Stacey Clair

Stacey Clair – Editor

Former Hachette editor with over a decade in publishing and experience in contemporary + literary fic, narrative nonfic and picture books.

Overview

Over the last fifteen years, I've worked with writers at all stages of their career and have edited manuscripts, documents and content for organisations and individuals. Whether you're writing your debut novel, memoir, resume or a blog post, I can provide feedback, structural or copy edits, and proofreading services. I have worked on commercial and literary fiction, narrative non-fiction and children's books, and collaborated with genre writers on their romance manuscripts. With a personal interest in romance and romantic comedies, I'm a sucker for a HEA and modern retellings of classic literature. And please don't be shy if you're writing for queer audiences! I love working with writers in my community.

You can expect direct and honest feedback on your work couched in supportive and encouraging suggestions and queries, but as the author you are in control of what feedback you incorporate into your work - always. Get in touch and we can figure out the next steps for your writing together.

Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs Children’s Non-Fiction
Fiction
Contemporary Fiction Literary Fiction Picture Books Romance Women's Fiction Young Adult
Languages
English (AUS) English (NZ) English (UK)
Certifications
  • Graduate Diploma in Writing, Editing and Publishing
  • Bachelor of Fine Arts (Creative Writing)
  • Certificate III in Arts Aministration

Work experience

Self-employed

Jun, 2023 — Present

Hachette Australia

Apr, 2019 — Jun, 2023 (about 4 years)
In this role, I continued my copyediting and proofreading work on frontlist and backlist titles with a focus on New Zealand's growing children's book list and Australia's narrative non-fiction list. I was required to complete structural reports, copyedits and proofreads on all my children's books, and continued to copyedit and/or proofread all adult titles on my list.

Hachette Australia

Feb, 2017 — May, 2019 (about 2 years)
Though this was an assistant role, I was entrusted with book production after just six months. This included copyediting and proofreading pages for frontlist literary fiction, children's picture books and narrative non-fiction, and proofreading backlist titles across the categories.

Escape Publishing

Jul, 2016 — Nov, 2016 (5 months)
Working with one of Australia's foremost romance publishers, I proofread pages from titles in production and also provided editorial assessments on manuscripts submitted to the slush pile.

Portfolio

It Nearly Killed Me But I Love You

Dye, Sinead Corcoran

Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand

Copy Editing
Ephemeral City

Groth, Simon

Tiny Owl Workshop

Editorial Assessment Proofreading
Southern Aurora

Brandi, Mark

Copy Editing Editorial Assessment Proofreading
Copy Editing Proofreading
Grace Notes

Comer, Karen

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Editorial Assessment Proofreading
Heartstrong

Pullin, Ellidy

Copy Editing Proofreading
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
Stars Across The Ocean

Kimberley Freeman

The powerful new novel from Kimberley Freeman.A rich and satisfying story of two women with indomitable spirits and the high costs they have to pay for being strong-minded, from the author of ... read more
Proofreading
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
the body country

Anderson, Susie

Hachette Australia

Proofreading
Brightest Wild

Crampton-Larking, Tania

Hachette Australia

Developmental Editing Editorial Assessment
Yearbook

Rogen, Seth

Proofreading
The Secrets of Maiden's Cove

Palmisano, Erin

Grand Central Publishing

Proofreading
Roobee Roo: That's Me!

Candy Robertson

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
My Deadly Boots (-)

Hustler, Hakea

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
Proofreading
Pomegranate & Fig

Ghani, Zaheda

Copy Editing Proofreading
Under a Venice Moon

Cameron, Margaret

Copy Editing Proofreading
No! Never!

Hathorn, Libby

Copy Editing Proofreading
Copy Editing Proofreading

Stacey has 3 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Yasmin K.

Yasmin K.

Oct, 2024

Pinned
Working with Stacey was an incredible learning experience. She didn’t just edit the pages; she helped develop and shape my story in such thoughtful and impactful ways. She also assisted with my synopsis and added some key elements and reworked. Stacey was so easy to work with—supportive, friendly...
Read more
William L.

William L.

Feb, 2025

I'd read the first 7 chapters/5000 words of my debut novel over and over and couldn't figure out what it was that I wasn't seeing. Stacey's comments showed me very quickly that I was putting in too much description for the sake of description; description that wasn't moving the plot forward and, ...
Read more
Yasmin K.

Yasmin K.

Jan, 2025

Working with Stacey on my query letter was such a game-changer! She crafted it from scratch, taking my ideas and turning them into something compelling and polished. The hook she created is so strong, that it really grabs your attention and keeps you interested. If you're looking for someone who ...
Read more

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