The best book editors for hire in the United Kingdom

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Editor/Writer with more than 20 years of experience in educational publishing, magazines, technical and web.

Genres: Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Education & Reference, Math & Science, Writing & Publishing, Children's, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, History, and Humanities & Social Sciences.

Work experience:

  • Macmillan UK
  • Multimedia Communications, Singapore
  • Marshall Cavendish, Singapore
  • Educational Publishing House, Singapore
  • Horizon Knowledge Solutions Pte Ltd, Singapore
  • Shing Lee Publishers Pte Ltd, Singapore
  • Chacon Publishing Inc, Calgary, Canada
  • Self-employed

Nigel 5 star rating

Steyning, United Kingdom

My aim is to enhance the saleability (is that a word? . . . it is now!) of publications, by providing indexes of the highest quality.

Genres: Business & Management, Non-Fiction, Economics, Humanities & Social Sciences, Engineering & Materials Science, Math & Science, Finance & Accounting, Medicine, Nursing, & Dentistry, Physics & Chemistry, Psychology, and Technology.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Jude 5 star rating

United Kingdom

Multi-award writer & editor (MA Writing–Distinction). Published since 2004: Collins, Pearson & more. Expert fiction & non-fiction support.

Genres: Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, ELT, Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Picture Books, Biographies & Memoirs, Education & Reference, Young Adult, and Poetry.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Dick 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Experienced London-based editor of fiction (novels, short stories), biography, art and culture.

Genres: Mystery & Crime, Fiction, and Humor & Comedy.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Waltham Forest Council

Thalia 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Editor with over a decade's experience working with best-selling authors at Pan Macmillan and HarperCollins. I'd love to hear from you.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Women's Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Health & Wellbeing, and Coming of Age.

Work experience:

  • Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation
  • HarperCollins
  • Pan Macmillan
  • The Dreamwork Collective

15 years of in-house editorial experience specialising in children's fiction (MG, teen and YA). Previously Editor-at-Large for Hachette.

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Middle Grade Fantasy, Young Adult, Women's Fiction, Psychology, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, New Age, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, and Writing & Publishing.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Hachette Children's Group
  • Orion Children's Books
  • Scholastic Ltd
  • Columbia University

Eve 5 star rating

United Kingdom

Previously Editorial Director for Hodder and Stoughton, at Penguin before that, I'm a fiction editor and author with lots of experience.

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Women's Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary Romance, Romance, Cozy Mysteries, and Mystery & Crime.

Work experience:

  • Penguin Random House
  • Hodder & Stoughton, Hachette
  • Self-employed

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Colm 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Freelance developmental editor, with a focus on thriller and contemporary fiction, memoir non-fiction, and LGBTQ+ writing.

Genres: LGBTQ Fiction, Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, LGBTQ Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Contemporary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-Employed
  • RateSetter

Rosie 5 star rating

Sheffield, United Kingdom

A conscientious and enthusiastic indexer, my subject specialisms are Geography, Environmental/Earth Science, Social Science and Economics.

Genres: Earth, Space, & Environmental Sciences, Math & Science, Non-Fiction, Economics, Humanities & Social Sciences, and Geography.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Tim 5 star rating

York, United Kingdom

Experienced editor specialising in science fiction, horror, mystery and YA – offering assessments, structural editing and copyediting.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Short Story, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Action & Adventure, and Psychological Thriller.

Work experience:

  • CGP
  • Pearson
  • Scholastic
  • British Fantasy Society
  • Self-employed

Jenny 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Experienced editor of writing for children and adults (fiction, non-fiction, picture books, novelties) through all stages of editing.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Picture Books, Children's, Middle Grade, Children’s Non-Fiction, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Hot Key Books
  • Walker Books

Donna 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Fiction and non-fiction editor; over 20 years' publishing experience (regular clients include HarperCollins, Penguin RH, Hachette, Pan Mac)

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Women's Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Romantic Fantasy, Romance, and Literary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Harlequin UK Ltd
  • Little, Brown
  • Self-employed

Niall 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

I focus on non-fiction development editing and editorial assessment. History, economics. business, 'big ideas'. Best-selling author and PhD.

Genres: Business & Management, Non-Fiction, Economics, Humanities & Social Sciences, History, Philosophy, Political Science & Current Affairs, Sociology, Finance & Accounting, and Math & Science.

Work experience:

  • London School of Economics & University of Warwick
  • Freelance
  • ThinkWrite
  • Economist Intelligence Unit

Kerry 5 star rating

Hove, United Kingdom

An experienced editor, writer and publishing professional with 20+ years' experience of copy editing, development editing and proofreading.

Genres: Health & Wellbeing, Non-Fiction, Travel, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Women's Fiction, Architecture, Humanities & Social Sciences, Young Adult, and Mystery & Crime.

Work experience:

  • Yes Educational Centre
  • Marvel Comics
  • Egmont Fleetway
  • Panorama Holiday Group
  • Pavilion Publishing
  • Pavilion Publishing and Media
  • Self-employed

Nira 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Commercial editor helping authors turn ideas into books. Formerly Penguin Random House & HarperCollins with Sunday Times & NYT bestsellers.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Inspirational, Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Romantic Comedy, Romance, Women's Fiction, and Historical Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Ebury, Penguin Random House UK
  • Icon Books, UK
  • HQ, HarperCollins UK
  • Quarto Publishing

Julie 5 star rating

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Literary agent and editor. Books include bestsellers and prizewinners. Master’s degree in creative writing.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Dystopian, Science Fiction, and Contemporary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Birlinn Ltd

Joanna 5 star rating

Oxford, United Kingdom

Authors say I’m thorough, professional and prompt – contact me to find out why!

Genres: Business & Management, Non-Fiction, Political Science & Current Affairs, Humanities & Social Sciences, Psychology, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, History, and Health & Wellbeing.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Blackwell Publishing, Oxford

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Hire the best book editors in the UK

Finished writing your book, and wondering what you should do next? After you’ve done as thorough a self-edit as you can, you’ll be looking to hire a book editor in the UK or beyond.

It can be a little tricky to know what kind of editing you need, but a good choice for anyone who’s unsure is to partner up with someone who specializes in editorial assessments. This takes the form of an overview of your manuscript that will tell you where you should focus your editing efforts. These types of editors aren’t usually too expensive, yet they can be invaluable to your project. After all, if you have no idea what’s wrong with your book, how can you make a plan to remedy it? If you’re ready to dive deep into everything that may not be working with your manuscript, a developmental edit is the most thorough editorial process, which will delve into both big picture elements and issues within individual chapters. For a more surface-level polish, a copy edit or proofread will help guide an already edited book to the final stage of publication, removing any remaining errors or inconsistencies.

To hire a book editor in the UK, simply sign up to Reedsy and start browsing through our editing professionals today.

How it works

Browse profiles, request quotes, then collaborate.

Step 1

Apply filters

Reedsy is home to thousands of professionals. Select the specific services you need and narrow your search based on your book’s genre and requirements.

Step 2

Browse

Then, browse professional profiles to find out more about their personalities and past projects.

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

Once you agree on terms and a timeline, you’ll start collaborating using the many communication and editing tools available on Reedsy.

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