Kim Smith

Kim Smith – Editor

Recognised professional line/copy editor of sci-fi, fantasy, humour, crime, chicklit & MG fiction. I work on one narrative at a time.

Overview

I mainly work with Australian and British English authors but have done a number of US English projects.


I focus on line/copy editing but sometimes find an annotated manuscript appraisal (with Zoom discussions) can be beneficial if your MS is not quite ready for that final edit. Going by reviews, authors truly appreciate my appraisals as I have given them the clear advice they needed to improve their own writing. I love empowering authors. I find the educative aspect of being an editor rewarding. One more thing, if not engaging a proofreader, I offer a free final proof-check of your formatted book. Note: this is a check for problems like spacing errors and hyphenation issues only.


I am semi-retired and only work on one book project at a time to keep my headspace in your narrative.


I work across a number of genres as well as some narrative non-fiction. My favourite is humorous sci-fi/fantasy. I also have experience with middle-grade children's fiction.


I work collaboratively with my authors and keep them regularly updated on progress. My authors enjoy working with me and find me very approachable. Maintaining author voice is key and I am not a prescriptivist editor.


Aside from 5-star reviews on Reedsy , I also have numerous on Facebook. Here are two:


Kim is an amazing editor. The key thing about Kim, is that she'll do a phenomenal job while acknowledging, respecting and enhancing author voice. All her feedback is given with honesty AND compassion. You'll get real info, no beating around the bush, but also real solutions and kindness.

Elisse Hay- Foul is Fair


Kim has an excellent sense of composition, both for narration and dialoge. She's a stickler for grammar accuracy, her edits invariably improving clarity and flow. Kim caught inconsistencies in my story line that, while subtle, blemished the overall story. Her revision recommendations were well considered and clearly expressed.

Jim Giedraitis (writing as Kenneth James) – Dog Star Night

Services
Fiction
Chick Lit Contemporary Fiction Fantasy Humor & Comedy Mystery & Crime New Adult Science Fiction Young Adult Fantasy
Languages
English (AUS) English (UK) English (US)
Certifications
  • BA Communications (UTS)
  • Graduate Certificate Publishing and Editing (USQ)
  • IPEd professional member
  • CIEP professional member

Work experience

Self-employed

Sep, 2016 — Present
Working with indie authors as a freelance editor to get their narratives to a professional, publishable standard.

Monash Postgraduate Association (MPA)

Jan, 2007 — Sep, 2016 (over 9 years)
Commission, edit and publish articles for student magazine. Edit website. Edit and produce all print publications for the organisation. Edit and produce newsletter and social media.

Allen & Unwin

Feb, 1989 — Jul, 1994 (over 5 years)
Print buyer, production controller and reprint editor.

Portfolio

Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Developmental Editing
Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Black Table

Pennanen, Anttimatti

Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Copy Editing
Made with Reedsy
My little body enchantment

Russell, Tara

Editorial Assessment
Made with Reedsy
Charlie and Halley Break the Story

Keandrick, R.K.

Copy Editing
Made with Reedsy
Traces of June

Dengate, Rebecca

Copy Editing Editorial Assessment
Editorial Assessment
The Last Line

Monash Writers Group

Copy Editing
The First Line: An Anthology

Group, Monash Writers

Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Unprecedented Times

Group, Monash Writers

Copy Editing

Kim has 22 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Sam C.

Sam C.

Mar, 2025

Pinned
Kim was the first professional editor I've ever worked with. I was nervous about the process and the difficulties it might entail, but she made it remarkably easy. She was reliable, timely and very communicative. She was kind and friendly, and eager to chat about the project. She has a great sens...
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Kim S.
Thank you, Sam. It was a joy to work on this manuscript with you. And a lot fun too. I did make a number of suggestions and, now that I’m going through your revisions I can see you’ve done a remark...
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Emma F.

Emma F.

Dec, 2024

Pinned
Kim was great to work with and tailored everything to my individual needs. Being able to zoom with her and discuss the edits she suggested was great and allowed me to get a better understanding of the how to edit my manuscript myself. Her knowledge was amazing and I’d highly recommend using Kim a...
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Kim S.
Emma, thanks so much. Both of us could see that with just a little advice and encouragement how much you could improve the narrative of the first three chapters yourself. You can now carry on with ...
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Marianne P.

Marianne P.

May, 2024

Pinned
Working with Kim was an absolute pleasure. She was helpful, knowledgeable, and responsive... and she has a great sense of humour! I'd highly recommend Kim's editing skills and I'd be very keen to work with her again myself.
Kim S.
I hope to see you in my Reedsy inbox again too. Lovely working with you and you’ve created a totally believable future scenario with fleshed out characters. I want to see more of your writing. If y...
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Geo J.

Geo J.

Feb, 2025

I’m so glad I got Kim to go through, correct and assess a few chapters of what I’ve written. (I had a feeling from how she worded her Reedsy Overview and her reviews that I would be.) Not only meticulous in her edits, Kim gave feedback on structure, tone and characters, which was exactly what I w...
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Kim S.
Geoff, I know in my waters you will nail this. Take the time you need :) You have a great story but just need to adjust for your intended audience. So happy to give you advice that helped you.
Sam O.

Sam O.

Jun, 2024

Kim was extremely helpful in editing my novel and communicative throughout. She has an open approach to what you are trying to achieve as an author and is very easy to work with. She works with great professionalism and has a great eye for fine detail. I wouldn't be confident submitting my work t...
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Kim S.
Sam, Thank you, I really did enjoy working on your manuscript. I do think it has legs for a traditional publishing deal but you need to understand that luck does play a part in that fickle process....
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