The best developmental editors for hire near London

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Julia 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

I am a highly-skilled professional editor and have worked with bestselling self-help, health and parenting authors for over 25 years.

Genres: Career Guides, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Sex & Relationships, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Parenting & Families, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, and Business & Management.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Ebury Publishing, Random House UK
  • Anubis Literary Agency

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

Lucy 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Editor with 9+ years experience developing projects for leading publishers, dedicated to guiding first-time authors.

Genres: Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Nature, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Sex & Relationships, Historical Fiction, Fiction, and Biographies & Memoirs.

Work experience:

  • Bloomsbury Publishing
  • The Siren Press
  • Watkins Publishing
  • Pan Macmillan
  • Hachette

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

Anna 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

I have 20 years' experience working on children's and YA writing at UK publishers including Hachette and HarperCollins.

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Fantasy, Middle Grade Fantasy, Contemporary Fiction, Coming of Age, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Picture Books, and Social & Family Issues.

Work experience:

  • Octopus (Hachette)
  • Carlton Books
  • Orchard (Hachette)
  • Egmont
  • Self-employed

Highly experienced development and structural editor (non-fiction) with almost 20 years experience working in trade publishing.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Psychology, Humanities & Social Sciences, Inspirational, Nature, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, and Sex & Relationships.

Work experience:

  • Simon & Schuster Ltd.

Editorial consultant, copyeditor and book coach for lawyers, academics, clinicians, entrepreneurs and experts.

Genres: Medicine, Nursing, & Dentistry, Math & Science, Non-Fiction, Education & Reference, Health & Wellbeing, Business & Management, Law, and Humanities & Social Sciences.

Work experience:

  • Mark Allen Group
  • ARK Group
  • Self-employed
  • Out-Spoken Press
  • Intersentia UK
  • Globe Law and Business
  • Yahoo

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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

Editor with a focus on Children's Education and Literacy through stories. Passionate about representation and accessibility.

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

Work experience:

  • Oxford University Press
  • Cambridge University Press
  • First Story
  • The Mic Magazine
  • John Blake Publishing
  • Self-employed
  • Global alumni
  • Global Alumni

Over 15 years' experience working for top publishers, including Penguin RH - I want to help you tell the stories that matter to you!

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Romance, Women's Fiction, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • University of Cape Town
  • Stellenbosch University
  • GetSmarter
  • Self-employed

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

Ruthlessly cheerful, aggressively optimistic: I'm an author's cheerleader, editor, advisor + promoter. Genres: thrillers, adventures + more

Genres: Action & Adventure, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Bloomsbury
  • Canongate Books Ltd & Severn House
  • The Publishing Training Centre
  • Self-employed

Literary and commercial fiction editor. Previously HarperCollins and Hachette. Kind, detailed and supportive. I will make your writing sing!

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Cozy Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Thriller & Suspense, Coming of Age, and Women's Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Little, Brown Book Group
  • HarperCollins
  • Curtis Brown Literary Agency

Keith 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Nonfiction publisher (25 years) specializing in science; author of one nonfiction book, three scifi novels and many TV entertainment shows.

Genres: Computers & Internet, Non-Fiction, Children’s Non-Fiction, Math & Science, Philosophy, Humanities & Social Sciences, Technology, Physics & Chemistry, Entertainment, and Earth, Space, & Environmental Sciences.

Work experience:

  • Oxford University Press
  • Addison-Wesley/Pearson Education
  • Pergamon Press
  • Self-employed
  • Penguin Press

Fiction and non-fiction copy-editor and proofreader, passionate about genre fiction, history and YA.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Entertainment, LGBTQ Non-Fiction, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, and Mystery & Crime.

Work experience:

  • Faber
  • Titan Books
  • RIBA Publishing

Collaborative development editor specialising in all things non-fiction. Worked with bestselling authors at Little, Brown and HarperCollins.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Business & Management, Entertainment, Health & Wellbeing, Parenting & Families, and Self-Help & Self-Improvement.

Work experience:

  • Little, Brown
  • HarperCollins
  • Self-employed

With 20 years' experience in academic publishing, I specialise in translating complex information into engaging text that is a joy to read.

Genres: History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Physics & Chemistry, Math & Science, LGBTQ Non-Fiction, and Entertainment.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Touch Group
  • Biba
  • Burson-Marsteller

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Hire the best developmental editors in London

You’ve finally finished your manuscript, and it’s been a long road getting this far. Congratulations – next up is the revision process, which might sound daunting, but is actually a gratifying experience, as you get to polish your draft into a literary gem.

However, whether you’ve written fiction or non-fiction, it can often be tough to spot your book’s potential “big picture” issues because you’re too close to the content. This is where a developmental editor comes in: someone who will look at your book from a bird’s eye view to ensure everything from the structure to character development and prose is all fine-tuned.

Working with a developmental editor is beneficial for all authors — but especially first-time authors who might not yet know what to keep an eye out for when going through the revision process.

So where can you find a great developmental editor in London? Right here on Reedsy. Reedsy is home to a diverse roster of editors based in London, some of whom have worked with bestselling authors like Stephen King and Neil Gaiman. Sign up and start browsing their portfolios today, or simply request a quote from an editor who looks like they could be your collaborative soulmate.

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.