Jim Spivey – Editor

Highly experienced copy editor and proofreader of manuscripts large and small. Also adept at developmental editing with an approach that encourages the author to be an active participant in the revision process, providing the tools and feedback an author needs to shape his or her story into the best it can possibly be. In addition to my editing experience, I have an extensive background in prepress production (both print and electronic) and am able to usher a manuscript from final edit to finished book.

Current clients include Hachette Book Group (copyediting and proofreading, primarily for their Yen Press imprint), HarperCollins Publishers (proofreading and other editorial services), Action Phase Games (editorial development and copyediting for The Stuff of Legend, an expansion for the popular board game Heroes Wanted, as well as other upcoming projects), Hay House (copyediting and proofreading), and Vendome Press (currently serving as their production director). Prior editorial clients have included Kirkus Editorial (primarily collaborative/ developmental editorial work), Nickelodeon Magazines and Archie Comics (story scripts), and DC Comics (freelance consulting and copywriting on trade editions). Noteworthy projects include development of a three-issue graphic novel series for Tonner Dolls based on a story overview provided by the company, and the script for an eight-page educational story on dinosaurs for Zenscope Entertainment (see portfolio).

As the second director in the service’s history, I was the primary contact for the independent authors and publishing partners who relied upon it. Day-to-day responsibilities included overseeing the editing (developmental, copyediting, and/or proofreading) of manuscripts from both traditionally published authors and those who were planning to self-publish, and personally reviewing most projects once complete to ensure quality.

Established the position of production editor for the Yen Press imprint, Hachette’s manga and graphic novel line. This included creating and maintaining Yen’s style guide, modifying HBG’s existing workflows and systems to match the model required by Editorial, and maintaining a very high standard of editorial quality—a standard that did not waver, even as the imprint grew. (At the time of my departure, Yen Press was publishing eight to sixteen manga titles per month, each averaging 192 pages, and at least eight prose titles a year.) At my request, I later took on the production editor role for Orbit’s digital-only science fiction/ fantasy short fiction program and any e-first titles published by the imprint, as well as select print titles on the Little, Brown for Young Readers list.

Primary responsibility was the production and manufacture of at least five hardcover titles per month with press runs ranging from 20,000 to 650,000+ copies. Due to my background in four-color production, I handled most color titles, including the acclaimed Sopranos Family Cookbook and its sequel, Entertaining with the Sopranos.

From 1993 to 1995, as an editor in the DC Universe group, I was the editor for the monthly titles Damage, Hawkman, and Primal Force, and I was the editor of the feature “Homecoming” from the anthology Showcase, which won Spain’s Haxtur Award for Best Short Story.

From 1995 to 1997, as a member of the Special Projects editorial group, I worked on the art direction and editorial development for DC’s line of trading cards, and served as primary liaison and co-developer for the DC Comics edition of Fleer’s OverPower trading card game.

From 1997 to 1999, while serving on the editorial staff for Collected Editions, I worked on a variety of titles, including the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning collections Jack Kirby’s New Gods and Plastic Man Archives Volume One, and I was co-editor of the Harvey-nominated Manhunter: The Special Edition.