The best manuscript editors for hire near London

Sign up for free to meet top manuscript editors on Reedsy

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

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

Josephine 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Experienced editor within various genres, including Mind Body Spirit, travel, cookbooks, and fiction (YA, women's fiction and thrillers).

Genres: Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Psychology, Humanities & Social Sciences, Sex & Relationships, Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Women's Fiction, and Action & Adventure.

Work experience:

  • Duncan Baird Publishers and Watkins Publishing
  • SPG Media
  • Rogers, Coleridge & White Literary Agency
  • Freelance

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

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

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

Fiction Editor of contemporary, historical, crime and thriller. Ex Penguin Random House Publishing Director and Hachette Associate Publisher

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, and Romance.

Work experience:

  • Transworld, Penguin Random House
  • Headline Publishing Group, Hachette UK
  • Self-employed

📞 Chat with our team

Need a hand finding the perfect professional? Our team is here to help. Get in touch for recommendations.

Editor, writer and published author specializing in Art, Music, Movies, Literature and History. Pop culture, high culture - it's all me!

Genres: Antiques & Collectibles, Non-Fiction, Art, Humanities & Social Sciences, Biographies & Memoirs, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Computers & Internet, Education & Reference, History, and Music.

Work experience:

  • Various
  • Atlas Editions

I am a children's book editor with over four years of experience, working on picture books/activity books all the way up to YA fiction.

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Young Adult, Picture Books, and Coming of Age.

Work experience:

  • Little Tiger Press
  • Simon & Schuster Children's UK

Literary agent at Colwill & Peddle, editing and representing a dynamic list of authors of fiction and non-fiction.

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Nature, Political Science & Current Affairs, and Humanities & Social Sciences.

Work experience:

  • Colwill & Peddle
  • Jo Unwin Literary Agency
  • First Story

Romance and commercial fiction editor with over six years experience working at Penguin Random House and Hachette.

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Chick Lit, Women's Fiction, Romantic Comedy, Cozy Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Mashups, Contemporary Fiction, and Coming of Age.

Work experience:

  • Hachette
  • Penguin Random House
  • Penguin Random House, Audio
  • 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

Editor and author with expertise in allied health and cultural history. A series editor for Elsevier, I'm also a trained historian.

Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Education & Reference, Medicine, Nursing, & Dentistry, and Math & Science.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Elsevier

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

Award-winning writer and versatile editor working in genre fiction publishing. Especially interested in fantasy, poetry and women's fiction.

Genres: Women's Fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Poetry, Fantasy, Cultural & Ethnic, and Romance.

Work experience:

  • Liverpool University Press
  • Rowman & Littlefield International
  • Sapere Books
  • The Windows Project

Dedicated indie romance editor ❤️ Developmental 🗺️ Line ✏️ Coaching 👏 All genres & spice levels welcome🌶️ Neurospicy champion✨

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Fiction, Dark Romance, Paranormal Romance, Romantic Fantasy, Romantic Suspense, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Young Adult Fantasy, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Children's non-fiction and fiction editor with specific experience in science content, humour, and graphic novels.

Genres: Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction, Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Comics Non-Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Children's.

Work experience:

  • DK

Browse 2,000+ additional profiles

Create your free Reedsy account and begin requesting free quotes.

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.