Tom Witcomb

Tom Witcomb – Editor

Experienced, passionate former "Big 5" editor with 15+ years industry experience. Working across genres with debut and established authors.

Overview

As an editor, literary agent and ghost-writer, I bring a unique set of perspectives from across the publishing spectrum and work with you to develop bespoke editorial packages expertly tailored to your specific needs.


I love working on novels at every stage of development. I can work with you at concept level, helping refine an idea and develop an action plan for getting your first draft nailed.


I can help you with an initial assessment phase, when you've got a first draft in hand, and what an idea of where to go next.


I can roll up my sleeves and get stuck into a deep-dive developmental edit, delivering a marked up manuscript with line-edits and margin notes.


I also offer a Book Coaching service which is a bit of everything rolled into one!


Whichever way you cut it, each service will help you hone your writing and storytelling skills, creating the best book you can and getting it one step closer to publication whether that be through traditional means, or self-publishing.


Honesty is the best approach to editorial work, as well as treating authors with the utmost respect. My primary objective is to help you reach a place where you’re writing your best work, and I love forging lifelong relationships with authors.


I am also an experienced ghost-writer. If you have an idea that you think would make a great story, but don’t know how to get it off of the ground, get in touch and we’ll collaborate to bring your idea to the page.


If you’re planning on self-publishing, I can provide guidance through the self-publishing process — from proofreading and typesetting your manuscript, to reaching readers and finessing your metadata and pricing.

Services
Fiction
Action & Adventure Contemporary Fiction Fantasy Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery & Crime Science Fiction Thriller & Suspense
Languages
English (UK) English (US)

Work experience

Self-employed

Jul, 2020 — Present

After working in international publishing for over a decade as a literary agent at Blake Friedmann and then as a commissioning editor at Orion Publishing Group, Tom now works as an editorial consultant offering a range of services and helping writers across the world achieve their goals.

He loves every opportunity to work with new authors and cater to their individual needs and can tailor packages to fit everyone. His real passion is editorial and development work - helping workshop projects, but also working projects up from first draft or from the seed of an idea and helping authors achieve their goals, making their manuscripts the best they can be.

Orion Publishing Group

Jan, 2020 — Jul, 2020 (6 months)

I worked with a range of commercial crime, thriller and historical authors.

Jericho Writers

May, 2019 — Present

I aid a rolling roster of authors who are all at different stages of their novels. I offer guidance and advice as well as more hands-on workshopping of their stories. It's a custom fit experience, and depends on what each individual needs.

Blake Friedmann

May, 2009 — Dec, 2019 (over 10 years)

I represented a range of authors, with a particular focus on upmarket and commercial crime/thriller fiction, as well as working with historical fiction and literary fiction authors.

I was deeply involved with editing each manuscript that I represented - at both developmental and copy-editing level. Some of these I took on as submission drafts and worked with the author to polish their prose ready for an editor to buy, and some I worked on from the outset - helping an author work up the seed of an idea to fully realised novel.

Portfolio

The Cold Dish

Craig Johnson

'The characters talk straight from the hip and the Wyoming landscape is its own kind of eloquence' New York TimesAfter 25 years as Sheriff of Absaroka County, Walt Longmire's hopes of ending his tenure in peace are dashed when Cody Pritchard is found dead near... read more
One Eye Open

Paul Finch

If the lies don't kill you, the truth will An electrifying, high-octane thrill ride; the new must-read standalone from a Sunday Times bestseller. Dark, gritty and always at the edge of your seat, this unforgettable new outing from master storyteller, Paul Finc... read more
Good Samaritans

Carver, Will

White Butterfly

Walter Mosley

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 1993 GOLDEN DAGGER AWARD'In the crime field this is unquestionably the novel of the year' Literary Review'Perhaps the most important black literary figure to appear on the scene since James Baldwin's death' GuardianThe police don't show up ... read more
The only thing more dangerous than the cartels is the truth...In Ciudad Real, Mexico, a deadly war between rival cartels is erupting, and hundreds of female sweat-shop workers are being murdered. As his police superiors start shutting down his investigation, F... read more
Jack's wife is murdered. He has the chance to see justice done. But at what cost?Jack found the love of his life when he met Kate. But their happiness was shattered when she opened the door to a cold-blooded killer. He will never forget the face of the man who... read more
'This explosive debut reels you in from the first page and never lets up. Sinister, unsettling and gripping.' The Sun A heart-stopping, gripping thriller for fans of C. L. Taylor, Karin Slaughter and Linwood BarclayOn the tenth anniversary of her daughter Autu... read more
Proof of Life

R.J. Ellory

Stroud's best years are behind him. A former war photographer, he's seen things no one should have to see. He left the front line before his luck ran out.His best friend and mentor, Vincent Raphael, was not so fortunate. His car ran over an explosive device an... read more
Neon

G.S. Locke

A detective desperate for revenge. A hitwoman with one last job. A killer with both on his list.Detective Matt Jackson has reached the end. His beloved wife, Polly, is the latest victim of 'NEON' - a serial killer who displays his victims in snaking neon light... read more
The First Lie

Park, A. J.

February's Son

Parks, Alan

Tom has 39 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Paul S.

Paul S.

Mar, 2024

Tom's work ethic and commitment to developing a story has far surpassed my expectations. I've worked with a developmental editor in the past and it was a very brief experience. I received a document showing what I should improve and that was it. With Tom, we met on multiple occasions via video chat and discussed the details of my story at length. He worked diligently on the editing aspect and w...
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Tom W.
Paul, Thanks so much for this review. I had such a fantastic time working with you, too, so I'm very glad to see the feeling's mutual! It was great to work on this over several rounds and really s...
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Gary S.

Gary S.

Jan, 2024

Tom's nomadic travels across Europe with family hampered getting a quick start out of the gate. Combined with technical difficulties at Reedsy to get him paid in a timely manner so he could begin the evaluation process also contributed to the prolonged editorial assessment timeframe. In terms of quality of work, there is no fault. And while it's always hard for a writer to swallow pride of aut...
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Patrick G.

Patrick G.

Oct, 2023

Tom surpassed any expectations I had coming into the editing process. As a first time author, I needed trusted guidance on many levels - from the big picture concept of the book to the minor details. He not only identified the points in the manuscript that needed improvement, but offered actionable ideas and solutions throughout. The result is a book that is an order of magnitude better now tha...
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Tom W.
Thanks for the review, Patrick! It was so great to work with you, and to see your manuscript grow over the months we were working on it. Best of luck for the future, hopefully we'll get to work tog...
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Chris L.

Chris L.

Jul, 2023

Working with Tom was an enlightening experience. He offered wonderful thoughts and feedback throughout the process and truly knows his stuff when it comes to editing. He gave me the perspective I was looking for, and helped me reposition the direction of my story in exactly the way I needed to bring me one step closer to a finished version of the tale I am trying to tell.
Tom W.
Hi Chris Thanks so much for the review. It's been a pleasure working with you on Wolfskin. -Tom
Steven N.

Steven N.

Jun, 2023

It is a testament to Tom’s professionalism that he completed this piece of work let alone to the level, standard and detail that he provided. For during this time Tom had things closer to home that he rightly needed to deal with. That said he still produced a very insightful and excellent editorial assessment of my book ‘Dancing in the Shadows’. It is something that I will use, not only for t...
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Tom W.
Thanks so much for the note, Steven. It was great working with you on this draft of your manuscript -- hopefully we'll be able to continue the collaboration before too long! Cheers, Tom

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