Jennie Cohen

Jennie Cohen – Editor

Proofreader and copy editor specializing in fiction and literary nonfiction. Fifteen years' experience with premier New York publishers.

Overview

I am a proofreader and copy editor specializing in fiction and literary nonfiction. For more than fifteen years I have worked with some of New York's premier book publishers, including Holt, Anchor/Vintage, Flatiron, and FSG.

I have a red pencil and I'm not afraid to use it.
Typos beware: I have a keen eye.
Narrative beware: I'm meticulously attentive.
Details beware: I'm terribly thorough.

I specialize in literary fiction, historical fiction, women's fiction, humanities and social sciences, memoir and biography, religion and spirituality, and political science and current affairs. Production editors frequently seek me out for translated projects, as I speak a second language and am sensitive to the challenges of translation. (My undergrad degree is in comparative literature.) I also get all the yoga books because I've been teaching yoga almost as long as I've been proofreading professionally.

I will read your work for grammar, syntax, word usage, spelling, and punctuation. I'll ensure stylistic and narrative consistency and will see that the text conforms to industry standards of style. When I return your edited manuscript, all my edits will be visible to you and you will have the final say over the text--your book, your last word.
Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs Health & Wellbeing Humanities & Social Sciences Political Science & Current Affairs Religion & Spirituality
Fiction
Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Women's Fiction
Languages
English (UK) English (US)
Awards
  • Phi Beta Kappa
  • Magna cum laude
Certifications
  • New School "Fundamentals of Copy Editing" course 2006
  • Smith College BA in Comparative Literature 2001

Work experience

Flatiron/Celadon

Jan, 2022 — Present

Read first pass against copyedited manuscript. Perform cold reads.

Anchor/Vintage

Oct, 2015 — Mar, 2016 (5 months)

Read first pass against copyedited manuscript. Perform cold reads.

Melville House

Jun, 2013 — Mar, 2017 (over 3 years)

Read first pass against copyedited manuscript. Perform cold reads. Electronically copyedit manuscripts.

Other Press

Jan, 2010 — Present

Read first pass against copyedited manuscript. Perform cold reads.

Holt

Nov, 2009 — Present

Read first pass against copyedited manuscript. Perform cold reads.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Jun, 2008 — Present

Read first pass against copyedited manuscript. Perform cold reads.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Jul, 2005 — May, 2008 (almost 3 years)

Perform final stage of proofreading before publication.

Jennie has 44 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Deola M.

Deola M.

Nov, 2023

Jennie did an excellent job of copywriting and proofreading my manuscript. Her quality of work exceeded my expectations as she included some developmental editing as well. Jennie more than met my expectations.
Rob W.

Rob W.

Nov, 2023

Aside from her proofreading skills, from the mundane to the arcane and everything in between, a word of advice: Don't send your book without her. Most likely, she knows more about it than you do. She'll refer you to early, even incidental sentences in your MS that don't jibe with later references. She will, and you'll wonder how she does it—time and again. Jennie is the best.
Carlos S.

Carlos S.

Oct, 2023

This is the first time I have the pleasure to work with Jennie and I strongly recommend her. Jennie is extremely good at detecting mistakes, incongruences and proposing spot on alternatives. Jennie is highly professional as well, she's responsive, respects deadlines and delivers high quality results.
Tamar G.

Tamar G.

Sep, 2023

Jennie was awesome! She was friendly and professional from the beginning to end of my project. Her attentiveness and articulate, prompt communication, gave me confidence that my memoir was in good hands. She proved to be incredibly detail-oriented and thorough. I certainly hope to work with her on future projects. Thank you Jennie!
Francisco G.

Francisco G.

Sep, 2023

Jennie is a fabulous editor. She is very responsive and always on time. She undertook the task of correcting a manuscript translated from Spanish to English and did a fantastic job catching mistakes, narrator, and timeline issues. I would recommend Jennie 100% and am sure will use her services in the future.

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