Haley Hampton – Editor

I am Haley Hampton, a word nerd, grammar geek, and fiction lover who lives in the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina. I suppose you could say I took the long way around to reach my dream career of book editor. From the time I was little, I only ever wanted to be a teacher, and I did that for several years. Eventually, the twists and turns of life brought me to freelancing, and I started working in a field that had always been of interest but seemed an impossibility without moving to a city with large publishing houses. When I realized that technology and modern publishing opportunities made that unnecessary, I eagerly dived into my career as an editor, putting my wide range of knowledge and love of words, grammar, and story to use.

Now, I work with authors and companies as a developmental editor, line editor, and copy editor for fiction and nonfiction. I work with these fiction genres: dystopian, fantasy, historical, romance, thriller, and women’s literature. I work with these nonfiction genres: memoir, self-help, psychology, Christian theology, religion, regional history, agriculture, and education theory.

Special note about subgenres:
Within romance, my favorite subgenres are historical, fantasy, suspense, and inspirational (Christian) romance. However, I enjoy editing (and reading!) most all subgenres of romance. Within historical fiction, I am most knowledgeable about thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Scotland, ninth- and tenth-century Danes (Danish Vikings), the American Civil War, and the American Old West. There are other time periods that I am comfortable working in, but these are where I have the greatest depth and breadth of knowledge. I have also recently developed a keen interest in the Jacobite rebellions, and that is my current area of historical research.

I am an expert in The Chicago Manual of Style, The Associated Press Stylebook, and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. I have experience with the New Oxford Style Manual and The SBL Handbook of Style.


Select Testimonials:

“As the former Story Editor of Paramount Pictures and as a former Production Chief of Walt Disney Studios, I have supervised thousands of screenplays, and adaptions of novels into films. If I had to do it all over again, my first hire would be Haley Hampton. She really knows her story stuff and has a strong and gentle manner in dealing with material AND the creative process that makes her fun and easy to work with. I could never ever recommend her highly enough. She is a jewel. For the last two years, she has helped our small publishing company work through twenty-four books. She is the real deal. I would be happy to talk to anyone about Haley. I have grown to respect her beyond measure.” —David Paul Kirkpatrick, author of the dog

“In three decades as a published author, I’ve worked with many editors, each with unique skills, talents, and perspectives. Each wanted the best for me, but none matches Haley Hampton’s breadth of experience, intuitive foresight, and meticulous attention to detail. Her developmental editing pushes me to produce deeper, award-winning work, while her copy editing delivers clean, professional manuscripts that my publishers gush over for their clarity.

I always count on Haley to deliver gentle but probative feedback informed not only by her experience as an educator, but by her innate decency and fairness. Though I’ve recently switched publishers and found a wonderful one with a superb staff, I’m sticking with Haley Hampton for my editorial work. I know she cares about me and my work, while her work never disappoints.” —Marleen Pasch, author of At the End of the Storm and Stars in Their Infancy