The best manuscript editors for hire near San Diego

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Kathy 5 star rating

San Diego, United States

Freelance copyeditor and proofreader offering 25 years of experience in scientific and educational publishing

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Art, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Medicine, Nursing, & Dentistry, Math & Science, Nature, Action & Adventure, Classics, Women's Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Fantasy, Education & Reference, Science Fiction, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Academic Press (Elsevier Science/Harcourt)
  • Academic Press
  • Brian F. Smith and Associates (Archaeologist)
  • Converse Consultants West
  • Cajon Valley, Mountain Empire, and Palm Middle Schools
  • Self-employed

Brooke 5 star rating

San Diego, CA, USA

I have 6 years of experience editing at HarperCollins, specializing in Christian nonfiction and memoir, including multiple NYT bestsellers.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Inspirational, Christian Non-Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, and Self-Help & Self-Improvement.

Work experience:

  • HarperCollins
  • Lifeway

Melissa 5 star rating

San Diego, CA, USA

Seasoned cookbook and recipe editor passionate about making sure recipes are clear, accurate, and ready for publication.

Genres: Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Non-Fiction, Nature, Economics, Humanities & Social Sciences, and Travel.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Oxmoor House Books (Cooking Light magazine)
  • Men's Health magazine (Rodale/Hearst)
  • Hood River Eats

Kate 5 star rating

San Diego, CA, USA

Current associate publisher at Silver Dolphin Children's Books. 17+ years of experience. Five-star book coach from concept to publication!

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

Work experience:

  • Silver Dolphin Books, Readerlink
  • Klutz, Scholastic
  • Hameray Publishing
  • Houghton Mifflin

Annie 5 star rating

San Diego, CA, USA

I’m a literary agent w/ over 17 years of experience in the publishing industry. I work on a range of adult and YA fiction and nonfiction.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Business & Management, Non-Fiction, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, and Mystery & Crime.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Margret McBride Literary Agency
  • Zoetrope: All-Story

Martin Roy 5 star rating

San Diego, CA, USA

Professional editor and national award-winning author with a wide range of experience in fiction and nonfiction publishing.

Genres: Thriller & Suspense, Fiction, Action & Adventure, Historical Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Cozy Mysteries, Military Science Fiction, Science Fiction, and Short Story.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Naval Health Research Center
  • San Diego Business Journal
  • San Diego Magazine
  • The Log Newspapers
  • Palm Springs Desert Sun

Rebecca 5 star rating

San Francisco, CA, USA

Fiction editor. Previously HarperCollins, David Higham Books, Amazon Studios. Offering editorial assessments, developmental edits, and more.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Literary Fiction, Humor & Comedy, Cozy Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy, Romance, and Contemporary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Amazon Studios
  • John Cabot University and British School Group
  • David Higham Associates
  • HarperCollins Publishers
  • Self-employed

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Shauna 5 star rating

San Antonio, TX, USA

Driven to refine, my vision and experience will polish your words to shine.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Christian Non-Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, and Education & Reference.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Zondervan Publishing House

Nicole 5 star rating

San Diego, CA, USA

Developmental Editor & Coach | 10+ years of experience editing romance at HarperCollins, including a #1 NYT bestseller & Lambda Award winner

Genres: LGBTQ Fiction, Fiction, New Adult, Young Adult, Romantic Comedy, Romance, Romantic Suspense, Historical Romance, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit, and Women's Fiction.

Work experience:

  • The D. E. Shaw Group
  • HarperCollins/Avon Books
  • Self-employed

Michael 5 star rating

San Francisco, CA, USA

Literary agent with 15 years of industry experience offering developmental editing, editorial assessment, and query workshopping.

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

Work experience:

  • Veritas Literary
  • Self-employed

Sabine 5 star rating

San Diego, CA, USA

After more than 20 years as a newspaper writer/editor, I can make your book on food, drink, travel, and interior design come to life.

Genres: Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Non-Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, and Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Cox Enterprises
  • McClatchy
  • Self-employed

Susan 5 star rating

San Francisco, CA, USA

Writer/Editor, wrote 35+ published nonfiction books for publishers, edited 40+ nonfiction & fiction books for publishers & clients.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Psychology, Humanities & Social Sciences, Health & Wellbeing, and Women's Fiction.

Work experience:

  • GRAND Magazine
  • California Woman Magazine
  • Self-employed

Jennifer 5 star rating

San Diego, CA, USA

I have 10 years of experience working in publishing in development, editorial, royalties, and literary agenting.

Genres: Literary Fiction and Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency

Mary 5 star rating

San Luis Obispo, CA, USA

Writing + story coach to hundreds of authors, I edit fiction, inspy non-fiction, + queries. Bestseller with 17+ years experience.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Christian Fiction, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Non-Fiction, Business & Management, Thriller & Suspense, Biographies & Memoirs, and Inspirational.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Meticulous copy and developmental editor of nonfiction, equipped with diverse industry experience and a masters in Publishing.

Genres: History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Political Science & Current Affairs, and Sociology.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Chandler 5 star rating

San Francisco, CA, USA

Literary Agent at an award winning agency, specializing in idea and voice-driven narratives. Pitch, query, proposal and manuscripts edits.

Genres: Sports & Outdoors, Non-Fiction, Technology, Political Science & Current Affairs, Humanities & Social Sciences, Biographies & Memoirs, Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, and Self-Help & Self-Improvement.

Work experience:

  • Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency
  • Ellevest
  • Media Assembly
  • Various

Lourdes 5 star rating

San Diego, CA, USA

Creative, collaborative editor, with more than 35 years of editing experience in publishing and journalism.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, African American Fiction, Anthologies, Cultural & Ethnic, Mystery & Crime, Science Fiction, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • University of California, San Diego
  • Newsday
  • Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
  • The Miami Herald
  • Chicago Tribune

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Hire the best developmental editors in San Diego, California

You may be asking, what’s a developmental editor and why should I hire one? While most editors are known for correcting grammar and punctuation, these editors will work with you to fix up everything from the structure of your story to plot holes and characterization — all while keeping you positive and motivated. They may suggest re-writes or recommend which “darlings” to kill off, as William Faulkner once so famously put it.

Finding the right developmental editor is hard because it depends on trust. It’s not a teacher-student relationship, but more like a co-working situation in which you improvise and feed off each other’s chemistry and excitement for the work. At Reedsy, you can submit offers to up to 5 developmental editors at once and interview them all to be sure you’ve found the right fit. To get started, sign up for a free account today.

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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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