Jules Hucke

Jules Hucke – Editor

I have 18 years of experience and specialize in YA, MG, lit fic, LGBTQ+, women's fiction, and authenticity reads. Tell me about you!

Overview

***Summer 2024***: I am currently open for copy editing and editorial assessments. Other services will resume in the fall.


I'm here to help you polish your prose until it shines! I'm a published author and a seasoned editorial professional with clients at fiction presses, academic and university presses, large companies such as P&G, ConAgra and Kroger, and web publishing platforms such as Forbes and LinkedIn. I combine an in-depth knowledge of Chicago Style and AP Style with a broad understanding of the market and a deep love for the cadence, meaning, and musicality of language to help you clarify and express your unique voice.


Offering your work up for editing, especially if you're a first-timer, can feel incredibly daunting. My approach combines humor, compassion, expertise, and insight into the current literary landscape. I stay in communication with you throughout the course of your project, asking questions and making suggestions to ensure I'm helping you meet your publishing goals.


I own and operate Red Pen Refinery, LLC, an editing/proofreading business that serves authors and business clients. I'm also the author/illustrator of the MG novels BOTH CAN BE TRUE and FIGHT + FLIGHT under pen name Jules Machias, both published by HarperCollins. As a YA/MG writer and a parent, I'm interested in a wide range of topics that affect today's kids, tweens and teens, ranging from external factors like our ever-changing political climate to internal concerns like first love, personal aspirations, disabilities, and peer and family relationships. If you're writing for kids, you're writing for our future. I'm committed to helping you share your message and voice as clearly and effectively as possible.


I live in Cincinnati with my family and a zoo's worth of rescue dogs, reptiles, and birds with varying disabilities, plus loads of overstuffed bookshelves and more art supplies and dirt bikes than anyone honestly needs. I love staying active with trail running, weight training, biking and obstacle course racing (OCR). In 2016, I competed in the OCR World Championships and showed that warp wall who was boss (spoiler alert: it was the warp wall).

Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Fiction
Coming of Age Contemporary Fiction LGBTQ Fiction Middle Grade Short Story Women's Fiction Young Adult
Languages
English (CAN) English (US)
Awards
  • American Library Association Rainbow Booklist Top Ten Title for Young Readers: BOTH CAN BE TRUE
  • Bank Street Children's Best Books of the Year: BOTH CAN BE TRUE
  • Indie Next List Pick: BOTH CAN BE TRUE
  • American Library Association Rainbow Booklist: FIGHT + FLIGHT
Certifications
  • BA in Creative Writing from Miami University (graduated with honors)

Work experience

Self-employed

Jan, 2004 — Present

I provide editing and proofreading services to clients in book publishing, web publishing, and marketing. I'm current on all AP Style and Chicago Style rules and guidelines.

Barefoot Proximity

Apr, 2019 — Present

I provide part-time editing for a marketing firm that serves clients in healthcare, energy supply and delivery, consumer packaged goods, pet food and wellness, and more. Working in the marketing field keeps me constantly tuned in to cultural and societal trends and changes, and it's a great deal of fun.

Northlich

Jun, 2014 — Mar, 2019 (over 4 years)

I provided writing, proofreading and editing services for clients in such industries as publishing, healthcare, finance, B2B, nonprofit, restaurants, CPG and more.

Portfolio

In Our Last Blue Moon, dancer Kris O'Shee, widow of Alan Cheuse, the novelist, beloved teacher, and literary commentator known as the "voice of books" on NPR's All Things Considered for over t... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
In 1980, as the world is captivated by the Iranian hostage crisis, aspiring doctor Hesam drops out of medical school in Rome and returns to Iran to serve his country. A member of the Revolutio... read more
Copy Editing
How does a widower start over? George Elden had it all. A lovely wife. Two beautiful adult children. A condo on the grounds of the Boca Raton Resort & Club. But when his wife dies, he's sudden... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing
Dead Hemingway. Dead Baker. Dead Joyce and Dead Fitzgerald. Dead Stein. Dead Picasso. Dead Barnes and Dead Truffaut. Piaf Dead and Breton Dead. Gainsbourg Dead and Monet Dead. Bernhardt Dead a... read more
Copy Editing Proofreading
The Loved Ones

Sonya Chung

In this masterful novel of inheritance and loss, Sonya Chung (Long for This World) proves herself a worthy heir to Marguerite Duras, Hwang Sun-won, and James Salter. Spanning generations and d... read more
Copy Editing Proofreading
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
While the Sun Shines (Cattle Stop)

Oliver, Kit

Parrot Cat Publishing

Copy Editing Proofreading
Cattle Stop

Oliver, Kit

Parrot Cat Publishing

Copy Editing Proofreading
The Place Between

Oliver, Kit

Parrot Cat Publishing

Proofreading
Light Up the Lamp

Oliver, Kit

Parrot Cat Publishing

Copy Editing Proofreading
Watching The Asparagus Grow

Wilkins, Jeff

Bowker

Developmental Editing Copy Editing
Roundabout

Will Mountain Cox

Relegation Books

Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Never Less

Geoffrey Wells

When twelve-year-old Pablo makes the connection between the pills smuggled through the once-abandoned mill, and the pill that Mindy stole from her pain-afflicted dad, he knows he must help his... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing
Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Copy Editing
The Game

Stuart Roy Clarke

Proofreading
Copy Editing
Editorial Assessment
Summer's Reach

Talar, K. I.

