Sarah de Souza – Editor

"Sarah worked with one of my authors and is incredible, her attention to detail and imagination for the potential of a book are some of the best I've seen.”

-Hattie Grunewald, literary agent at The Blair Partnership agency

“Sarah’s work on my manuscript was fantastic. Feedback from industry professionals is so often incredibly cryptic, so to have an expert, detailed report which actually makes suggestions is invaluable – not only that, the suggestions themselves are wonderful! Sarah helped me to understand certain aspects of the story much better, and as a result I was able to think about it with a great deal more clarity. I highly recommend Sarah to writers at all stages of drafting.”

-Joseph Coward, author of Run-Out Groove and Jude & Rita

“The wonderful Sarah has been the calm voice of reason and encouragement for over a year now. Her sharp eye and canny insights have made the final version of A Savage Moon considerably better than it might have been.”

-Theodore Brun, author of the Wanderer series

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I have five years' experience of publishing bestselling, award-winning fiction at Little, Brown, one of the UK's most commercially successful publishers, and Atlantic UK. I have worked on literary fiction, romance, memoirs, crime and thrillers, fantasy and historical fiction, many of which have sold over 50, 000 copies and appeared in prestigious outlets such as the New York Times.

I love the entire process of editing, from collaborating with an author on plot, coaching them through detailed line-edits to help them achieve spotless prose, or guiding them through the publishing process. These are the three main services I provide:

1. Structural/developmental editing. A thorough assessment of your manuscript and tailored guidance on how to make it a success, including a report (min. 7k words) on characters, structure, pacing and tone.

2. Line editing/copyediting. I will edit your novel line by line, word by word, with an eye on clarity and flow, providing in-depth commentary and polishing your prose until it glows.

I have a track record of working with big 5 publishers such as Hachette and Penguin, as well as leading agencies like Janklow and Nesbit, David Higham, Madeleine Milburn (and many more!) I know the ingredients that make an editor or agent pick a manuscript out of their submissions pile, and can give you insight into publishing trends and industry know-how to set up your novel for success.

I provide a fierce - but friendly! - and rigorously precise editing service which is tailored to each author and their needs. I will approach your project with enthusiasm, creativity, thoroughness and a sense of personal investment. I'm nice, too (I promise!) so please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions! I look forward to working with you.