Fiona Brown

Fiona Brown – Editor

I am a freelance editor with 30 years' experience in copyediting and proofreading for major publishers, including Penguin and HarperCollins.

Overview

I'm a freelance copyeditor and proofreader. I currently work for several divisions of Penguin and have 30 years' experience in the trade, in a variety of genres, from MBS to history, romance to TV tie-ins, and cookery to biography.
Services
Non-Fiction
Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits New Age Religion & Spirituality
Fiction
Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery & Crime Romance Women's Fiction
Languages
English (UK) English (US)

Work experience

Self-employed

Sep, 1994 — Present

Freelance copyediting and proofreading for major publishers - HarperCollins, Penguin, Watkins. Most of my work these days comes from Penguin (Vintage, Michael Joseph).

HarperCollins

Sep, 1990 — Jun, 1994 (over 3 years)

Relocated to HarperCollins, Hammersmith - one of very few to be taken on from Unwin Hyman. Started out as Desk Editor on Mandala, Thorsons and Aquarian, then moved on to commissioning work after a year, whilst retaining editing aspect of the job. Took voluntary redundancy in June 1994, as I was pregnant with my daughter.

Unwin Hyman

Jan, 1990 — Sep, 1990 (8 months)

Desk Editor for Mandala Books - an imprint of Unwin Hyman. Entered into discussions re taking on commissioning work, but Unwin Hyman was taken over by HarperCollins.

Hodder & Stoughton

Aug, 1985 — Jan, 1990 (over 4 years)

Started with secretarial duties in Modern Languages and English Educational, then became Desk Editor for Modern Languages department after one year.

Portfolio

You're the One That I Want

Giovanna Fletcher

This is a new novel from the author of Billy and Me about love and the unbreakable bonds of friendship. Maddy, dressed in white, stands at the back of the church. At the end of the aisle is Rob - the man she's about to marry. Next to Rob is Ben - best man and ... read more
Always With Love

Giovanna Fletcher

Some Kind of Wonderful

Giovanna Fletcher

Habeas Corpus (Guillermo Downes Thriller)

James Marrison

An e-novella by bestselling James Marrison that delves into Guillermo Downes' Argentinian background.***1981, Buenos AiresA young Guillermo Downes finds himself pursued by the brutal Argentinian military police. Out of his depth, but with people to protect, Gu... read more
Lunar and Biodynamic Gardening: Planting your biodynamic garden by the phases of the moon

Matthew Jackson

Lunar and Biodynamic Gardening
The Miracle of Olive Oil

Penny Stanway

Written by an experienced doctor who is also a trained cook, "The Miracle of Olive Oil" is packed with helpful information on everything from food preparation to health and beauty. With an A-Z section of ailments against which olive oil has proved effective, a... read more
Kick Ass Angels

Claire Nahmad

Poll after poll reveals that substantial numbers of people in the Western world are convinced of the existence of angels. More Americans believe in angels than believe in global warming. However, these angels of the popular imagination tend to be docile and bl... read more
Mind Map Mastery: The Complete Guide to Learning and Using the Most Powerful Thinking

Tony Buzan

Staying Alive: How to Get the Best From the NHS

Dr Phil Hammond

The World According to Danny Dyer: Life Lessons from the East End

Danny Dyer

The Inner Beauty Bible

Laurey Simmons

We all have inner beauty. This is your one-stop handbook to nurturing beauty and wellbeing from the inside out. Combining ancient wisdom with modern-day mindfulness, this book shows you how to polish your heart and nourish your soul with a collection of simple... read more
The Search: The outstanding new serial killer thriller

Howard Linskey

Beginners Get . . . Sorted: Over 140 Simple, Tasty Recipes That Take the Fuss out of Food

Ben Ebbrell

Suitable for those who want simple, fun and seriously tasty meal ideas, this book can help to solve your kitchen dilemmas.
I Am Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

I am Zlatan - is the explosive, critically-acclaimed memoir of Zlatan Ibrahimovich, one of the world's most gifted and controversial footballers. 'Why be a Fiat when you can be a Ferrari?' Welcome to planet Zlatan. This is the story of how a Swedish outsider r... read more
Milkshakes and Morphine: A Memoir of Love and Loss

Genevieve Fox

The Poison Bed: 'Gone Girl meets The Miniaturist'

E C Fremantle

Oh Dear Silvia

Dawn French

Everyone knows the real Silvia, don't they? Silvia Shute lies in hospital in a coma. Family and friends gather at her bedside, each thinking they know the real Silvia. But do they? For Silvia hides a secret. One she can never tell. And as her visitors congrega... read more
Ivy and Abe: The Epic Love Story You Won't Want To Miss

Elizabeth Enfield

Exhibit Alexandra: This is no ordinary psychological thriller

Natasha Bell

Dead Men's Trousers

Irvine Welsh

Cravings

Chrissy Teigen

Billy and Me: A Novel

Giovanna Fletcher

In this utterly sweet and moving women's fiction novel, a celebrity comes to town and sweeps a young woman - who is used to being overlooked - off her feet. Sophie May is content with her life in her small English village, working in the local coffee shop and ... read more

Fiona has 6 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

p.d.r. L.

p.d.r. L.

Jun, 2024

Fiona is a pleasure to work with. She's a good communicator, doesn't baffle one with technical comments but makes clear suggestions. She's a professional with high standards and a wide historical knowledge. I can feel confident that the ebook form of my novella will pass the sternest punctuation critic's eagle eye. I would cheerfully use her skills again and am happy to recommend her as an edit...
Read more
Fiona B.
Thank you so much! It was also a pleasure to work with you. I wish you all the very best with your novella, and look forward to working with you again.
Elizabeth M.

Elizabeth M.

Nov, 2023

Fiona is amazing! She helped improve the story so much! I am truly grateful for her diligence!
Fiona B.
Thank you Elizabeth, it was a pleasure working with you!
Andrew C.

Andrew C.

Jun, 2022

I'd work with Fiona again. She has an uncanny knack for finding timeline problems- if she hadn't caught this particular issue I'd have blundered on!
Andrena W.

Andrena W.

Apr, 2022

Fiona was friendly, fast, efficient, and responded to any questions I had promptly. She is particularly good with fictional time-lines and caught errors other editors missed. I found her easy to work with and would recommend her to anyone. I'm working with her again, so that says it all!
p.d.r. L.

p.d.r. L.

Feb, 2021

A pleasure to work with Fiona who made no complaints about the terrible formatting thanks to my new computer's glitches. She was easy to communicate with and finished on time. Although the manuscript was sent to her for proof reading she is too good an editor to let a manuscript go by without a little copy editing as well. I know my novel has benefitted Fiona gave the 110,000 word manuscript...
Read more
Fiona B.
Thank you so much for the glowing review! I'm so pleased that you took on board all my comments and corrections - there was quite a lot to get through, and I'm glad that you have sorted out the POV...
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