The best manuscript editors for hire near London

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Anna 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Award-winning editor and publisher with a near-obsessive eye and over twenty years experience in the industry.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Short Story, Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Women's Fiction.

Work experience:

  • The Pigeonhole
  • Random House
  • Peters, Fraser & Dunlop
  • Curtis Brown
  • The Bookseller

Karen 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Award-winning editor & publishing consultant. Launched bestselling series like Beast Quest. Specializes in adult, YA & children's fiction.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Women's Fiction, Middle Grade, Children's, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Mystery & Crime, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Little, Brown Books For Young Readers
  • Working Partners

Clare 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

A freelance copy-editor and proofreader specialising in cookery, craft and other lifestyle titles.

Genres: DIY & Crafts, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Home & Garden, and Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits.

Work experience:

  • Cico Books
  • New Holland Publishers
  • Clare Sayer

Parul 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Professional editor with 10 years of experience at Random House, Quercus. Cofounder: London Writers' Salon. Genre: Thrillers, NonFiction, YA

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Business & Management, Non-Fiction, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery & Crime, Middle Grade, and Children's.

Work experience:

  • Random House
  • Quercus/ now Hachette
  • Cornerstones
  • London Writers' Salon
  • Eccles Fisher

Scott 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Editor for 20+ years. I have worked on many award-winning and bestselling books. 175+ five-star reviews on Reedsy. Slots from late July.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Science Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, and Women's Fiction.

Work experience:

  • The Friday Project, HarperCollins
  • Waterstones
  • Oxford Brookes University
  • Eye Books & Lightning Books
  • Abandoned Bookshop

Emily 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

A Bookseller Rising Star and commercial fiction editor with 12 years editing experience at Penguin Random House, Hachette and HarperCollins

Genres: Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Fantasy, and Historical Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Quercus (Hachette UK)
  • Ebury & Del Rey (Penguin Random House)
  • Orion Publishing (Hachette UK)
  • Avon (HarperCollins)
  • Boldwood Books

Elizabeth 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Full-service editor with 20+ years experience. Specialising in fiction, including fantasy, crime & historical novels. On time and efficient!

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Picture Books, Children's, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Fantasy, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Parragon
  • Robert Hale, Ltd.
  • Hodder and Stoughton

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Novelist published by Penguin (US), Orion (UK), translated into 20 languages. Formerly senior non-fiction commissioning editor at Hachette.

Genres: Humor & Comedy, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Romantic Comedy, Romance, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, True Crime, Sports & Outdoors, Thriller & Suspense, and Self-Help & Self-Improvement.

Work experience:

  • Headline (Hachette UK)
  • Orion (UK), Penguin (US)

I have extensive experience in publishing - editing, proofreading, sub-editing and copy-editing - across books, comics and magazines.

Genres: Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction, Entertainment, Non-Fiction, Action & Adventure, Children's, LGBTQ Fiction, Science Fiction, LGBTQ Non-Fiction, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • Titan Publishing

Covering a range of subjects including education, photography, reference, media and the arts

Genres: Education & Reference, Non-Fiction, Entertainment, Photography, and Writing & Publishing.

Work experience:

  • Starting University Book Series
  • London Online News and Events site wandsworthSW18.com
  • University of Westminster College of Design, Creative and Digital Industries
  • Millennium Consumer Magazines/21st Century Publishing
  • 21st Century Publishing/Millennium Consumer Magazines/Future Publishing/Trinity Mirror
  • Cable & Satellite Yearbooks

Over 9 years of professional experience as editor, proofreader, writer and narrative consultant of fiction, non-fiction and graphics novels.

Genres: Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction, Science Fiction, Young Adult, and Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Titan Publishing Group

Katy 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

A senior commissioning editor and content developer with ten years of experience in professional, educational and trade publishing.

Genres: Business & Management, Non-Fiction, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Political Science & Current Affairs, Philosophy, Psychology, Writing & Publishing, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, and Education & Reference.

Work experience:

  • Kogan Page
  • Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
  • Hodder Education
  • Routledge/ Taylor and Francis
  • Open University Press/ McGraw Hill

Editor in fiction, international relations, politics, development, academic writing and working with English as a second language.

Genres: Political Science & Current Affairs, Humanities & Social Sciences, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • British Red Cross
  • Save the Children UK

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

Children's/YA specialist and agent with 15 years' experience commissioning and editing. Ex-Penguin Random House, S&S and Roald Dahl HQ

Genres: Action & Adventure, Fiction, Middle Grade, Children's, Contemporary Fiction, Social & Family Issues, Young Adult, Young Adult Fantasy, LGBTQ Fiction, Romantic Comedy, and Romance.

Work experience:

  • Simon & Schuster UK
  • Random House Children's Books
  • Puffin Books, Penguin Children's
  • Scholastic Clubs & Fairs
  • Egmont UK Ltd
  • Roald Dahl Story Company UK Ltd
  • Self-employed
  • Jo Unwin Literary Agency

Editorial director with 15+ years' experience across most genres. Specialising in horror, mystery, crime, fantasy, historical, contemporary.

Genres: Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Horror, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Contemporary Fiction, Historical Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Romantic Fantasy, and Romance.

Work experience:

  • Wild Hunt Books
  • Self-employed
  • Columbia University

Book editor with 20 years' experience in non-fiction, literary fiction, autobiography, history, travel, current affairs and biography.

Genres: History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Political Science & Current Affairs, Travel, Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies, Literary Fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, and Women's Fiction.

Work experience:

  • I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd
  • Rough Guides
  • Self-employed

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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.