The best horror book developmental editing services

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Ross 5 star rating

Baltimore, MD, United States

Helping writers make BAD things happen to imaginary people for 20+ years. Thriller, crime, horror, historical, mystery, sci-fi & fantasy.

Genres: Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Legal Thriller, and Horror.

Work experience:

  • University of Maryland, College Park
  • Towson Univeristy
  • Gotham Writing Workshop, New York City
  • Self-employed
  • University of Maryland College Park

Angela 5 star rating

Los Angeles, United States

Editor of more than 1,000 books. I specialize in sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, horror, mystery, thriller, YA, and dystopian fiction.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, LGBTQ Fiction, Middle Grade, Children's, Mystery & Crime, Fantasy, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Alyson Books
  • Self-employed
  • New York Book Editors

Susan 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

Trad and indie fiction editor of SF/F, horror, and romance. Lover of all things nerdy, steamy, and everything in between.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Epic Fantasy, Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense, Space Opera, Science Fiction, Horror, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Gabriela 5 star rating

New York, NY, USA

Author/editor for middle grade, young adult novels, and graphic novels. I specialize in thrillers, horror, and fantasy.

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

Work experience:

  • Penguin Random House
  • Self-Employed

Lyndsey 5 star rating

Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, USA

Professional editor of horror/fantasy with over five years' experience helping authors and traditional publishers elevate their novels.

Genres: Cozy Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Historical Romance, Romance, and Urban Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Eerie River Publishing (Indie Publishing House)
  • Turner Publishing (Established Traditional Publishing House)

Sam 5 star rating

New York, NY, USA

I am a New York City-based literary agent with a leading agency, specializing in children's and adult fiction across genres.

Genres: Picture Books, Children's, Fiction, Middle Grade Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Romantic Fantasy, Romance, Horror, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Futurescapes
  • Jill Grinberg LIterary Management
  • Penguin Young Readers

Emily 5 star rating

New York, NY, USA

I'm a kids book editor at Chronicle Books with more than six years of experience who specializes in middle-grade and YA fiction.

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Coming of Age, Young Adult, LGBTQ Fiction, Horror, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • The Manuscript Academy
  • Abrams Books
  • Magic Cat Publishing
  • NBC Universal
  • Chronicle Books

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Lindsay 5 star rating

New York, NY, USA

Freelance editor specializing in YA, SFF, and query packages. Former literary agent with 20 years of experience in NYC publishing.

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

Work experience:

  • Sanford J. Greenburger Associates

With 15 years of experience as an editor and agent, I can help you polish and prepare your work to catch the eye of industry professionals!

Genres: Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Humanities & Social Sciences, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, LGBTQ Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction, and Mystery & Crime.

Work experience:

  • Crooked Lane Books
  • Keen Editorial and Literary Services
  • Skyhorse Publishing
  • HarperCollins Publishers
  • Copps Literary Services
  • Manuscript Academy

Hugo-nominated and 12 time #1 bestselling author and editor of 21 anthologies, and over 200 novels—let’s make a great story together!

Genres: Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Technothriller, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Writing & Publishing, Non-Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, and Women's Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • 25 and Y
  • Wordfire Press
  • Top Shelf Editing

Matt 5 star rating

Evanston, IL, USA

NYC-trained editor (Doubleday) specializing in manuscript assessments and developmental editing for crime/mystery, and daring genre fiction.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Action & Adventure, Fiction, True Crime, Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Horror, and Mystery & Crime.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Doubleday & Co.
  • The Carol Mann Agency

Joshua 5 star rating

Strong, ME, USA

Editor/Writer WIP: 5-book series on the most-common issues I see writers struggling with as a full-time editor with over a decade of XP.

Genres: Action & Adventure, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Short Story, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, and Urban Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Leticia 5 star rating

The Woodlands, TX, USA

I am an Editor-at-Large for Kensington Publishing Corp. and founder of a literary agency that champions culturally diverse voices.

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, True Crime, and Women's Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Kensington Publishing Corp.
  • Dafina/Kensington Publishing Corp.
  • Self-employed
  • Ascendant Entertainment

Sara 5 star rating

Nashua, NH, USA

Flexible, fierce, efficient editor with decades of experience in editing everything from horror to science fiction to literary fiction.

Genres: Short Story, Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Contemporary Fiction, Time Travel, Science Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Military Science Fiction, and Literary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Ascend Learning
  • Jones & Bartlett Learning
  • Self-employed

Michael 5 star rating

Los Angeles, CA, USA

New York Times Bestselling fiction editor with fifteen years of publishing industry experience, specializing in sci-fi, fantasy, and horror.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Action & Adventure, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Technothriller, Historical Fiction, and Literary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Skybound Entertainment
  • Penguin Random House
  • Self-employed

Caroline 5 star rating

Cleveland, OH, USA

Developmental editor specializing in romance, thrillers, and mysteries. My clients have been published by Kensington, Skyhorse, and more.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Humor & Comedy, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Historical Romance, Romance, Paranormal Romance, Contemporary Romance, and Romantic Comedy.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Cleveland State University

Rebecca 5 star rating

New York, NY, USA

Former Penguin editor of Fantasy, SF, and Horror who worked with Guy Gavriel Kay, Christina Henry, Ilona Andrews, Pirateaba, and others.

Genres: LGBTQ Fiction, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Gaming & LitRPG, Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Space Opera, Science Fiction, and Time Travel.

Work experience:

  • Ace/Roc/Berkley at Penguin Random House
  • Science Fiction Book Club
  • Peter V. Brett
  • Self-employed

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Hire the best horror developmental editors

Do you know what’ll send a shiver down your spine more than any horror book? Avoidable mistakes tainting readers’ views of your work and distracting from the story you want to tell. If you felt the hairs on the back of your neck rise at the thought, don’t worry. There’s a way to save yourself: hire a horror book developmental editor.

They’ll analyze your horror book to identify (and fix) issues with your pacing, structure, and character building. While changing large aspects of something you’ve spent hours working on might haunt you at first at first, these large-scale rewrites are a literary life saver.

You’ll want to hire a developmental editor with specialism in horror books, who won’t be spooked by genre nuances — and we’ve got your back. The Reedsy Marketplace is home to the top editors in the industry, who’ve worked with bestselling horror authors like Stephen King, so you can always trust their expertise. What are you afraid of? Join us and connect with them today.

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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.

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Reedsy | Developmental editing — find the gem | 2024-09

Find the gem in your early draft

The best developmental editors in the industry are on Reedsy. Come meet them.