The best manuscript editors for hire near London

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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

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

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

Andrew 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Friendly, precise editor and writing coach. Lots of experience with various genres. I'm an author, too. So I know what it's like.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, and Action & Adventure.

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

Children's author and experienced editor specialising in literary fiction, children's fiction, non-fiction. Former English Literature prof

Genres: Education & Reference, Non-Fiction, Philosophy, Humanities & Social Sciences, History, Literary Fiction, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, and Children's.

Work experience:

  • Concordia University
  • University College Dublin
  • University of Limerick
  • Queen's University Belfast
  • Irish in Britain

Editor with 10+ years experience. 1m+ copies sold of books I've edited. Helping you find the best words in the best order.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Literary Fiction, and Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Trapeze Books
  • Penguin Random House Children's Books
  • Pan Macmillan

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Experienced development editor and coach of 15+ years (Simon & Schuster, Hachette), helping authors find their voice in all fiction genres

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, LGBTQ Fiction, Romantic Comedy, Romance, Romantic Fantasy, Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Chick Lit, and Women's Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Quercus, Hachette
  • Simon & Schuster

Copy editor, journalist and writer with over 12 years of editing experience. Former magazine Editor, MA Creative Writing graduate, Birkbeck

Genres: Music, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Travel, Picture Books, Children's, and Fiction.

Work experience:

  • MIR Online
  • Songlines Magazine
  • World Music Network
  • Musika
  • Self-employed

Award-winning developmental editor specialising in middle grade, YA and fantasy. Experience with Bloomsbury, HarperCollins, Bonnier.

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Middle Grade Fantasy, Picture Books, Fantasy, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Romantic Fantasy, Romance, and Paranormal Romance.

Work experience:

  • Bloomsbury Publishing
  • Wonderbly
  • n/a

As an experienced book editor and accredited coach, I will support, encourage and motivate you to achieve your writing and publishing goals.

Genres: Art, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, History, Psychology, Travel, Business & Management, Architecture, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Thriller & Suspense, and Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Team Media
  • Various

Currently editing at Penguin Random House. Editor, copyeditor, proofreader and writer specialising in children's books.

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

Work experience:

  • Walker Books
  • Pan Macmillan
  • Penguin Random House

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

Developmental editor, copy-editor and proofreader with 8 years of publishing experience. I love helping writers to become authors.

Genres: Coming of Age, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • RCW Literary Agency
  • 4th Estate, HarperCollins

Non-fiction publisher with over two decades of experience in UK publishing for both corporate and award-winning independent publishers.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, True Crime, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, and Political Science & Current Affairs.

Work experience:

  • Palazzo Editions
  • Little, Brown Book Group
  • Constable & Robinson Ltd
  • Quintet Publishing Ltd
  • Self-employed
  • Educational Support Services Trust
  • St Mark's College, Sekhukhuneland, South Africa
  • Atlas Exhibitions International

A passionate editor and agent - I love urgent, useful, beautiful non-fiction, and escapist, twisty, fantastical fiction with heart.

Genres: Women's Fiction, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, and Mystery & Crime.

Work experience:

  • WME
  • Abner Stein
  • YMU

I have twenty years of experience in developmental editing, copy-editing, and proofreading: both academic and non-fiction in the humanities.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Education & Reference, Health & Wellbeing, Philosophy, Humanities & Social Sciences, Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies, History, and Sociology.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations
  • ascent magazine

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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.

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Step 2

Browse

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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

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