Jenny Rarden

Jenny Rarden – Editor

Editor/proofreader specializing in romance in multiple sub-genres, for everything from short novellas to 100K+ novels.

Overview

I have been a professional fiction book editor for over 10 years, but I've been editing since 2008 when I began reading and writing fanfiction. I became the "beta" for friends, which then grew to over 25 fanfiction authors. In 2012, I decided that I enjoyed the work so much, I would put myself out there, and I applied to a small online publishing company. I was accepted immediately and thus began my professional editing career. In 2018, A friend I met through fanfiction who had already become a professional editor recommended me when someone came to her looking for an editor and she was fully booked. Since then, I've worked with six publishing companies and over 30 independent authors. I love it, because both companies and individual authors bring different things to the table, different kinds of books, so my job is never dull!


I am skilled at both proofreading and line/copy editing. I work primarily in Microsoft Word, although I do have experience in Google Docs and Adobe Acrobat. Unless an author has specific requests, I use Track Changes and utilize comments throughout: things I like, things that don't work with the reasons why I don't think they work, suggestions on different ways to word something specific, reasons for a specific edit, and so on. If a manuscript needs very involved edits, I will edit a chapter and then go back and listen to Word read it to me to make sure I didn't miss something. I am very familiar and use Chicago Manual of Style routinely, as well as Merriam-Webster.

Services
Fiction
Contemporary Romance Cozy Mysteries Paranormal Romance Romantic Comedy Romantic Suspense Women's Fiction
Languages
English (US)

Work experience

Page & Vine

Oct, 2023 — Present

My main responsibilities include checking for and fixing grammatical errors. In addition, I am expected to identify leftover issues from the content-editing stage.

Self-employed

Jan, 2018 — Present

My main responsibilities include checking for and fixing grammatical errors. In addition, I am expected to identify leftover issues from the content-editing stage. I am also quite adept at adjusting to an author's specific style requests.

Gemma Halliday Publishing

Jul, 2017 — Present

My main responsibilities include checking for and fixing grammatical errors. In addition, I am expected to identify leftover issues from the content-editing stage.

Waterhouse Press

Dec, 2016 — Present

My main responsibilities include checking for and fixing grammatical errors. In addition, I am expected to identify leftover issues from the content-editing stage.

Loose Id

Jun, 2014 — Dec, 2017 (over 3 years)

My main responsibilities included checking for and fixing grammatical errors. In addition, I was expected to identify leftover issues from the content-editing stage. I was also responsible for creating individual style sheets for the manuscripts I was editing, including but not limited to the following details: character names and descriptions, location names and descriptions, and author preferences for specific word usage.

Musa Publishing

Mar, 2012 — May, 2014 (about 2 years)

My main responsibilities include checking for and fixing grammatical errors. In addition, I am expected to identify leftover issues from the content-editing stage.

Jenny has 20 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

S.D. A.

S.D. A.

Jan, 2025

Jenny was great. She communicated well and I felt she helped me work out a few of the issues I was still having with my first novel. I look forward to working with her again down the road.
Jenny R.
S.D. was fun to work with. I'd highly recommend working with them if you get the chance! :)
Allison Y.

Allison Y.

Jan, 2025

Jenny was great! Her feedback was tremendously helpful, and her suggestions and critiques really added to my story. I highly recommend her for editing and proofreading.
Jenny R.
I loved working with Allison. She was very receptive to critiques and was easy to talk to!
Liliana W.

Liliana W.

Jan, 2025

Jenny was wonderful to work with! She had clear communication, and her editing skills are top notch. I would highly recommend her!
Jenny R.
I very much enjoyed working with Liliana. She took the critique well and was easy to talk with. Would definitely work with her again!
MéLisa R.

MéLisa R.

Dec, 2024

Jenny is the proofreader every romcom author dreams about—like hitting the literary jackpot in Vegas! She didn’t just catch typos; she understood us. Our humor, our open-door spice, and even the chaotic husband-wife dynamic in our writing—she got it all. Jenny didn't just polish our work; she elevated it, all while keeping our unique voice intact (something we've found is hard to find). Beyond...
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Jenny R.
I loved not only editing MéLisa's book but also working with them. They were incredibly responsive and were a joy to work with. I'd definitely work with them again!
Nemanja J.

Nemanja J.

Nov, 2024

It was great collaborating with Jenny! She had a detailed eye for smallest imperfections, and great sense for ambiguity in meanings I was trying to relay. The turnaround was fast as well! I would definitely look to work with Jenny again.
Jenny R.
Nemanja was fun to work with. The book was interesting and Nemanja was very receptive to my thoughts as an editor. Would definitely work with Nemanja again!

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