Overview
As a long-time editor and author, I'm fully aware that writers need a solid support system around them to enable their writing to progress from a dream into a reality. Working with both new and experienced writers has given me the opportunity to develop writers from their very first drafts straight through to their polished manuscripts.
My job is to ensure you can see where your writing shines and what skills you excel at (which is just as important as knowing what you need to work on), as well as showing you how to improve your craft, build a strong, engaging plot, and create characters who leap off the page. I can help you create the best possible version of your book and your vision, staying true to the story you want to tell.
Authors I have had the pleasure of dealing with have been published by HarperTeen, Macmillan, Entangled Teen, Swoon Romance, Holiday House Inc, etc., with two authors who have sold motion picture rights. As for me, I'm a foodie, an animal lover, and a collector of adventures and travel.
I have a strong interest in diverse projects: #ownvoices and LGBTQ+ projects very welcome.
I am a sensitivity reader for epilepsy, fibromyalgia, and Ace characters.
And give me your speculative fiction in droves!
I mentored for #PitchWars, a renowned mentorship program for new authors.
Recent publication: Unbound: Stories of Transformation, Love and Monsters (YA myth)
Testimonials:
"Before my agent sees my latest book, I send it to Fiona. Her insight is spot on, and her notes always take my work to the next level. She was influential in the book that landed my lit agent as well as the one that published. I am now represented by a major Hollywood agency and have a television production deal. Through it all, Fiona has been my most trusted CP."
-Kes Trester - A Dangerous Year (Curiosity Quills)
"Fiona has been my critique partner and editor for four years. She was also my PitchWars co-mentor for two years, so I can attest without reservation that she is an astute, intuitive, and professional editor of the highest standard. She is equally adept at providing structural feedback on characters, plot, pacing, and tension as she is on assessing the details like passive writing, show not tell, overused words. She is also a tireless champion and coach, exactly the type of motivating editor every writer needs in their corner!"
-Dionne McCulloch, Reedsy Editor, Bath Novel Award judge, and editor for a UK literary consultancy
"I've worked with Fiona for years on my novels. She has a keen eye for details and execution, extensive knowledge of the craft of writing, and is always on point with what needs to be done to make the project shine. Fiona is also a complete gem and is the perfect combination of constructive and supportive. I cannot recommend her enough."
-Jesskia Fleck - Beware the Night (Swoon Reads/Macmillan), Defy the Sun (Swoon Reads/Macmillan), and The Castaways (Entangled Teen)
"Fiona is a writer’s guardian angel. She clears away the excess gunk to find the beating, pulsing heart of your writing and brings it to life."
Lisa Amowitz - Breaking Glass (Spencer Hill), Until Beth (Spencer Hill), Fractured (Spencer Hill), Vision (Spencer Hill)
My job is to ensure you can see where your writing shines and what skills you excel at (which is just as important as knowing what you need to work on), as well as showing you how to improve your craft, build a strong, engaging plot, and create characters who leap off the page. I can help you create the best possible version of your book and your vision, staying true to the story you want to tell.
Authors I have had the pleasure of dealing with have been published by HarperTeen, Macmillan, Entangled Teen, Swoon Romance, Holiday House Inc, etc., with two authors who have sold motion picture rights. As for me, I'm a foodie, an animal lover, and a collector of adventures and travel.
I have a strong interest in diverse projects: #ownvoices and LGBTQ+ projects very welcome.
I am a sensitivity reader for epilepsy, fibromyalgia, and Ace characters.
And give me your speculative fiction in droves!
I mentored for #PitchWars, a renowned mentorship program for new authors.
Recent publication: Unbound: Stories of Transformation, Love and Monsters (YA myth)
Testimonials:
"Before my agent sees my latest book, I send it to Fiona. Her insight is spot on, and her notes always take my work to the next level. She was influential in the book that landed my lit agent as well as the one that published. I am now represented by a major Hollywood agency and have a television production deal. Through it all, Fiona has been my most trusted CP."
-Kes Trester - A Dangerous Year (Curiosity Quills)
"Fiona has been my critique partner and editor for four years. She was also my PitchWars co-mentor for two years, so I can attest without reservation that she is an astute, intuitive, and professional editor of the highest standard. She is equally adept at providing structural feedback on characters, plot, pacing, and tension as she is on assessing the details like passive writing, show not tell, overused words. She is also a tireless champion and coach, exactly the type of motivating editor every writer needs in their corner!"
-Dionne McCulloch, Reedsy Editor, Bath Novel Award judge, and editor for a UK literary consultancy
"I've worked with Fiona for years on my novels. She has a keen eye for details and execution, extensive knowledge of the craft of writing, and is always on point with what needs to be done to make the project shine. Fiona is also a complete gem and is the perfect combination of constructive and supportive. I cannot recommend her enough."
-Jesskia Fleck - Beware the Night (Swoon Reads/Macmillan), Defy the Sun (Swoon Reads/Macmillan), and The Castaways (Entangled Teen)
"Fiona is a writer’s guardian angel. She clears away the excess gunk to find the beating, pulsing heart of your writing and brings it to life."
Lisa Amowitz - Breaking Glass (Spencer Hill), Until Beth (Spencer Hill), Fractured (Spencer Hill), Vision (Spencer Hill)
Services
Fiction
Dystopian
Epic Fantasy
Magical Realism
Middle Grade Fantasy
Post-Apocalyptic
Urban Fantasy
Young Adult Fantasy
Languages
English (UK)
English (US)
Work experience
Self-employed
Apr, 2013 —
Present
Developing authors' novels by providing one-on-one editorial services and in-depth editorial reports, inline edits, and Skype calls/Google Hangouts to discuss editorial issues.
