Jennifer McIlreavy

Jennifer McIlreavy – Editor

Encouraging and inquisitive editor with years of experience and award-winning projects. Taking on one project per month via Reedsy.

Overview

Hi, I’m Jenny. I’m a publishing project manager and editor with years of in-house experience working across fine art, film, academic, biographical and autobiographical titles.


My main strength is as first point of contact on your manuscript – I love to really sink my teeth into a sweeping edit, helping authors find their voice with concision and making their writing more compelling and readable.


One of my recent projects, ‘Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema’ is an excellent example of the kind of work I really love to do. As a first-time author, Ray’s daughter Vanessa had a fascinating and deeply personal story to tell about her father’s life and work. I became completely involved in her world as I helped her through the process of publishing her first book, undertaking a major structural edit to let the core of Vanessa’s voice and story shine through. I also tackled the challenge of editing a number of contributing authors including Ray Bradbury’s daughter, Susan (no pressure there!), as well as contributors for whom English was a second language. Bringing a cohesion to all these entries while maintaining their individual styles was quite a task, but one I really embraced. The book has been exceptionally well received, selling out its first run quickly and receiving a slew of 5-star reviews on Amazon; it also won the Rondo Award for Book of the Year, and was nominated for a first-time author award at the Scottish National Book Awards.


I will take time to get to know you and your project, to understand your goal and your voice. Publishing a book is one of the most exciting and vulnerable things you can do, and a good editor can make the experience so much more enjoyable and satisfying for an author – that’s what I aim for.


I love editing and writing, it’s what I want to spend the rest of my life doing. I had to leave my in-house role, where amazing projects came across my desk regularly, because the literal opposite side of the globe was just too long a commute, and I'm now operating as a freelancer from beautiful South East Queensland. I’ve worked with wonderful contacts across many countries and timezones, and I’d love to hear about your book, wherever you may be. I’m excited to take on new and different projects, and expand my editing horizons in this increasingly virtual world.

Services
Non-Fiction
Art Biographies & Memoirs Design History
Fiction
Contemporary Romance
Languages
English (AUS) English (UK) English (US)
Certifications
  • Publishing Training Centre, London: Project Management in Publishing
  • Publishing Training Centre, London: Progress in Editing
  • Publishing Scotland: Introduction to Proofreading
  • Publishing Scotland: Introduction to Copy-editing
  • University of Queensland: Bachelor of Arts, English Literature/Journalism and Communications

Work experience

Self-employed

Aug, 2021 — Present

Offering freelance publishing services including editing, proofreading, project management and writing, from a coffee shop by a beach somewhere in Queensland.

National Galleries of Scotland

Aug, 2017 — Jul, 2021 (almost 4 years)

In this role I primarily worked as a project editor on highly-illustrated exhibition catalogues, particularly fine art and bio/autobiographical material, as well as academic titles, marketing materials, and revised editions. In this high-pressure environment, I juggled simultaneous projects with large budgets on high-profile exhibitions, overseeing teams of freelancers and acting as the initial editor, production manager and image researcher.

National Galleries of Scotland

Nov, 2015 — Aug, 2017 (over 1 year)

In this role, I was able begin my editorial training, working under experienced project editors to learn the ins and outs of how and why a manuscript works or needs changing, and learning about the publishing process as a whole. I gained a great deal of confidence in image research and copyright issues.

Jennifer has 17 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Rina A.

Rina A.

May, 2023

Jennifer is amazing, she was so helpful and accommodating, and made the daunting editing process easy and enjoyable. She gave me valuable advice and support throughout.
Manoj J.

Manoj J.

Mar, 2023

Jennifer went above and beyond what I had expected of her. She exhibited a high level of professionalism and was easy to collaborate with. She guided me through the entire procedure like a mother mallard would a family of ducklings. My work was enhanced beyond what I had anticipated as a result of her recommendations.
Murray W.

Murray W.

Jan, 2023

As an inexperienced writer of a first-time novel of 100,000 words, I had doubts if any editor would take the time and effort to muddle through my mass of words and provide a tight and comprehensive final draft. I was pleasantly surprised that Jennifer was able to complete this daunting task. Every sentence was read through, advising marked-up suggestions consistent with her professional view on...
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Averil S.

Averil S.

Jan, 2023

I would hire Jennifer in the future when necessary. Very professional and prompt. All in all a great job. Well done.
Maria del Rosario M.

Maria del Rosario M.

Nov, 2022

Jennifer was a true professional and great editor to work with. Work was done fast and well done!

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