Susan Chang – Editor

Hello. My name is Susan and I am a freelance developmental editor. Over the course of my nearly thirty-year career as an acquisitions editor at Big Five publishers in New York City—including HarperCollins and Tor Books (Macmillan)—I’ve worked with many award-winning and bestselling authors. You may want to hire me if you are:

A traditionally published author who needs help with an early draft or final polish before sending a manuscript off to your agent or in-house editor

An aspiring author who has been invited to revise and resubmit and needs an encouraging yet tough editor to help propel you to the finish line and get that offer of representation or publication

An independent, hybrid, or self-published author who constantly strives to improve your craft and craves constructive feedback

TESTIMONIALS

“I can absolutely vouch for her being one of the best editors in the business. She gets an enthusiastic recommendation from me.”—Brandon Sanderson, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“She taught me how to write books for children.”—W. Bruce Cameron, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Dog’s Purpose and the Puppy Tales

“Susan was a terrific partner in creating books I am fiercely proud of.”—Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of Refugee

“She’s what every author wants: a collaborator who won’t intrude on your vision for the novel, but who isn’t afraid to deliver straight talk.”—Andrew Fukuda, award-winning author of This Light Between Us, Winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature

“I cannot say enough wonderful things about her sharp eye as an editor.”—Jane Yolen, award-winning author of more than 400 books for children and adults

“I was so lucky to have Susan as my editor for my debut novel, 96 Miles. She is fantastic! Anytime a reader tells me this book was a page-turner, I have to give credit to Susan. She is brilliant with pacing and tension! She has a sharp eye for story and character, and early on, suggested some key changes that not only added dimension to the plot, but emotional depth to my characters. Her comments and notes were always spot-on. And she was an absolute pleasure to work with. I highly recommend her!”—J. L. Esplin, award-winning author of 96 Miles

"Susan gave me thorough, thoughtful feedback on my query letter, combing through it word by word to show me how to make it stronger. That new, improved version helped me get a top-notch agent and a two-book deal with a great publisher." —James L. Sutter