OrderBox Media
Jun, 2016 —
Nov, 2017
(over 1 year)
Copywriter for a variety of different vectors, including but not limited to: entertainment, poker, lifestyle, finance, trading and Forex, sports, and gaming.
AcroSquare
Nov, 2014 —
May, 2018
(over 3 years)
Responsible for writing and developing an animation script, working on the editorial side of the project, and specializing in dialogue, pacing, and concise writing skills. First production due out at a later date.
Inklings Literary Agency
Aug, 2013 —
Aug, 2015
(about 2 years)
Evaluating queries and creating reader reports.
Holloway Literary Agency
Jan, 2011 —
Jan, 2012
(about 1 year)
Evaluating queries and creating reader reports.
Freelance
Apr, 2005 —
Present
Travel writing, variety of articles, copy writing, long term children's charity writer.
Portfolio
Developmental Editing
The Castaway Carnival: fun, mysterious, dangerous. Renowned for its infamous corn maze...and the kids who go missing in it. When Olive runs into the maze, she wakes up on an isolated and undet... read more
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Piper was raised in a cult.She just doesn't know it. Seventeen-year-old Piper knows that Father is a Prophet. Infallible. The chosen one. She would do anything for Father. That's why she takes... read more
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"...an exhilarating ride!" - BuzzfeedAs the daughter of an American ambassador, seventeen-year-old Riley Collins has grown up in some of the world's most dangerous cities.She may have learned ... read more
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Everything is waiting in Paris for Autumn—her new home, her mom, the Louvre, and a life where she can experience art, and not just look at it. But to get there, she'll have to survive the summ... read more
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A New Level in the Steampunk Genre from Amazon bestselling author, Gareth Clegg.London, 1899: a ruined city under martial law.It was just another bounty job for Simmons - recover a killer esca... read more
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No Rules.No Adults.No Way Out.Welcome to the Darkwoods.Deep in a mystical wood, four clans of boys live in treehouses, their story lost in time and their pasts buried with it. The forest is sp... read more
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In the tradition of Tamora Pierce, this fantasy presents a heroine of wit, strength, and savvy.Britt's only goal is to become a falconer.She steals a gyrfalcon egg in hopes of raising a chick.... read more
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For fifteen-year-old Talullah Bridgestone, books open a window to the world outside her small town. Outside the cloaking spell. Sure, the magic protects River Hill. But its cost is true freedo... read more
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The only one who can free him is the girl he’s hurt the most.Cursed for a youthful accident which maimed a young woman, Léon Beauregard roams his mountain as a bear, clinging to the scraps of ... read more
Copy Editing
Nothing terrifies the people of Ballaslav more than a crimson cloak. It marks a blood mage, someone who cuts and even kills for a terrible type of power. Eighteen-year-old Reyna doesn’t want t... read more
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Rogue magic and runaway mice were not what Brynn had in mind for a quiet life running a shop…Everyone seems to have an opinion about what Brynn should be doing with her life. Her father wants ... read more
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Rolling around in the worst fashion accessory ever…Seventeen-year-old Merry has mucked up another chance to get into the University of Magecraft, so she doesn’t have time to deal with shape-ch... read more
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Even the weakest flame can become the fiercest blaze.Crippled from a childhood illness, Cindy lives in the kitchen fireplace, ignored by her noble father and his new, perfect family, helping t... read more
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It’s impossible to bury your past when everyone carries a shovel.The people of Namerre both love and fear the Reaper, a ruthless vigilante with a strict moral code. When the law fails, he hunt... read more
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After two years living in the wilderness, Lia finds interacting with other people much harder than working with the animals in the Royal Academy's menagerie. She knows she just has to get thro... read more
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The show's not over till the soprano dies...Aria has dreamed of the opera ever since her parents died. Now she has a chance to earn her place on the most famous stage in Namerre. Who cares if ... read more
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In a world where steel is more precious than gold, armor and firepower mean everything.Beth and Percy were born into a war-ravaged humanity on the brink of being wiped out by a rogue force kno... read more
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PIA FIDELIS is a historical-fiction trilogy which tells a tale of war, adventure, and romance amidst a crumbling empire and the rising Shadow of the Antichrist.Book I of the PIA FIDELIS series... read more
Developmental Editing
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The lower realm protect their land fiercely. Across the river live the dead sky order. Assisted by Ka-Guardians from beyond the frozen sky, they invade. Banished to Icesea, Ores witnesses the ... read more
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“Sitting on the kitchen table was a roundish leather bag, the size of a head, held closed by a drawstring. Balanced across the top of it was a sword.”Reagan Bennett is just an ordinary woman, ... read more
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The three clans are about to converge.In the wake of Thane's destruction, Arliss is left with nothing but broken pieces of the life she knew and unanswered questions about the world beyond Rei... read more
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At sixteen-years-old, Mellena Goodwick thought chasing boys, raging hormones and bad decisions would control her life. After all, it’s meant to be a time when naivety is expected, and mistakes... read more
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Hanna might be her name.The burning house might have been her home.The bodies might be her family. If only she could remember. Hanna doesn't remember anything from before the night she was fou... read more
Developmental Editing
Fiona has 196 reviews
Professionalism
Quality
Value
Responsiveness
JS K.
Dec, 2023
Alistair R.
Nov, 2023
Tessa B.
Nov, 2023
Alex B.
Nov, 2023
Robyn J.
Oct, 2023
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