The best proofreaders for hire near Chicago

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Will 5 star rating

Chicago, United States

Trusted copy editor and proofreader for romance, mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, suspense, and all the sub-genres therein.

Genres: Cozy Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romantic Comedy, Romance, Espionage, Thriller & Suspense, Chick Lit, Women's Fiction, Space Opera, Science Fiction, Romantic Suspense, Urban Fantasy, and Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Berkley Publishing (Penguin Random House)
  • Harlequin Romance (HarperCollins)
  • Orbit Books / Redhook (Hachette)

Editor, published writer (10+ years), multilingual creative, experienced in publishing, line/developmental editing, creative coaching.

Genres: Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Non-Fiction, DIY & Crafts, Art, and Humanities & Social Sciences.

Work experience:

  • New Harbinger Publications
  • Page Street Publishing
  • The Nasiona
  • Reckoning Press
  • Strange Horizons
  • FLAPPERHOUSE
  • Self-employed

Lillian 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

Experienced full-service editor specializing in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and romance. Let's take your book to the next level!

Genres: Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Fiction, LGBTQ Fiction, Romance, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Post-Apocalyptic, and Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Internet Brands

10+ years in children’s publishing. Former executive editor at Albert Whitman & Co.

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Picture Books, Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Social & Family Issues, Young Adult, and Coming of Age.

Work experience:

  • Albert Whitman & Company
  • Red Line Editorial
  • Self-employed

Allison 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

Nonfiction copy editor and proofreader with 20+ years in the publishing biz. Music, memoir, and mind/body/spirit titles are my jam!

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Entertainment, New Age, and Religion & Spirituality.

Work experience:

  • Synergetic Press
  • Chicago Review Press & Triumph Books
  • Chicago Review Press
  • No Starch Press
  • Self-employed

Perrin 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, United States

Cookbooks are my specialty—books I have edited have won or been finalists for James Beard, IACP, and Gourmand awards.

Genres: Business & Management, Non-Fiction, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Health & Wellbeing, Home & Garden, Economics, and Humanities & Social Sciences.

Work experience:

  • Agate Publishing
  • Self-employed

Maleah 5 star rating

Nashville, United States

Former Thomas Nelson editor with 20 years experience in Christian non-fiction, study products, and Bibles

Genres: Inspirational, Non-Fiction, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian Non-Fiction, and Religion & Spirituality.

Work experience:

  • Thomas Nelson (HarperCollins Christian Publishers)
  • Thomas Nelson

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Tom 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

Bring the power of my decades of editing experience to your manuscript. Special expertise in copy editing and proofreading. No AI, please.

Genres: Education & Reference, Non-Fiction, Business & Management, Humanities & Social Sciences, Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Short Story, and Humor & Comedy.

Work experience:

  • Nieman Inc
  • McGraw-Hill Education
  • Self-employed
  • McDougal Littell / Houghton Mifflin
  • John Hope Community Academy / Chicago Public Schools
  • World Book Inc.

Lizzie 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

Nimble, warm, and energetic literary editor with 10 years' experience shepherding projects from manuscript to award-winning finished book.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, LGBTQ Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Parenting & Families, Non-Fiction, and LGBTQ Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Coffee House Press
  • Transit Books
  • Self-employed

Proofreader for light novels, manga, graphic novels, and children's fiction with experience at Macmillan Children's and Yen Press.

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

Work experience:

  • Yen Press
  • Macmillan Children's Publishing Group

Sasha 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

Copy editor and proofreader focused on genre fiction (sci-fi/fantasy, romance/erotica, mysteries/thrillers).

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

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Penguin Random House
  • Oxford University Press
  • Bloomsbury USA
  • Barnes & Noble Booksellers
  • University of Minnesota Press
  • Milkweed Editions
  • American Medical Association

Madison 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

Honest, constructive, and compassionate feedback from a full-time editor and published author. I edit kid lit, from picture books to YA.

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Picture Books, Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, DIY & Crafts, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • Albert Whitman & Company
  • Albert Whitman & Compaby
  • C&T Publishing

Aja 5 star rating

Austin, United States

Making sure your prose sings, your facts and story are straight, and your unique voice shines through.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Humor & Comedy, Art, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction, Music, Entertainment, Mystery & Crime, Fantasy, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Simon & Schuster
  • on my porch, at a coffee shop, in far-flung places . . .

Editor with 21+ years of experience in biography, memoir, history, and fiction for adults and children at various publishing companies.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, True Crime, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Children’s Non-Fiction, Action & Adventure, Historical Mysteries, and Mystery & Crime.

Work experience:

  • Heinemann-Raintree
  • Quarasan
  • McGraw-Hill
  • Publications International, Ltd.
  • Capstone Publishers
  • Self-employed

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

Gene 5 star rating

Houston, United States

Creative, experienced editor of novels, children's books, and poetry. Let's prepare your manuscript for publication together.

Genres: Action & Adventure, Fiction, LGBTQ Fiction, Middle Grade, Children's, Comics & Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Poetry, and Literary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Uptown Stories
  • Simon & Schuster
  • Scholastic
  • HarperEntertainment
  • Daniel Weiss Associates/17th Street Productions
  • Denver Quarterly
  • San Jacinto College South

Jim 5 star rating

Tigard, OR, United States

An editor with over twenty years of publishing experience at major houses, who has a sweet spot for genre fiction and comic books.

Genres: Action & Adventure, Fiction, Comics Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Plays & Screenplays, Comics & Graphic Novels, Thriller & Suspense, Science Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Cozy Mysteries, and Mystery & Crime.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Kirkus Media, LLC
  • Hachette Book Group
  • Time Warner Book Group/Hachette Book Group
  • DC Comics

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Hire the best proofreaders in Chicago

As an author, you’ve taken a great deal of time and care to craft your book, but you may not realize how many mistakes can still crop up. Even as you re-read it, it's easy for your mind to skip over familiar sentences and miss out on small but crucial mistakes.

Failing to notice and fix these can make you look unprofessional as an author, plus it’s an expensive headache to correct errors post-publication. That’s why you need a proofreader to help you on your self-publishing journey. A professional proofreader will find even the most microscopic errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation in your book. More importantly, they can give you peace of mind to know that your work has been thoroughly checked by a second pair of eyes, and will be spotless when it’s finally published.

Our Chicago proofreaders are some of the most experienced professionals in the industry — they’ve been screened individually and only the top 3% are accepted onto Reedsy. Don’t waste your time with inexperienced freelancers; join Reedsy today to find the best proofreaders in Chicago.

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