Eleanor Hinkle

Eleanor Hinkle – Editor

Lover of complex characters, horror of all types, contemporary & speculative fiction. Developmental, line, & copy editing.

Overview

I have 10+ years of editorial experience across trade publishing, academic, and business writing, but my greatest love has always been for fiction—children's and adult. I've worked with independent authors, agencies, small presses, and even industry giants such as HarperCollins. I love working on books with spooky or thrilling plots, contemporary fantasy, light romance, and anything quirky or particularly heartwarming. Though my background is mainly in middle grade and YA, there's a sprinkling of adult in there as well, and I'm always open to expanding my adult base more.

Whether it's building a world, tracking timelines, polishing prose, or finding grammatical errors, I believe the author should have a hand in the editorial process wherever possible. Word choice and sentence structure build worlds and characters just as much as plot, and I strive to make sure that no matter what type of editing, the author's vision remains in tact. You can expect any project we start together to be a two-way dialogue.

Services
Fiction
Contemporary Fiction Fantasy Horror LGBTQ Fiction Middle Grade Mystery & Crime Young Adult
Languages
English (US)
Certifications
  • BA in English and Creative Writing from Earlham College
  • MS in Publishing with an editorial focus from NYU

Work experience

Self-employed

May, 2017 — Present
After a hiatus I'm re-building a client list of freelance work for developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading. In the past I've worked with Soho Press, Macmillan, and various independent authors on a range of editing projects.

Clarion Books, HMH / HarperCollins

Oct, 2018 — Jan, 2022 (over 3 years)
Worked on middle grade and YA fiction across genres and throughout the developmental lifecycle, including work by award-winning authors Mary Downing Hahn, Gary D. Schmidt, and Avi. Focused on developmental edits, copyediting, proofreading.

Earlham College Writing Center

Aug, 2013 — May, 2016 (over 2 years)
Writing coaching, developmental editing, and copyediting for students working on academic papers and creative writing projects.

Portfolio

Rainbow in the Dark

McGinty, Sean

Copy Editing Editorial Assessment Proofreading
Reader, I Murdered Him

Cornwell, Betsy

Clarion Books

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment Proofreading
Loyalty

Avi

Clarion Books

Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Proofreading
Proofreading
Proofreading
Developmental Editing Copy Editing
Proofreading
Heartbreak Boys

Green, Simon James

Clarion Books

Editorial Assessment Proofreading
Playing Through the Turnaround

Larsen, Mylisa

Clarion Books

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment Proofreading
Proofreading
The Thirteenth Cat

Hahn, Mary Downing

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
The Circus Rose

Cornwell, Betsy

Copy Editing Proofreading
Just Like That

Schmidt, Gary D.

Copy Editing Proofreading
The League of Picky Eaters

Lucianovic, Stephanie V.W.

Copy Editing Editorial Assessment Proofreading

Eleanor has 2 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Thomas W.

Thomas W.

Mar, 2026

Working with Eleanor was a genuinely valuable experience. Her manuscript assessment was thorough, perceptive, and encouraging without ever being vague. She clearly understood the tone and ambition of my story and provided concrete suggestions for improving structure, tension, and character depth....
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Charlotte Q.

Charlotte Q.

Feb, 2026

Eleanor provided me with a very thorough and thoughtful 38-page editorial assessment of my book. She took time to truly engage with the story and identify areas of growth, specifying pages where areas could be improved, and provided an action plan for handling editing to make the process manageab...
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