The best manuscript editors for hire near London

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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

Claire 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Editor with 20 + years experience working with bestselling and award-winning authors - formerly Associate Publisher at Headline, Hachette UK

Genres: Humor & Comedy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Literary Fiction, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • Headline Publishing Group
  • 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

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

Expert editor with a strong list of prize-recognised titles, most recently Dominion, shortlisted for the 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction.

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

Work experience:

  • Europa Editions UK
  • Little, Brown

Children's books editor/writer with 30+ years experience at top publishers on fiction and non-fiction titles for all ages in many formats.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Macmillan Children's Books (Pan Macmillan)

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.

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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 with 4+ years experience across SFF, YA, Children's and Graphic Novels. I love plot-driven stories with commercial hooks.

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Bright Agency
  • Bright Agency
  • Graham Norton Book Club for Audible

Fiction and non-fiction copyeditor and proofreader, excited about genre fiction, history and YA. I also offer structural/development edits.

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

Hello! I'm a diligent, friendly and reliable children's picture book editor working for a major London publisher.

Genres: Picture Books, Children's, and Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Nosy Crow
  • Rowman and Littlefield
  • Hachette Children's Group

15+ years' experience as an editor and publisher. I am adept at writing, development editing, copyediting and proofreading.

Genres: History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Business & Management, Education & Reference, and Religion & Spirituality.

Work experience:

  • Pearson
  • Rhinegold 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

Experienced editor, previously at Pan Macmillan and HarperCollins. Passionate reader of crime, thrillers, romance and historical fiction

Genres: Thriller & Suspense, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, and Contemporary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Pan Macmillan
  • Constable & Robinson
  • HarperCollins

A former bookseller turned editor and literary agent, I specialise in childrens and commercial fiction. I love polishing raw literary gems!

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Contemporary Fiction, Business & Management, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Jo Unwin Literary Agency
  • Tibor Jones Studio
  • Tibor Jones

I am currently an Assistant Editor at HarperCollins, working on non-fiction publishing, primarily within the lifestyle and gifting genres.

Genres: Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Non-Fiction, and Self-Help & Self-Improvement.

Work experience:

  • HarperCollins
  • Routledge

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
  • Walker Books
  • Scholastic

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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.