Ian Gibbs

Ian Gibbs – Editor

I'm a Brooklyn-based editor with 900+ books to my name, including THE NIGHT MANAGER and DUNE.

Overview

I'm a Brooklyn-based copyeditor and proofreader with over 900 books to my name, including numerous New York Times bestsellers for all of the Big Five publishers.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

• All edits follow The Chicago Manual of Style and Merriam-Webster.

• The same high standards trusted by publishers—refined through 900+ books.

• Deep familiarity with fiction and nonfiction across genres, styles, and audiences.

• Clear, timely communication from start to finish—no guesswork or delays.

• Tracked and clean versions of your manuscript, along with the opportunity to ask follow-up questions—I'm always happy to clarify.

TO REQUEST A QUOTE, PLEASE INCLUDE:

✔️ Your budget (or range)

✔️ Your timeline (or flexibility)

✔️ Your first chapter as a sample

Thanks for your interest. I look forward to learning more about your project.

Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs Career Guides
Fiction
Contemporary Fiction Cozy Mysteries Dystopian Epic Fantasy Literary Fiction Psychological Thriller
Languages
English (US)

Work experience

HarperCollins

Apr, 2018 — Nov, 2019 (over 1 year)

Hachette

Nov, 2017 — Present

Macmillan

Dec, 2013 — Present

Rolling Stone

Sep, 2013 — Nov, 2014 (about 1 year)

The New York Times Magazine

Jul, 2013 — Aug, 2013 (about 1 month)

Simon & Schuster

Jul, 2013 — Apr, 2017 (almost 4 years)

Penguin Random House

May, 2012 — Present

Time Out New York

Jul, 2011 — Nov, 2014 (over 3 years)

Portfolio

The Secret Pilgrim: A Novel

le Carré, John

Ballantine Books

Night Manager

le Carre, John

Penguin Classics

Death of the Black Widow

Patterson, James

Little, Brown and Company

The Palm Beach Murders

Patterson, James

Little, Brown and Company

Dune (Penguin Galaxy)

Herbert, Frank

Penguin Classics

The Hanging Girl: A Department Q Novel

Adler-Olsen, Jussi

Penguin Publishing Group

DONT CALL ME PRINCESS

Orenstein, Peggy

HarperPb

The Amber Crown

Bedford, Jacey

DAW

Lies of Descent (The Fallen Gods' War, 1)

Bucher, Troy Carrol

Daw Books

Brothers of the Wind

Williams, Tad

DAW

Hi Five (An IQ Novel, 4)

Ide, Joe

Mulholland Books

Small Ceremonies: A Novel

Edwards, Kyle

Pantheon

The Bestseller Code

Archer, Jodie

SMP Trade

COMPTON COWBOYS

Thompson-Hernandez, Walter

MorrowPb

Same As It Ever Was: A Novel

Lombardo, Claire

Doubleday

Jamaica Road: A Novel

Smith, Lisa

Knopf

Ian has 10 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

CARLOS P.

CARLOS P.

Feb, 2025

Pinned
Ian is a professional and a gentleman. He has pleasant manner, which makes it easy to work with him. From him I learned things I did not know, and perhaps should have known. His corrections and suggestions are clear and easy to understand. The gentleman is obviously experienced in his craft. Too ...
Read more
Richard D.

Richard D.

Nov, 2024

Pinned
Ian responded at every turn, explaining his process and what I should expect. Mine was a polished manuscript before Ian began, but needed professional editing. He completed the work ahead of schedule, and I now have a ready-for-prime-time novel. His input was worth every penny.
Sharon W.

Sharon W.

Oct, 2024

Pinned
Ian is the best! He is so thorough and so knowledgeable. He went above and beyond to help me with my book. His copy editing is amazing! Hire him!
Ian G.
Thank you, Sharon. That is very kind of you. It was great working with you and I hope to work with you again in the future!
Esmond F.

Esmond F.

Jun, 2025

I had the pleasure of working with Ian Gibbs on the proofreading of my manuscript, and I couldn’t be more satisfied with the experience. Ian delivered the work ahead of schedule, which was a huge help in keeping my project on track. He was incredibly responsive throughout the process, promptly an...
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Paul S.

Paul S.

Jun, 2025

Ian Gibbs is very professional, knowledgeable, and talented. He did an exceptional job guiding me through the process, which was absolutely invaluable to me as a debut novelist. I rehired him for additional work. I highly endorse Ian and would recommend him to any novelist.

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Most recent contributions

What does a skilled copy editor bring to a manuscript?

A skilled copyeditor brings so much to a manuscript aside from the nuts and bolts of editing. For starters, they should fix errors pertaining to grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, clarity, timeline, unnecessary word repetitions, and location-specific terminology (for example, a ...
Read more

How do you balance being critical while encouraging authors through your feedback?

I think a good approach is being tactfully candid about a sentence not making sense, recasting for clarity as needed without changing the meaning, and checking with the author in an embedded query if they are okay with your change. I sometimes provide two or three alternative phrasings in that ...
Read more

Is it the editor's job to fact-check when editing nonfiction?

I do fact-check when editing nonfiction, and I also fact-check proper names, places, etc. in fiction. Fact-checking is not necessarily a part of copyediting, but authors and editors should probably touch base before a project commences to decide if fact-checking should be included.
Read more

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