The best horror book copy editing services

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Allyson 5 star rating

Los Angeles, CA, United States

Professional copy editor and proofreader with 15+ years of experience working on fiction, narrative nonfiction, and prescriptive nonfiction.

Genres: History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Philosophy, Parenting & Families, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Fiction, Paranormal Romance, and Romance.

Work experience:

  • The Overlook Press
  • Grand Central Publishing
  • DC Comics

David 5 star rating

Long Beach, CA, United States

Give me your dangling participles, your absent oxford commas, your run-on sentences yearning to be written correctly.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Action & Adventure, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Classics, Plays & Screenplays, Mystery & Crime, Fantasy, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Penguin Group, USA; Random House, LLC
  • Pegasus Books and Publishing House
  • Words That Stay, LLC

Renee 5 star rating

Buxton, ME, United States

Passionate editor of award-winning indie novels, with a specialty in adult dark fiction, spec. fic., horror, and psychological thrillers.

Genres: Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Middle Grade, Children's, Coming of Age, Poetry, Post-Apocalyptic, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Crystal Lake Publishing
  • Sebago Education Alliance
  • Allhorror.net
  • HorrorMovieReviews.com
  • Self-employed

Amanda 5 star rating

Charlottesville, VA, USA

Independent press cofounder, experienced editor, insightful reader. Edits literary and genre fiction at all stages of development.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Poetry, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Psychological Thriller, LGBTQ Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Coming of Age, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Independent Press
  • C&R Press
  • Virginia Tech
  • Freelance

Karen J. 5 star rating

Flagstaff, AZ, USA

Professor of English with over 15 years experience mentoring writers, one book, three edited collections, and 40+ other publications.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Young Adult, Education & Reference, Non-Fiction, Entertainment, and Writing & Publishing.

Work experience:

  • Northern Arizona University

Isabella 5 star rating

New York, NY, USA

Experienced freelance editor specializing in SFF, horror, and speculative fiction for Adults and YA. Formerly with S&S.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Science Fiction, Romantic Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult Fantasy, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • Simon & Schuster, Touchstone/Atria
  • Self-employed

Josiah 5 star rating

Louisville, KY, USA

Epic Fantasy/LitRPG-focused editor with 9 years' experience and 500 novels under my belt. Do you want to grow? Let's talk.

Genres: Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Gaming & LitRPG, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, and Urban Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

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Olivia 5 star rating

New York, NY, USA

Developmental editor offering thoughtful, creative collaboration. Specializes in thrillers, suspense, and all things speculative.

Genres: Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Fiction, Women's Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Romance, LGBTQ Fiction, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, and Romantic Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Publishing Company
  • C&R Press
  • Otis Books
  • Freelance

Oren 5 star rating

New York, NY, USA

I'm an editor for a wide range of books across many genres, including NYT and WSJ bestsellers, sci-fi/fantasy/horror novels, and more.

Genres: Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Fiction, LGBTQ Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance, Mystery & Crime, Young Adult, and Action & Adventure.

Work experience:

  • Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
  • Self-employed

Jennifer 5 star rating

Cape Coral, FL, USA

I'm an editor and writing coach specializing in Suspense/Thrillers, Crime, Horror, Paranormals, SFF, Women's Fiction, Romance, and Memoir.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Mashups, Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, and Horror.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Duquesne University Writing Center
  • Duquesne University
  • Clemson University

Beth 5 star rating

Maineville, United States

Seasoned editor and proofreader with more than 20 years of experience in multiple genres. I have worked with several best-selling authors!

Genres: Health & Wellbeing, Non-Fiction, Action & Adventure, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, LGBTQ Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Science Fiction, and Dystopian.

Work experience:

  • Self-Employed

Jeff 5 star rating

Clifton Park, NY, USA

Author of EAT BRAINS LOVE and UNDEAD WITH BENEFITS (Harper Teen). Freelance editor and consultant.

Genres: Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Gaming & LitRPG, Contemporary Fiction, Middle Grade, Children's, Action & Adventure, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Copy editor specializing in romance, science fiction, and fantasy. Copy edited for Harlequin, HarperCollins, Carina Press, and Avon.

Genres: Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Space Opera, Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Holiday, and Romantic Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Michael 5 star rating

St. Louis, MO, United States

Editor of award-winning literature and NYT bestsellers, with 13 years' experience at Penguin Random House, Macmillan, and Hachette.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Action & Adventure, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Psychology, Humanities & Social Sciences, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • The Laryngoscope Journal
  • Self-employed
  • Graphic World, Inc
  • Penguin Random House

David 5 star rating

Los Angeles, CA, USA

Developmental & Copy Editor for Literary, Horror, SF, and Cross-Genre Fiction | 100+ 5★ Reviews

Genres: Short Story, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Young Adult, Cozy Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Espionage, Thriller & Suspense, Horror, Literary Fiction, Space Opera, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Freelance
  • Hearst Business Media
  • Sleeping Giant

Lisa 5 star rating

Wyandotte, MI, USA

Fiction editor and proofreader with experience in mystery, science fiction, fantasy, horror, paranormal, YA, thriller, and more.

Genres: Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, and Post-Apocalyptic.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Kensington Publishing
  • Pikko's House Editing Services
  • Booktrope Publishing
  • Pegasus Books (NY)
  • Enchanted Ink Publishing
  • Podium Entertainment
  • Severn River Publishing

Stephanie 5 star rating

New York, NY, USA

Dedicated full-time and freelance editor, copy editor and proofreader with professional, creative publishing experience in numerous genres.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Comics & Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Short Story, Middle Grade, Children's, Horror, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • The MIT Press
  • Bedford/St. Martin's | Macmillan
  • Publisher's Weekly
  • Seven Seas Entertainment, LLC
  • Page Street Publishing Co.
  • Bedford/St. Martins | Macmillan
  • Bedford St. Martin's | Macmillan
  • Ploughshares
  • Clarion, Boston University
  • University Press of Florida
  • First Second
  • Scholastic
  • Applewood Books
  • Springer Nature
  • Penguin Random House
  • Inkyard Press/HarperCollins

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Hire the best horror copy editors

Imagine reading a tense horror story, knowing that a terrifying revelation is on the way, and then on the way encountering a ridiculous typo, or realizing the protagonist’s name is all of a sudden completely different. Takes you out of the experience, doesn’t it?

For your readers not to be distracted by anything and lean wholeheartedly into your spine-chilling story, you’ll need to hire a horror copy editor. Far from simply spotting simple spelling mistakes, copy editors can work with you to even out the tone of your writing, maximize suspense, and reword any sentences that subtract from the horror experience because of poor syntax or vagueness.

The horror copy editors for hire here on Reedsy have all been carefully vetted, so you can trust that they’ve got the necessary skills and experience to help your manuscript truly bare its teeth.

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Apply filters

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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.