

I freelanced as a proofreader and editor (and sometimes content writer) for several independent presses and websites, including Lumphanan Press, Freight Books, Cargo Publishing, Endeavour Press and TripAdvisor. I worked on a wide variety of material, including a manual on Qigong, an award-winning contemporary novel, historical novels and, you guessed it, some travel pieces!