The best developmental editors for hire in Australia

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Abigail 5 star rating

Sydney NSW, Australia

I'm a genre-fiction specialist, mentor, editor and literary agent with over 20 years' experience helping authors get their stories written.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Romantic Comedy, Romance, Romantic Fantasy, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Technothriller, and Mystery & Crime.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Sherryl 5 star rating

Melbourne VIC, Australia

Writer, teacher, editor- my job is to help writers create terrific, publishable stories.

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Picture Books, Young Adult, Poetry, Short Story, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Children’s Non-Fiction, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Victoria University

Sam 5 star rating

Sydney NSW, Australia

Expert manuscript developer and editor. I specialise in literary fiction and nonfiction, and general / popular fiction and nonfiction.

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Historical Fiction, Short Story, Thriller & Suspense, Political Science & Current Affairs, Humanities & Social Sciences, History, and True Crime.

Work experience:

  • Brow Books
  • Self-employed
  • The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australia, The Saturday Paper
  • University of Melbourne, Deakin University, RMIT University, Victoria University

Stu 5 star rating

Castlemaine VIC, Australia

I’m a freelance editor with over 15 years’ experience. I work primarily with academics, poets, and neurodivergent writers.

Genres: Education & Reference, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Fiction, Philosophy, Humanities & Social Sciences, Writing & Publishing, Buddhism, and Religion & Spirituality.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Vignette Press
  • La Trobe University
  • Deakin University

Lauren 5 star rating

Central Coast NSW, Australia

Commercial fiction editor & coach. In-house & freelance for many publishers in Australia, US, UK & with lots of indie authors for 20+ years.

Genres: Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction, Cozy Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, and Romance.

Work experience:

  • Bookouture
  • Atlantic Books
  • Allen & Unwin
  • London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games
  • Self-employed

Kelly 5 star rating

Sydney NSW, Australia

I love working with authors on their manuscripts, helping them tease out their ideas and realise their publishing dreams.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Coming of Age, Contemporary Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Women's Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, and True Crime.

Work experience:

  • Allen & Unwin

Jess 5 star rating

Melbourne VIC, Australia

Editor and former Associate Publisher specialising in non fiction books including health, business and management, and personal development.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Business & Management, Health & Wellbeing, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Political Science & Current Affairs, Humanities & Social Sciences, Christian Non-Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, Women's Fiction, Fiction, and Contemporary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Wilkinson Publishing
  • Self-employed

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Jane 5 star rating

Toowoomba QLD, Australia

I'm a freelance editor, author and librarian with an eye for detail. Kids' books, fiction, non-fiction, history books: I love them all!

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Picture Books, Historical Fiction, Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Action & Adventure, Contemporary Fiction, and Health & Wellbeing.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Concordia Lutheran College

Michele 5 star rating

Brisbane QLD, Australia

An editor of all genres, having worked for indie and trade publishing clients for 20 years, my expertise is developmental and copyediting!

Genres: Action & Adventure, Fiction, Coming of Age, Fantasy, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Children’s Non-Fiction, Business & Management, and Children's.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • University of Queensland Press
  • Macmillan Education Publishers
  • New Holland Publishers
  • Steve Parish Publishing

Brenda 5 star rating

Melbourne VIC, Australia

I'm a professional children's book editor with 20+ years of experience in working with picture books and junior fiction.

Genres: Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, Children’s Non-Fiction, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Red Paper Kite Publishing
  • Insider Guides
  • The School Magazine

Christina 5 star rating

Murwillumbah NSW, Australia

General and academic books in humanities, self-help, social sciences, published with Ashgate, Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan and Springer.

Genres: Architecture, Non-Fiction, Life Sciences, Math & Science, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Biographies & Memoirs, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Women's Fiction, and Design.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Rebecca 5 star rating

Coffs Harbour NSW, Australia

Using structural expertise and market insight, I work with Big 5, smaller publishers and indies to help make writing shine.

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance, Literary Fiction, LGBTQ Fiction, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • New Holland
  • WHSmith
  • Hachette and Curtis Brown

Karin 5 star rating

Brisbane QLD, Australia

A passionate 'generalist' who lives to learn, I've edited fiction and non-fiction for both indie and trade publisher clients for decades.

Genres: Nature, Non-Fiction, Life Sciences, Math & Science, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Picture Books, Children's, Science Fiction, Romantic Fantasy, and Romance.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Teach Starter Publishing
  • Wildlife Australia Magazine
  • Steve Parish Publishing
  • LexisNexis/Elsevier Reed
  • Bookmark Publishing
  • Australian Geographic

Katia 5 star rating

Melbourne VIC, Australia

Manuscript nurturer, sentence polisher, eagle-eyed proofreader, wordsmith, preserver of voice and vision; fiction and memoir specialist.

Genres: LGBTQ Fiction, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Themes & Motifs, and Health & Wellbeing.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Kate 5 star rating

Sydney NSW, Australia

Children's fiction editor with over ten years industry experience with Scholastic, Disney and Marvel.

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Middle Grade Fantasy, Mystery & Crime, Humor & Comedy, and Picture Books.

Work experience:

  • Scholastic Australia
  • Allen and Unwin
  • Lexis Nexis

Anjanette 5 star rating

Newcastle NSW, Australia

A passionate publishing professional, I love empowering writers by offering manuscript appraisal and mentoring. Upmarket fiction specialist!

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Romantic Comedy, Romance, Biographies & Memoirs, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Rick Raftos Management

Emily 5 star rating

Coffs Harbour NSW, Australia

I help indie authors publish with confidence. Open to fantasy, romance, and YA fiction. Looking forward to meeting you and your book!

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, New Adult, Romantic Fantasy, Romance, and Contemporary Romance.

Work experience:

  • Indesign Publishing
  • SydneyLearning
  • Sunday Magazine
  • Self-employed

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Hire the best developmental editors in Australia

After months, or maybe even years, of hard work and determination, you’ve finally completed your manuscript.

But now, in the midst of celebrating this accomplishment, you might be wondering: “What’s next?”

Well, for your best chances of coming to market with a professional and polished book, your answer should be: “Hire a developmental editor.”

A developmental editor works to ensure that your plot, characters, structure, prose, and all other pieces of your story are fine-tuned and cohesive as possible.

So how do you find a developmental editor in Australia you can trust to really make your story shine? Our marketplace is home to hundreds of experienced editors — many who worked for Big 5 publishers or with bestselling authors like Neil Gaiman. Sign up for a free account to start browsing the profiles of developmental editors in Australia today.

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Step 3

Request quotes

Request quotes from up to five freelancers at any time. They’ll look at your sample pages to give you a tailored quote as well as a sense of how they work.

Step 4

Collaborate

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