Copy Editing
Bessie's Story - Watching the Lights Go Out is an inspiring story about a charming, brave, chocolate Lab who gradually loses her eyesight. The author leads the reader from the unexpected diagn... read more
Copy Editing
At supermarkets across the nation, customers waiting in line—mostly female—flip through magazines displayed at the checkout stand. What we find on those magazine racks are countless images of ... read more
Proofreading
When a seemingly routine medical procedure results in her mother's premature death, Anne Panning is left reeling. In her first full-length memoir, the celebrated essayist and short story write... read more
Copy Editing
WE HAVE A SITUATION THAT BORDERS ON A SNAKE PIT. -- ROBERT F. KENNEDY In 1987, following a public outcry about its questionable medical practices, Staten Island's Willowbrook State School for ... read more
Copy Editing
In this stirring new collection, Ronna Wineberg explores our essential bonds to partners, children, parents, and friends. Intimacy, marriage, parenthood, adultery, divorce, and the legacies le... read more
Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
On Bittersweet Place

Ronna Wineberg

On Bittersweet Place is the powerful coming-of-age story of Lena Czernitski, a young Russian Jew whose family flees their homeland in the Ukraine after the October Revolution. The story unfold... read more
Copy Editing Proofreading
I would never witness anything interesting. I would never write anything beyond memos and flap copy and travel itineraries. I would simply love my wife and my daughters and hold them close and... read more
Copy Editing Proofreading
In Helen on 86th Street and Other Stories, girls grow into women and women become wise in portraits filled with biting humor and small but hard-earned victories. One girl makes a burnt offerin... read more
Proofreading
From the glittering heat of India's Pink City to the palm-lined streets of Silicon Valley and the vanilla-bean fields of Madagascar, Anita Felicelli's debut collection delivers a dazzling arra... read more
Copy Editing Proofreading

Jules has 28 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Allison O.

Allison O.

Mar, 2023

Pinned
Hire Jules. I have a lot more to add, but that's the important bit - hire Jules. I had a first draft of a project that I knew needed a lot of work, and I came to Reedsy for a developmental edit. Jules gave me an incredibly comprehensive edit and highlighted every aspect that could use tweaking, along with thoughts on how I might create a better story - everything from plot pacing to suggestions...
Read more
Jules H.
Thanks so much for the positive review, Allison! Your book is stellar and I can't wait to see what's next for you.
Erin K.

Erin K.

Oct, 2022

Pinned
I couldn't recommend Jules enough! She was instrumental in helping me find focus and clarity in my book, through both a developmental edit and a copy edit. She helped me ensure each chapter related back to the book's intent and she helped me ensure my message was clear to my reader. It was as if she knew what I wanted to say, and then she shared suggestions on how to communicate that message pr...
Read more
Jules H.
Thank you so much for the positive review, Erin! Your book will help a lot of families communicate better and grow closer. I can't wait to see it out in the world!
Geoffrey W.

Geoffrey W.

Jun, 2022

Pinned
Let me assure any writer considering Jules for copy editing: You will be working with a professional that will make your work shine. Juleses attention to detail is, frankly, mind-blowing. But over and above sweating the excruciating minutia of punctuation, grammar and tense, she has an eye for enhancing the pacing and rhythm of the writing. And, if that is not enough she comments on leaps of l...
Read more
Jules H.
Thanks so much for the kind review, Geoffrey! Can't wait to see where you take your heartwarming story.
Douglas W.

Douglas W.

Sep, 2024

When I first signed on with Reedsy to find an Editor to look at my work, I really didn't know what to expect. What I hoped for was an honest evaluation of the general mechanics my work, and an opinion as to whether my manuscript was worth pursuing. In short, am I kidding myself that my work would ever be published. What Jules provided was an incredibly in-depth evaluation of my manuscript cover...
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Jules H.
Douglas, I'm so glad you found my assessment useful. I can't wait to see where you take your book, and I would be thrilled to edit your next manuscript!
Jenée A.

Jenée A.

Jul, 2024

Jules made the editorial review process enjoyable and fulfilling. I am impressed with her ability to help me frame my story in the best possible way while maintaining the authenticity of my unique voice and how I express my story in words. She is candid while complimentary in ways that feel good and right and inspire me to be a better writer. I recommend Jules to anyone needing a skilled, thou...
Read more
Jules H.
Thanks so much, Jenée! I’m excited to work with you on future projects.

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