Sara Kelly

Sara Kelly – Editor

Flexible, fierce, efficient editor with decades of experience in editing everything from horror to science fiction to literary fiction.

Overview

NOTE: My earliest availability starts with openings in November 2023.


My passion for editing a diverse array of genre fiction for the last fifteen years has instilled in me a well-balanced approach of both analytical and creative editing. Fueled by too much caffeine, I will relentlessly pursue excellence to ensure your content is impeccable. I love to think outside the box and frequently offer customized or hybrid solutions in order to meet each individual project's needs. I will always include a "reader's perspective" as part of my edit, no matter which service I provide, in order to offer you the insight you need.


Horror is my primary specialty, along with speculative fiction at large. I also have a soft spot for poetry and comedy. I love a good monster story, dark or quirky tales, and psychological thrillers. I welcome new, emerging, and established writers alike. Staying true to your voice and vision, I will help your manuscript reach its full potential and provide you with the tools you need to develop and refine your craft.


Testimonials:


Sara is awesome: thorough, competent, friendly, and helpful. She doesn't underedit or overedit. I accepted nearly all her changes to my manuscript, something that almost never happens when I hire an editor. She knows what she's doing, and I ought to know because I'm a professional editor myself. Hire her.


--Michael Totten, Reedsy Client, Award-winning Journalist and Author of The Road to Fatima Gate and the Resurrection Trilogy (Resurrection: A Zombie Novel: Resurrection Book 1 now optioned for film)


I will only work with Sara. With her, you get a meticulous editor who scrutinizes every comma, period and space of your work. As this is my second book with her, she kept a reference of things from the first book to ensure continuity. She tracks every name, physical attribute and personality trait of your characters to make sure that your writing remains true to them. Nothing escapes her attention. She's respectful. Professional. You never feel stupid if she makes a correction. She is adamant that your voice remains intact. I highly recommend her. I've already started my third book and when I write, I have her in mind.


--Lynn Fraser, Reedsy Client

Services
Fiction
Contemporary Fiction Horror Literary Fiction Military Science Fiction Paranormal Romance Short Story Time Travel Urban Fantasy
Languages
English (US)
Certifications
  • Member, Editorial Freelancers Association

Work experience

Self-employed

Oct, 2018 — Present

Editorial services include copyediting, proofreading, developmental editing, and line editing for emerging and established writers. I specialize in the genres of horror, sci-fi, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, military sci-fi, and literary fiction. I also offer customized or hybrid solutions in order to meet each individual project's needs. Built-in “reader's perspective” feedback included in all services.

Ascend Learning

May, 2018 — Oct, 2018 (5 months)

In my role as manager of the Vendor Management Office, I led a three-person team responsible for an integral function within the supply-chain management framework, liaising with internal stakeholders and with suppliers to drive the successful completion of all print products, while also advising on supplier-driven processes for all of the organization’s key initiatives and digital products.

Ascend Learning

Sep, 2015 — May, 2018 (over 2 years)

• Managed end-to-end products, including answering queries from the vendor, monitoring schedules, tracking key project milestones, reviewing sample materials, conducting milestone meetings at midpoint and postmortem stages, reporting weekly status to internal product team, and escalating any issues.
• Provided high-level oversight in customized E2E workflow for all CDX print projects during pre-production and production stages. Attended project-specific status calls and overarching strategy meetings as needed, acting as intermediary between other internal teams and CDX team to ensure overarching support for effective communication. Managed vendor relationship and maintained oversight of process improvements and workflows.

Jones & Bartlett Learning

Apr, 2010 — Sep, 2015 (over 5 years)

• Provided project management for a variety of prominent Math and Computer Science titles, along with extensive experience working on Nursing, Criminal Justice, Biological Science, Health Science, and Public Health titles.
• Acted as vendor liaison between 30 production editors and six preferred composition vendors, including the daily tasks of assigning projects, mitigating issues, and refining documentation and processes.

Portfolio

Singularity Heights takes us to a future that feels simultaneously familiar and deeply strange. It’s a world where bots do all the work, everyone has profoundly personal relationships with their AI, even if their human relationships are quite shallow, and weal... read more
Johnny Hawk is a successful entrepreneur in the tech field, escaping from his former life after an utter breakdown. During his trip across the country, his route crosses with Wendy Jag, a beautiful woman who works as a dentist in New Mexico. As the attraction ... read more
FOR REASONS UNKNOWN AND UNKNOWABLE Authorities are calling it the American Dyatlov Pass incident. Four campers on an overnight hike fail to return. Only three bodies are found. Authorities piece together what happened using the latest in cell phone video enhan... read more
Since he was 10, Daniel Williams has only ever experienced one dream. Nearly every night, he is transported to 1965. Not even being born yet, this year was not significant to him in any way. As time goes by, the dreams become less like a dream, and more like a... read more
Fall of Two

Dixon R.

