Rebecca Hughes

Rebecca Hughes – Editor

I am an editor with over 15 years' experience working with bestselling authors. I specialize in literary fic, romance, and books set in NYC.

Overview

I'm a developmental and copy editor with an extensive background in both fiction and narrative nonfiction. No matter the genre, my very favorite projects have been stories about love: literary novels (with both LGBTQ and straight protagonists), contemporary and suspense romance, an international dating guide, a cam girl's memoir. I don't shy away from the controversial (in fact, I love it!), and with every project, my goal is to help the author bring out the very best in the story they set out to tell.

Editing is a collaboration between author and editor, and I have a few specialized areas of knowledge that can bring value to projects that call for them. New York City is one of those areas; I've spent a great deal of time in the city and am deeply familiar with its history, geography, and culture. My business name, Five Points Editorial Services, is a nod to a particular bit of New York history. I've also lived in Germany and England, and I've traveled all over the United States (California is another region I know well). My lifelong love of Japanese culture has also been helpful in a surprising number of editing projects.

With each editing project, I begin by asking your goals for the project, which can help in developing my approach (acquisitions editors at traditional publishing houses, for example, have a different set of preferences than the dedicated fanbases of self-published authors). I also ask about your concerns and anything in particular about the story that you'd like for me to focus on or help you resolve. My most popular service is copy editing that also includes developmental comments in the margin -- more affordable than a traditional developmental edit, and extremely helpful in polishing a project before it goes out to agents or readers.

From the time I receive the full manuscript file and the first payment (usually 60%-70% of the total), I usually require four to six weeks to complete the project. Once I receive the final payment, I return the file with tracked changes and comments (a process I'm happy to explain if needed); with traditional developmental editing, I include an editorial letter of four to eight pages. You're welcome to read through my comments and ask me questions, including about ideas you may have to resolve any story issues I've noted. I don't perform a second read-through of revised material, but any further editing of smaller sections can always be arranged separately for a discounted cost.

If this sounds like the collaboration you're looking for, I'd love to take a look at your project and offer you a quote! I only take on projects for which I believe I can be genuinely helpful, and I'm happy to help guide you to the right service (or editor!). While most of my services cover full manuscripts, I also offer a service I call the Story Edit -- an affordable, flat-rate developmental edit on the first 10,000 words of your novel, designed to identify "big picture" issues so you can revise with confidence before a more extensive edit.

In your message, please include any questions you have about the process as well as your goals and concerns -- and, of course, tell me about your story. Editing is an important step in every author's professional journey, and it's an amazing feeling to see your work work shine even brighter than you had pictured. Send me a message and let's discuss it -- I'd love to help!

Services
Fiction
Contemporary Fiction LGBTQ Fiction Literary Fiction New Adult Romance Women's Fiction
Non-Fiction
Sex & Relationships Travel
Languages
English (UK) English (US)

Work experience

Self-employed

Sep, 2003 — Present

Portfolio

Paint It Black

Michelle Perry

After fulfilling a lifelong devotion of bringing her drug lord father to justice, DEA agent Necie Bramhall believes the painful past is finally behind her—unaware that she has just created a new, more deadly enemy. Necie's beautiful and ruthless half-sister Ma... read more
The small town of Coalmont, Tennessee is shattered when a car crash on graduation night leaves three of its teenagers dead and another three fighting for their lives. Four years later, the aftershocks still ripple through the town, and no one feels them more t... read more
Goddess Fire

Meg Westley

The god of dreams has fallen silent; the goddess of nightmares ravages Egira. Her emissaries, the towering, indigo-skinned Vleth, conquer the land and transform its culture. Women wield exclusive power and men are slaves. Those who worship the god of dreams ar... read more
As a child, hers was a dark fairy tale set against a wonderland of sparkling white snow, with the warm glow of candlelit holy day lanterns keeping the shadows at bay. Back then, there was innocence. And now she'll do anything to return. The Kingdom of Childhoo... read more
As P.I. Jade de Jong probes into the murder of a prosperous Johannesburg white and other recent car-jacking cases, a pattern begins to emerge, a pattern that goes back to her own father's murder and involves a vast and intricate series of crimes for profit.In ... read more
Key Weirder

Robert Tacoma

No man can take too much of a good thing, not even in tropical Key West. When beach-connoisseur Taco Bob decides on a road trip, he leaves the Conch Republic in search of the beautiful woman who broke his heart, and the ultimate trout recipe. But soon after he... read more
Not quite immortal, but certainly not human, Tabitha and Sam blended in for years as a seemingly normal couple-- hitting the bars together, scraping out a living on the edge of society, never revealing that the violent ends of their human lives had rebirthed t... read more

Rebecca has 12 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Thomas W.

Thomas W.

Sep, 2022

My collaboration with Rebecca was everything I had hoped it would be -- both pleasant and productive. Superlatives like outstanding and highly professional come to mind when I think of her performance as my editor. There were some difficult formatting errors in my manuscript that she managed to correct, thanks to her excellent MS Word skills. And when it came to the content of my novel itself, ...
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Eiko T.

Eiko T.

May, 2022

I loved working with Rebecca. Not only her communication is very clear on the business side, like the cost and the time it takes and the type of editing she does, she is compassionate, and a comfortable person to communicate with, as we discussed each other's interests and writings. I highly recommend her.
Al T.

Al T.

Dec, 2021

Rebecca exceeded my expectations when I hired her as a copy editor/proof reader. Not only did she find the hidden flaws in my "polished" work, she also made suggestions throughout which helped me improve those important details which make characters and their story flow smoothly. In addition, she reviewed my query letter, and provided a short critique on ways I might improve the tensions in the...
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Danique S.

Danique S.

Oct, 2021

Rebecca is wonderful to work with. She's patient and kind and didn't mind the fact that I had a problem with the payment which made it take a little longer than anticipated. She wrote me a very helpful editorial letter after editing the first 10k words of my manuscript, and she's really given me something to work with. I highly, highly recommend Rebecca's services. Rebecca was the first profe...
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Paula C.

Paula C.

May, 2021

Rebecca delivered an edit of my first four chapters (12K words) of a Women's Fiction/Historical WIP in a timely fashion. Her edit was thorough and covered aspects that work and areas needing tweaking, very succinctly, with suggestions. Her comments were accurate, organized, helpful, and encouraging. I look forward to working with her again and highly recommend her.

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