Overview
I am a freelance professional editor, copy-editor and proofreader with nearly twenty years’ experience in bringing books to market. I have worked extensively with publishers in Ireland and in the UK, including Mercier Press, The O’Brien Press, Pearson Education, Merlin Books and Y Books. I now spend most of my time working with authors who are planning to either self-publish or to submit their manuscripts to agents or publishers – all those years spent working on the inside have given me a pretty good idea of what the dreaded gatekeepers are looking for! I’d love to help you bring out the best in your manuscript, whether it’s through improving structure with a development edit, getting everything clear and correct with a copy-edit, or just a plain old proofread.
Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Management
Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits
Economics
Health & Wellbeing
History
Humanities & Social Sciences
LGBTQ Non-Fiction
Music
Political Science & Current Affairs
Psychology
Self-Help & Self-Improvement
Sex & Relationships
Writing & Publishing
Fiction
Historical Fiction
Humor & Comedy
Literary Fiction
Mystery & Crime
Picture Books
Thriller & Suspense
Women's Fiction
Young Adult
Languages
English (UK)
English (US)
Work experience
Robert Edits
Dec, 2012 —
Present
Editor, copy-editor and proofreader working in all areas of trade fiction and non-fiction. I work extensively with self-publishers who want to produce books to a professional standard.
Y Books
Aug, 2010 —
Dec, 2012
(over 2 years)
Responsible for overseeing the book publishing process from commissioning to publication.
Merlin Books
Jan, 2009 —
Jul, 2011
(over 2 years)
Responsible for overseeing the book publishing process from commissioning to publication.
Merlin Books
Jan, 2008 —
Dec, 2008
(11 months)
Responsible for all home and export sales for Merlin Books and a range of publishers we represented.
O'Brien Press
Mar, 2005 —
Dec, 2007
(almost 3 years)
Responsible for driving sales in Ireland. Member of the O'Brien Press editorial board.
Mercier Press
Feb, 2001 —
Mar, 2005
(about 4 years)
Responsible for all sales activity in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, including national accounts.
Pearson Education
Jan, 2000 —
Feb, 2001
(about 1 year)
Responsible for the London territory for Pearson Education's professional division.
Fred Hanna's Bookshop
Jun, 1997 —
Jan, 2000
(over 2 years)
Responsible for the purchase and management of stock in the largest independent bookshop in Ireland.
Portfolio
Passionate Crusaders tells the gripping story of a few righteous Americans who sought to do what many thought impossible in 1944—save Jews who had not yet been murdered in the Holocaust. By January 1944, Treasury Department officials Henry Morgenthau, John Peh... read more
Andrew Rudd shares his passion for delicious food and stylish entertaining in this beautifully illustrated cookbook that draws on his years of experience as a top chef. Divided into seven chapters, each crammed full of scrumptious and easy-to-follow recipes, E... read more
This book is a complete lifestyle guide by Tina Murphy, founder and creator or the popular Run with Tina and Slim with Tina programs that have helped thousands of people to transform their lives. Tina's easy to follow plan will teach you everything you need to... read more
Sixteen men were executed in the aftermath of the Easter Rising in Ireland, 1916: fifteen were shot and one was hanged. Their deaths changed the course of Irish history. But who were these leaders who set in motion events that would lead to the creation of an ... read more
Work began on constructing a new General Post Office building in what was then Sackville Street in 1814. In the 200 years that have passed since then the building has been witness to, and in many cases host to, some of the most dramatic events this country has... read more
‘Our own life has to be our message’ – Thich Nhat HanhOpen is for those who are tired of trying to be happy, of trying to succeed or change, and want to let go of old ways of thinking and being. From being cynical and living in his head,Eoin McCabe describes h... read more
The link between animal protein and cancer became global news with the publication of an international lab study a decade ago. The facts were startling: a diet rich in animal and dairy products was shown to stimulate cancer cell growth. But conventional medica... read more
Every year 300–400 people are diagnosed with mouth, head and neck cancers in Ireland. It can be a difficult and challenging time for patients and the people who care about them. If you’ve recently been diagnosed, you might be feeling overwhelmed. You’re meetin... read more
(Release date: by 6 November 2014. Price reduced by 25% till 9 November)Parents are best placed to help their teenager or young child beat an eating disorder, yet most struggle to know what to do and how to do it. In Anorexia and Other Eating Disorders, Eva Mu... read more
If Your Body is Trying to Tell You Something.... Listen! Change a Little to Change a Lot is a hands-on guide to restoring balance to your busy lifestyle. Karen shows how the holistic approach to improving your life is easy to achieve. Packed with easy to follo... read more
The fully-revised and updated third edition of Catherine Ryan Howard's pragmatic 'how to' self-publishing guide Do you think that no one has the right to stand between you and your published writer dreams? That the publishing industry is going down in flames a... read more
1954. The South Connemara coast. Idyllic summer days. Then a tragedy. Valentine, a young lad from Dublin lies dead, splayed on a rock at the cross. There are three young witnesses: Sally, Wally and Deirdre.Questions surrounding the tragic death and the identit... read more
No Bother is a collection of new creative writing from Dundalk writers, compiled and edited by 2012/13 DkIT writer in residence, Ferdia Mac Anna. This book rocks!
