Rebecca Heyman – Editor

"Becca has been my dream editor through two novels, one of which has already landed in the top 100 on Amazon. She was so much more insightful and deft than the editor I was assigned for my traditionally published book that it was difficult to think of them as being part of the same profession." -David Vinjamuri, OPERATOR and BINDER

"Working with Becca was a dream. She’s super efficient and balances the right amount of constructive criticism with praise. She edited two of my manuscripts, which have both since been acquired by Penguin Destiny. I would definitely recommend her editing services for anyone who is looking to have their manuscript whipped into the best possible shape before self-publishing or submitting to agents or editors in traditional publishing." -Georgina Penney, IRREPRESSIBLE YOU and UNFORGETTABLE YOU

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Rebecca holds a BA and MA in English and American Literature (min. Creative Writing) from New York University. She’s the founder and director of The Work Conference, an annual, weekend-long writers' workshop in NYC; the creator of #firstlinefrenzy, a monthly community learning project on Twitter that invites authors to submit the first line of their novels for live, educational critique*; and an advisor to the board of Reedsy. Rebecca Heyman believes that honesty and keen discernment are the foundations of collaborative, creative editorial work, and has allowed these principles to guide her editing practice since 2009. She lives outside of Boston with her husband, two kids, and Siberian cat.

Areas of specialty include: YA contemporary, YA/A fantasy, YA/A light or literary science fiction, women’s fiction, contemporary and historical romance, YA/A LGBTQIA+, Jewish fiction, historical fiction (Ancient Greece/Rome, Regency, Victorian, Elizabethan, 1980s, 1990s), and contemporary commercial fiction for all audiences.

For YA and adult manuscripts, I am particularly interested in the compassionate representation of mental illness and underrepresented identities/cultures that reflect an author's reality. At this time, I am unable to collaborate on nonfiction, novellas, partial manuscripts, short story collections or MG/picture books. I'm open to most genres, but kindly find a more appropriate editor for your space opera, procedural mystery, or horror work.


*Check out Reedsy's YouTube channel for replays of live-streaming First Line Frenzy broadcasts!