Suzy Pope

Suzy Pope – Editor

Freelance developmental and copy editor with publishing experience. Specialises in thrillers, travel and food writing.

Overview

After graduating with a Masters in Creative Writing, I've spent 10 years as a freelance writer and editor between shifts as a librarian. I’ve worked as a magazine editor (food & drink), travel writer and novelist, but my passion lies in tinkering with a manuscript until it’s reached its full potential.


Sure, I can spot a typo a mile off, and can tweak a sentence until it sings. But I really love tying up intricate plot points, tightening up dialogue and shifting scenes around until the structure of a novel flows. I’ve provided developmental edits for a number of published books, two of which are Amazon bestsellers this year (A Time of Birds by Helen Moat and Secrets of a Serial Killer by Rosie Walker)


The Creative Writing Masters at Edinburgh University taught me the ins and outs of plot, pace and structure and I love to share this with aspiring and established authors through my developmental edits. Fiction-wise I've edited twisty thrillers, helping with plotting and tension throughout. In non-fiction I specialise in all things travel; guidebooks, anthologies and memoirs.


Testimonials:

“I am the author of five travel books (published by Signal books, Elbow publishing and Bradt) and it has been fantastic to have Suzy's help in shaping these texts. She's been able to spot the point at which a narrative or a paragraph takes a wrong turn and to work away at the detail to make suggestions in order to get me back on track. I really appreciate her friendly approach, too, always combining suggestions for changes with specific praise on what is working in the writing which motivates me to keep at it.” -- Elizabeth Gowing, author and travel writer.


“I've worked with Suzy over a good number of years as a freelance travel writer for well-known regional and national publications and as a successful author of a guide book and travel narrative. Suzy is an encouraging, perceptive and careful editor, with an excellent eye for detail. She will not only ensure pieces are written with accurate grammar and punctuation, but also succinctly and vividly. I thoroughly recommend her.” -- Helen Moat, author and travel writer.



Services
Fiction
Contemporary Romance Romantic Comedy Women's Fiction
Non-Fiction
Travel
Languages
English (UK)
Certifications
  • CELTA
  • CILIP

Work experience

The List magazine

Oct, 2018 — Present

Commissioning and writing food & drink related articles, copy editing and proofreading.

Self-employed

Feb, 2017 — Present

Developmental and copy edits of novels and narrative non-fiction before publication or submission.

Proofreading services for web content covering all topics.

Travel articles written for various magazines and companies including Wanderlust, Bradt Guides, National Geographic Traveller, Culture Trip, FlyDubai and Hertz.

National Library of Scotland

Jul, 2011 — Present

Part-time librarian in the Archives and Special Collections department of the National Library of Scotland. Research, fact-checking, reference services and curatorial support.

Suzy has 12 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Val N.

Val N.

Jan, 2023

This is my third time hiring Suzy. Excellent as always.
Rosie M.

Rosie M.

Oct, 2022

I have used Suzy for development edits, copy and line edits on eight novels so far and she always exceeds expectations. She gives great direction which always brings my projects to the next level.
Z C.

Z C.

Feb, 2022

Suzy worked with me, by providing developmental and copy editing services. She's truly been an invaluable part of my creative process, and I cannot wait to work with her again. Her vision, and ability to bounce off the author in a way where it fuels your creative process is fantastic. Allowing your vision, and ideas to grow. She is direct, and provides detailed and professional feedback. Her co...
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Rosie M.

Rosie M.

Jul, 2021

Brilliant as always! Fast and on time.
Susan P.

Susan P.

May, 2021

Suzy has been an absolute pleasure to work with. She really helped me make my psychological suspense novel more suspenseful by breaking up big scenes into smaller ones that give the readers more twists and turns. Her suggestions were on point. She was always responsive and even reviewed my book blurb. She made it really come to life. After we were done with all the edits, she asked if she could...
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