Gareth Watkins

Gareth Watkins – Editor

Copy-editor and proofreader with over 15 years' experience working with traditional publishers and indie authors.

Overview

I'm an editor and proofreader based in the UK. I have an MA in Publishing and nearly 15 years' experience in the industry. I worked for a major academic publisher and have undertaken freelance work for both traditional publishers and self-publishing authors.


I completed an MA in Publishing in 2007 and have worked in the industry ever since. I also undertook additional training with the Publishing Training Centre before embarking on freelance work. Since then, I've been fortunate to have worked with authors of both fiction and non-fiction across a range of areas, most notably computer gaming, science fiction, fantasy and crime fiction.


I love what I do, and I love being able to play a part in helping authors get their words out into the world.

Services
Non-Fiction
Computers & Internet
Fiction
Fantasy Mystery & Crime Psychological Thriller Science Fiction Young Adult
Languages
English (UK) English (US)

Work experience

Unbound

Oct, 2017 — Present
I am a regular freelance proofreader for Unbound, the crowdfunding publisher.

Self-employed

Jan, 2017 — Present

Wiley

Jan, 2014 — Oct, 2018 (over 4 years)
I work on a number of academic journals, commissioning and editing articles in collaboration with expert academic editors. I also write and edit online content.

Portfolio

Made with Reedsy
Riot Tour: Stories

Morrow, Francis

Copy Editing
Made with Reedsy
Paint It Blackmail (John Kite Book 2)

Doughty, Stuart

Proofreading
Made with Reedsy
Collision: A Near Future Thriller

Morrow, Francis

Copy Editing
Made with Reedsy
The Deceased

Francis Morrow

The tail end of the 21st century, the century of the mind.Renaissance: a sprawling city on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. A city renewed after a devastating attack by domestic terr... read more
Copy Editing
Made with Reedsy
A Fight For Home: A Novel From A Dying World (Rebuilding Hope Book 2)

P A Wilson

Plagues that ravaged the world’s population are over. Civilization is dying, and brutality is a survival trait.A year after fleeing her home in search of peace and safety, Lena and her friends... read more
Proofreading
The Secret History of Mac Gaming

Richard Moss

The Macintosh challenged games to be more than child’s play and quick reflexes. It made human–computer interaction friendly, inviting and intuitive.Mac gaming led to much that is now taken for... read more
Proofreading
Fuck Yeah, Video Games: The Life and Extra Lives of a Professional Nerd

Daniel Hardcastle

As Daniel Hardcastle careers towards thirty, he looks back on what has really made him happy in life: the friends, the romances… the video games. Told through encounters with the most remarkab... read more
Proofreading
Made with Reedsy
Dragon Kindred: And The Gyr Worshipers

Marshall Drews

The Dark Armored Knight, the Armor Burnt Knight, the Knight of Fire, the Knight of Fury and the Knight of Ash -- Venneith Cornease was a knight recognised by many names, whispered of in many s... read more
Copy Editing
Made with Reedsy
Christmas Horror Shorts

Graham M Hodge

Whether you feel joy and peace or Bah humbug towards Christmas, why not put on the fire, pour yourself a nice glass of your favourite tipple and sit right down and enjoy Christmas Horror Short... read more
Copy Editing
Made with Reedsy
Blood Magic Blues: HOP-D Case 1

P. A. Wilson

There’s magic . . . and murder . . . in the air.When Fernlight, a Sprite, and Bramble, who’s a fairy, open their private detection agency, they dream of bridging the gap between humans and mag... read more
Proofreading
Hardcore Gaming 101 Presents: Japanese Video Game Obscurities

Kurt Kalata

Japan has produced thousands of intriguing video games. But not all of them were released outside of the country, especially not in the 1980s and 90s. While a few of these titles have since be... read more
Proofreading
How to Meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0

Luke McGrath

Learn ‘How to Meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0′I wrote this book to help you learn how to meet these important guidelines. You’ll find out how an accessible website can still ... read more
Proofreading
North Atlantic Drift

Kerry O'Grady

Clare has fallen in love with an impossible boy. Nobody, not even her best friend Cait understands why she is spending more and more time out on the island with the strange young man. They don... read more
Proofreading
Majeena

M.P. Adams

In a world of dark creatures and monsters, Majeena is a forgotten island, lost to the shadows.A young orphaned creature called Aeroin Swift has lived on Majeena all his life. When the King of ... read more
Proofreading
Ten To The Power

M.P. Adams

Dr Felicity Orden is an engineer for TENeleven, a machine that can simulate historical events at stunning levels of detail. During a routine run of the machine the operators discover Felicity’... read more
Proofreading
The Fallow Field

Leigh Dovey

“The Fallow Field grips tight and refuses to let go, winding down an unpredictable path of classical Hammer-esque sensbilities and existential mind games. Here we have an extremely strong debu... read more
Proofreading
Monsters of Elsewhere

Matthew Waldram

There is a land – let's call it Elsewhere – that is in no small amount of trouble. Giant wolves are tearing villages apart, a monster king is bringing his army across the sea to capture the le... read more
Proofreading
The Electric

Andrew David Barker

In the summer of 1985, fifteen-year-old Sam Crowhurst discovers an old abandoned cinema that screens movies made by ghosts, for ghosts. Sam, along with his friends, Emma and David, find themse... read more
Proofreading

Gareth has 11 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Graham S.

Graham S.

Mar, 2025

I am very happy with the copy editing service provided by Gareth. Apart from being great value for money, Gareth asked for a sample of my writing before submitting a quote, adjusting the price accordingly. He consulted me on a number of things before starting and was very clear as to what I could...
Read more
Gareth W.
Thank you very much, Graham. It was a pleasure to work with you and I hope you have a lot of success with the book.
Carol D.

Carol D.

Aug, 2024

Gareth did a proofreading edit on a novella for me. He was quick and I've incorporated every one of his suggested alterations. Now I feel much more confident about having a well-polished product to offer readers. I will definitely use his service again and I'm happy to recommend him.
Francis M.

Francis M.

Aug, 2021

It was a pleasure to work with Gareth on my latest project. He was extremely professional and met all deadlines with no fuss. His copy edit was extremely thorough and exceeded my original expectations. Whenever I had questions on his edits, Gareth was always quick to get back to me. His responses...
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Francis M.

Francis M.

Nov, 2020

It was a pleasure to work with Gareth on this copy editing project. He met all of his deadlines with no fuss. Whenever I had queries on his edits, he responded quickly and efficiently. During the project, Gareth spotted a number of logical flaws and highlighted sections that lacked clarity. Garet...
Read more
Stuart D.

Stuart D.

Sep, 2020

No problems. All fine.

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