Jessy Sykes

Jessy Sykes – Editor

Experienced copy editor specializing in Mysteries, Suspense, and True Crime. 25 years of in-house and freelance experience.

Overview

My expertise includes Cozy Mysteries, Thriller/Suspense, and True Crime. I’ve worked on projects for best-selling authors, such as Joanne Fluke, M. William Phelps, Janet Daily, Laura Levine, Fern Michaels, Kiki Swinson, and Lisa Jackson, as a freelancer for Kensington.


I’ve had a varied publishing career. At McGraw-Hill, I applied my skills to two award-winning reading programs: Open Court Reading and Reading Mastery. At Pearson, I spearheaded the production for Criminology, Policing, Corrections, and Police Management, working closely with authors Frank Schmalleger, Clemens Bartollas, Ken Peak, Cliff Roberson, Rick Seiter, and Paul Whisenand. At The American Chemical Society, I manage the day-to-day production of academic science journals.


My professional copyediting services include fixing spelling, grammar, punctuation, word usage, dialogue, and inconsistencies in point of view, tense, plot details, and character descriptions, as well as any follow-up, such as questions and clarifications. I edit in Microsoft Word using Track Changes.

Services
Fiction
Cozy Mysteries Historical Mysteries Thriller & Suspense
Non-Fiction
True Crime
Languages
English (UK) English (US)

Work experience

Self-employed

Jan, 2005 — Present
Copy edit and proofread mysteries, romances, westerns, contemporary fiction, biographies, and true crime.

The American Chemical Society

Apr, 2015 — Present
Manage day-to-day production duties for journal publications, publish 50+ peer-reviewed research papers per week, produce 25,000+ journal pages per year, expert editing skills in XML/HTML editing software (Arbortext)

Pearson Education/Prentice Hall

Jun, 2007 — Apr, 2015 (almost 8 years)
Managed project lifecycle for print and digital learning products for Criminal Justice, Policing, Paralegal, and Automotive, including copy editing, proofreading, budgets, schedules, vendor management, and author management.

McGraw-Hill Companies

Jan, 2000 — Jun, 2007 (over 7 years)
Coordinated production of textbooks for K–12 market, copyedited manuscripts and proofread and copy-fitted page proofs, managed vendors,
 created and monitored schedules, supervised team of five production editors

Jessy has 5 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

D K.

D K.

Oct, 2024

Pinned
Having now worked with Jessy on two of my books, I would highly recommend her services. Jessy was meticulous in her copyediting and proofreading reviews, and went the extra mile to provide me with general guidance to improve my writing. 5 stars!
James L.

James L.

Sep, 2024

Pinned
Jessy Sykes is highly professional in her approach to her work. She keeps to the schedule she sets, and is a quick responder if there are questions. She has a keen eye and invests fully in the collaborative project. Her suggestions are pertinent, and based on her vast experience with the market,...
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Jessy S.
Thank you for your feedback. I really appreciate it.
D K.

D K.

Dec, 2023

Pinned
Jessy was an absolute pleasure to work with. She has a sharp eye for detail and was very responsive to all of my questions. Her assistance provided me with the extra lift I needed to get my story in a final draft for publication. I have no hesitation in recommending her highly, and am already pla...
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Jessy S.
Thank you for your review. I really appreciate it. I look forward to our next collaboration.
Gino G.

Gino G.

Sep, 2023

Jessy did an excellent job copyediting my manuscript. She also made good suggestions and provided valuable feedback. I highly recommend her.
Jessy S.
Thank you for your review. It was a pleasure to work on your manuscript.
William D.

William D.

Jul, 2023

As a first-time author, I felt very insecure about my writing skills. To have someone like Jessy there to coach me through the process was comforting to me. Her advice and skill in the editing process were exactly what I needed.
Jessy S.
Thank you so much for your review. I was honored to be a part of your project.

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