Julie A. Hersh

Julie A. Hersh – Editor

Line and copy editor focusing on far-away places in literary fiction, sci-fi, poli-sci, and tech. Experience at HarperCollins and more.

Overview

I'm an editor with full-time experience at HarperCollins, a major international affairs think tank, and a cyber intelligence tech company - in addition to freelance experience across the Big 4, literary magazines, and academia.


I love to be taken all over the world in my editing - as well as to outer space, cyberspace, and any worlds of your making! Specifically, that means I love to read (and edit) speculative fiction/magical realism, literary fiction with bite, and detective novels. I also have more than five years of experience working on international affairs and tech content, and a master's in Russian studies. Please send me your forays into different countries, deep inside computers, and everywhere in between!


My motto as a nonfiction editor is "making things make sense" - I want your writing to be clear and readable, even if that means breaking some grammatical rules. (But I do have an exhaustive knowledge of grammar, if that's your thing, and I can quote the numbers of my favorite sections of the Chicago Manual of Style.)


I'm also passionate about conscious language: I stay up-to-date on changing linguistic norms, follow alternate style guides, and edit with a consistent focus on sensitivity and respect. In my eyes, "sense and sensibility" are the most important parts of my work.


Practically speaking, if you work with me, I'll spend time going over what you're looking for and providing a sample edit of a page or so - so we start out, well, on the same page about what you're looking for. I'll return a fully edited manuscript with markup (Google Docs, Pages, or Word), a detailed style sheet, and an editorial note summarizing the kinds of edits I made.

Services
Fiction
Chick Lit Literary Fiction Mystery & Crime Science Fiction
Non-Fiction
Computers & Internet Political Science & Current Affairs Sociology
Languages
English (US)

Work experience

Self-employed

Jan, 2013 — Present

Over my more than ten years of freelance editing experience, I've worked with most of the Big 4 publishers - as well as medical writers, PhD students, literary magazines, museums, a human rights newsletter, and a few NGOs. Most recently, I'm working at a civic tech B Corp that provides plain language services to government agency.

Flashpoint Intelligence

Dec, 2019 — Jan, 2024 (about 4 years)

Edited thousands of pages of reports covering cybersecurity (including vulnerabilities, malware, and Deep and Dark Web activity) and geopolitics (including roundups of current events and deep dives into topics concerning Iran, Israel, Russia, and Ukraine)

Council on Foreign Relations

Sep, 2017 — Dec, 2019 (over 2 years)

I gave careful, respectful, and thorough edits to foreign policy reports ranging from 2 to 50 pages. I also coordinated the production and printing processes, where relevant.

HarperCollins Publishers

Sep, 2010 — Aug, 2014 (almost 4 years)

I production edited fiction and nonfiction paperback originals and offsets, as well as high design hardcover titles.

Professionals similar to Julie A.

Get a range of offers by requesting quotes from multiple professionals.

Katie McKay

Katie M.

Former literary agent with 6+ years experience developing and editing best-selling memoir and non-fiction titles

London, UK

100% reply rate

View profile
Anna Paterson

Anna P.

Professional editor with more than eleven years' experience. I particularly enjoy working on crime and mystery, travel and YA.

Castellaneta, Province of Taranto, Italy

100% reply rate

View profile
George White

George W.

Successful collaboration-oriented book editor in the memoir, history, education, business, social justice, and personal development genres.

Los Angeles, CA, USA

100% reply rate

View profile