Overview

Hi. I'm an independent editor focusing on books for young readers from picture books through young adult literature. Having been a bookseller continuously since age 1999, I have deep knowledge of the children's and YA marketplace and what drives people to pick up a book. (I still can't seem to stop working at bookstores. Help!)
I have experience in-house editing with two medium-sized traditional publishers, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Candlewick Press. I've also worked with one of the premiere children's/YA-specific literary agencies, Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

I created Pickle Ink Editorial around the time of the #weneeddiversebooks movement to help authors of all backgrounds get published. I am highly passionate about guiding authors writing for the picture book through young adult/new adult age groups, especially those with traditionally under-published voices such as people of color or LGBTQIA authors so our culture may be enriched with books that reflect the amazingly diverse world we live in.

My personal reading tastes:
*cutting-edge contemporary YA
*funny and/or silly MG & YA
*super dark, knife-in-the-heart realism
*off-the-wall bizarro sci-fi
*sweet early reader stories
*anything boy-centric
*LGBTQIA books in any form
*casual racial diversity
*talking animals
*will this make me cry? > YES
*books entirely written in texts. Please write this for me.

My editorial style is direct and no-nonsense: I will not dance around what I mean. I have also been described as polite and compassionate. To find out more about me and my rates, please ask. Transparency in pricing is important to me because I know it's important to you . A solid professional edit isn't going to be bargain-basement, but it will make all the difference to your work.

"When I hired Jill, I thought I was getting an editor but what I got was a partner. Someone who not only excelled at her craft but wanted to work with me to make the best possible book. From here on out there is no way I can work with anyone else. Not after witnessing what it is like to work with Jill and bring my book to the next level."
-E.V. Fairfall, author of the Sleeping Tom series

"I’ve found Jill to be an invaluable reader...her work at HMH and as a bookseller has given her a true sense of what makes a book stand out and sparkle as well as what makes for literary – and commercial – legs. I can depend on her to consider all of the important micro to macro elements of a manuscript: from character development and pacing to tension, voice, and beyond."
- Kate O'Sullivan, Executive Editor, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers

"Jill is a smart, thoughtful reader with real insights into plot and character. Efficient, effective, and highly recommended!"
- Ammi-Joan Paquette, Senior Agent, Erin Murphy Literary Agency

Services

Languages

Fiction

Non-Fiction

As an agent assistant, I read and provided manuscript evaluations. During my tenure, I was lucky enough to work with the humorist Jacob Sager Weinstein on a manuscript that sold at auction in a three-book deal to Random House. Book one will publish Summer 2017.

I work on the production and manufacturing side at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, where I proofread reprints and color-correct picture book art. HMH is most well-known for their commercial properties like Curious George to more literary successes like The Giver by Lois Lowry.

Evaluated manuscripts, both agented and unagented, and made recommendations to senior editors. Provided developmental edits for current authors such as Pete Hautman and Wendy Delsol.

The much-anticipated sequel to The Obsidian Blade transports readers to the terrifying and thrilling world of Lah Lia, the enigmatic girl who changed Tucker Feye’s life.More than half a millennium in the future, in the shadow of the looming Cydonian Pyramid, a pampered girl named Lah Lia has been raised for one purpose: to be sacrificed through one of the mysterious diskos that hover over the ... read more

In this sequel to STORK, Katla Leblanc has to employ her grit, spirit, and special gifts to rescue the boy she loves.After the drama of finding out that she's a Stork, a member of an ancient and mystical order of women, and that her boyfriend, Jack, is a descendent of the Winter People able to control the weather, Katla Leblanc is delighted when all signs point to a busy and peaceful Christmas... read more

A bold re-envisioning of The Odyssey, told with simplicity and style — perfect for fans of graphic retellings and mythology enthusiasts alike.Odysseus faces storm and shipwreck, a terrifying man-eating Cyclops, the alluring but deadly Sirens, and the fury of the sea-god Poseidon as he makes his ten-year journey home from the Trojan War. While Odysseus struggles to make it home, his wife, Penel... read more

Caden thought it was over; she thought Gabriel was gone for good. It only took a letter with a single plane ticket for reality to come crashing back. Gabriel’s awake and he needs her. Caden decides to sacrifice her family’s trust for the possibility of seeing him again. But her reunion with Gabriel is short lived. Gabriel isn’t in control anymore, Tom is. Tom, the boy who only appeared at nigh... read more

For fans of the Mapmakers trilogy and anyone who likes a little history along with their fantasy, here’s a quirky new series! Magic is real. History is a big, fat lie. Before Hyacinth Hayward moves from Illinois to London, she reads up on the city’s history. Too bad for her. Because the books are wrong. The truth is, London was built on magical rivers, and all the major events in its past have... read more