Ray didn’t want to leave Ireland for America, but when her husband Dermot found work there she went with him. They settled in a hot and murky Texas suburb where nothing was quite what it seemed. Now, ten years and four children later, recession has hit Texas. ... read more
WINNER THE JOHN MURRAY SHOW / RTE GUIDE / KAZOO COMPETITION A brutal conflict unleashed. Who stands to win? A bloody massacre at a Mexican heroin refinery; a Miami-bound freight ship hijacked for its cargo of illegal narcotics; the ruthless assassination of a ... read more
On the day before his sixth birthday John Fitzcanty meets Gerry, a man whose actions will haunt John for the rest of his life. As he grows into a young man, John struggles to understand his feelings of guilt and shame. Unable to talk to his taciturn father, he... read more
The Eighty-Five Billion Euro Man is a hard-hitting satire of Ireland's EU IMF bailout and the Eurozone crisis by former Irish Times London Correspondent Donal Conaty. It takes a scathing swipe at the people untouched by austerity Ireland. The politicians, the ... read more
Michael Feeney Callan’s love of poetry began at an early age, when he became fascinated by the mystery of its effect on him. As a child he was captivated by the lulling magic of Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses, and later the symbolism and m... read more
Jason O Toole has tracked down and interviewed many of the country s most notorious criminals. Crime Ink is an explosive collection of the most controversial interviews with some of the most infamous figures from Ireland s underworld. O Toole caused major cont... read more
Timber the brave malamute leads the enchanted animals of Grindlewood garden as they continue their perilous quest to defeat the wicked warlock Worfeus and save their home from destruction. The determined friends have finally found the secret scroll, but they s... read more
When best friends become arch enemies - it's murder! In March 2000, police raided a central Dublin hotel and uncovered a GBP1.7 million drug-mixing factory. Of the three men arrested at the scene, just two were charged. The third, Declan Gavin, was labelled a ... read more
With Wanda the good witch defeated, all that stands between Worfeus the warlock and ultimate power is just one spell. That is, until the Grindles arrive on the scene. The children and their pets move into an old rambling house and discover a collection of ench... read more
Throughout her life, Melissa Jesperson Moore had to hide her true identity. She had pretended that life was perfect after her parents divorced and she was suddenly uprooted from everything familiar and loving. She had to be silent, and to pretend not to be dis... read more
The book gives full details of the struggles to establish and maintain the Jack & Jill Foundation and its ongoing fund-raising efforts.
It’s Belfast, 1975. The city lies under the dark cloud of the Troubles, and hatred fills the air like smoke. But Tony Macaulay has just turned twelve and he’s got a new job. He’s going to be a paperboy. And come rain or shine – or bombs and mortar – he will de... read more
Who needs extreme sports when you
Sometimes flying by the seat of your pants is the best thing you can do …When Ciara O’Toole and her husband move to Lake Como, Italy, they make plans – to run their own businesses, to learn the language and to immerse themselves in the Italian way of life. But... read more
'He planted his big arms on the bed on either side of me, and I wanted him to take control – I wanted him to be the boss…'Katie Collins went from being a shy, excluded teenager to the youngest, naughtiest and most popular woman on the Dublin sex scene. Her jou... read more
France, the Soul of a Journey is a travel memoir that really gets into the veins of France's lush ambience. R J ODonnell recounts a holiday there with three travelling companions, proving with humour and literary flourish why France is the most visited country... read more