Basically, The Blood Brute Series = gay vampires in a zombie apocalypse. English Countryside. Ancient & secret knowledge. Blood drinking. A terrible, toxic love that spans centuries. Greed. Capture. Did I mention gay vampires? Capture. Old Dreams. New Powers. ... read more
Ivan Volkov - pilot of the Avem Vecto. Originally owned one of the megalithic corporations. Ivan flew her for many years until the world turned to shit. He escaped with Avem Vecto before she could be scrapped. Taros Crosse, Ivan’s partner, and gunner of the Av... read more
The stunning, final chapter in the Resurrection Trilogy The end has come. Seattle has burned to the ground. The Rocky Mountain West is as empty as a moonscape. But the eastern United States is teeming with the infected, with militias, with bandits . . . and wo... read more
Two half-siblings meet for the first time in Vietnam where their common father, Steve Nathan, died mysteriously at the end of the Vietnam War. Their search for truth leads them to other discoveries along the way. While going through her elderly mother's things... read more
Kings of the Earth

Christopher S.

The lonely Michigan surfing town of Great Water has a long history of inexplicable occurrences. A shocking double murder and suicide there in 1918 still draws tourists who want to see the house where Jack Spivey went mad. But that is only the best-known event ... read more
Even though Alexander decided not to replace all the humans with its parasites, simply coexisting with their constricting rules was not the life it wanted. It deserved more.After waking up from a 13-year hibernation, the alien parasite known as Alexander looke... read more
Includes Access to Student Companion Website!Exploring Mathematics: Investigations with Functions is designed for one- or two- term mathematics courses for humanities and liberal arts majors. This unique ten-chapter text covers modern applications of mathemati... read more
Modern and comprehensive, the new sixth edition of award-winning author, Dennis G. Zill's Advanced Engineering Mathematics is a compendium of topics that are most often covered in courses in engineering mathematics, and is extremely flexible to meet the unique... read more
Jones & Bartlett Learning 2018 Nurse's Drug Handbook is the most up-to-date, practical, and easy-to-use nursing drug reference. Updated annually, it provides accurate and timely facts on hundreds of drugs from A-Z. Written in a no-nonsense style that speaks yo... read more
In 2012 and 2013, Author, M.J. Preston set out to run the world's longest Ice Road. Now he's returned with the much anticipated novel Acadia Event. Marty Croft's past has come back to haunt him. Faced with a threat by the psychopathic son of his former gangste... read more
As World War II rages across Europe, a bombing run awakens an ancient evil. It rises from the depths of darkness to bring Hell itself with it into the world of man. Armies of the dead claw their way out of their graves to eat the flesh of the living. Germany i... read more

Sara has 189 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Jeffrey F.

Jeffrey F.

Sep, 2023

I loved working with Sara! She was very prompt with her responses, always friendly and supportive! I will use her for my other books, for sure! HIGHLY recommended!
Sara K.
Thank you, Jeffrey! I’m so glad to hear this.
Evan D.

Evan D.

Sep, 2023

Very responsive, gave timely feedback. A good reviewer.
Sara K.
Thanks, Evan!
Robin A.

Robin A.

Sep, 2023

Sara’s feedback helped me clarify my story points, firm up my sentence structure, and effectively transition between the segments of my story. Her greatest contribution (through her comments) was placing me directly in the mind of the reader. By sharing her reactions to the elements of my story—specifically highlighting the points that impacted her—Sara helped me connect with techniques in my w...
Read more
Sara K.
Thank you, Robin! So glad to hear this!
Adora M.

Adora M.

Sep, 2023

I absolutely love working with Sara. She is a gift. She has gone above and beyond with her editing before and did it again. I learned so much from my time with her with her, and she has helped me grow as a writer. She explained her perspective, why there were certain rules to grammar, gave me a couple of links to read through to further learn a few grammar rules that had never stuck in my head ...
Read more
Sara K.
Thank you, Adora! This is so nice to hear. I’ve enjoyed our collaborations and look forward to the next!
Cami K.

Cami K.

Sep, 2023

It was such a pleasure working with Sara! She was prompt, communicative, and super supportive.
Sara K.
Thank you, Cami! It was great to work with you!

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