Sara Walker

Sara Walker – Editor

30+ yrs copyediting fiction, nonfiction, romantasy, mystery, crime, and thrillers for nat'l publishers. Eager to help you polish your prose!

Overview

For more than 30 years I have helped writers polish their manuscripts and ready them for publication. I started with Condé Nast and Random House, and I am currently a freelance editor for Sourcebooks/Poisoned Pen Press/Landmark and Apollo Publishers. I have worked on a variety of contemporary fiction and nonfiction, from novels and memoirs to thrillers, romance, and fantasy. I have a remarkably keen eye for typos and inconsistencies. I also have extensive experience revising awkward or unclear phrasing to make the language clear and accessible to readers from a variety of backgrounds. I am assiduous in verifying terms and place-names with legitimate, vetted sources so that manuscripts are free of inaccuracies.

If you have found Reedsy, you are no doubt proud of the hard work you have done so far and want your book to find success once it leaves your hands. Every author has a unique voice, and I am committed to maintaining the writer's creative intent.

Regardless of the genre of writing or the target audience of your book, my job as your behind-the-scenes copy editor and proofreader is to help YOU offer a satisfying, successful, error-free reading experience to your audience.

I look forward to hearing from you.

~Sara Walker

Reviews:

"Please tell the copy editor a huge thanks for all the hard work, and I loved the little positive comments sprinkled throughout. Very affirming! Her comments and attention to detail were spot-on. I would love to work with her again." - Carter Wilson, 'What She Made Me Do'

"Great edit! I am going back through it and fixing a lot of what read as very clunky to me. Thank you for all of your insight. You were especially effective this time—all times!—at getting me to dissect the sentences a bit more. Thank you! I feel lucky to be working together :-) – Lo Patrick, 'The Floating Girls'

"I’ve hired Sara many times as a copyeditor and proofreader for our books, and have found her to be a joy to work with. She is extraordinarily skilled and detail-oriented, a consummate professional, and always meets her deadlines. Any book she works on has been improved by her sharp eye." —Julia Abramoff, Publisher and Director of Editorial at Apollo Publishers

"A big thank you for your incredibly hard work on this offer. It's always a pleasure to read your enthusiastic emails, receive your excellent manuscripts and feedback, and hear your well-considered advice. Keep up the good work!" –Jolien De Groof, Production Editor, Clavis Publishing

"Great job on 'The Night and Its Moon'!" - Heather Hall, Associate Managing Editor, Sourcebooks

"I so appreciated receiving your lovely note with the copyedits. Thank you for taking the time to write so thoughtfully about the book—and for the great copyediting job! I was glad to be in such good hands." – Katherine Towler, 'The Penny Poet of Portsmouth'

"Thanks for proofreading 'Democracy.' It was a complex book and I appreciate all the work you put into it!" – Kelly Winton, Counterpoint Press

Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Fiction
Fantasy Mystery & Crime Romance Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction
Languages
English (US)
Certifications
  • Modern Language Association
  • Chicago Manual of Style

Work experience

Sourcebooks/ Landmark / Poisoned Pen Press / Bloom Books

Jan, 2020 — Present
Copyedit and proofread fiction and nonfiction, including novels, memoirs, mysteries, historical fiction, and boxed calendars. Create title-specific style sheets and maintain house style, Chicago Manual, and MLA style. Fact-check, query, and revise unclear or inconsistent text. Ensure accuracy and consistency of typecoding.

Apollo Publishers

Jan, 2020 — Present
Copyedit and proofread fiction and nonfiction, including novels, memoirs, biographies, photo essays, cookbooks, and children’s books. Create title-specific style sheets and maintain house style, Chicago Manual, and MLA style. Fact-check, query, and revise unclear or inconsistent text. Ensure accuracy and consistency of typecoding.

Counterpoint Press / Seal Press / Softskull / Avalon

May, 2004 — Present
Copyedit, fact-check, and proofread fiction and nonfiction, including cookbooks, novels, memoirs, biographies, literary anthologies, and graphic novels. Create title-specific style sheets and maintain house, Chicago Manual, and MLA style. Ensure accuracy and consistency of typecoding and indexing.

Random House

Oct, 1989 — Jun, 2006 (over 16 years)
Copyedited and proofread internationally recognized travel guides. Created title-specific style sheets and maintained house and Chicago Manual style. Line-edited and fact-checked, querying or revising unclear writing and faulty organization. Ensured consistency of typecoding.

Hearst Corporation

Apr, 1989 — Apr, 1990 (about 1 year)
Copyedited and proofread all features, monthly columns, and recipes from manuscript to blue lines. Assisted writers with line edits and rewrites. Wrote articles, captions, and subtitles for the contents page.

Condé Nast

Jun, 1987 — Aug, 1989 (about 2 years)
Spec’d, copyedited, and proofread articles while routing copy to beauty, health, fashion, and editorial departments.

Portfolio

When They Find Me: A Novel

Wilson, Carter

Poisoned Pen Press

Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Copy Editing
Proofreading
Fast Boys and Pretty Girls: A Novel

Patrick, Lo

Sourcebooks Landmark

Copy Editing
Copy Editing
A Frozen Pyre (Villains, 2)

CJ, Piper

Bloom Books

The Forest of Missing Girls

Giraldes, Nichelle

Poisoned Pen Press

Breathe In, Bleed Out

McAuley, Brian

Poisoned Pen Press

Five Found Dead: A Novel

Gentill, Sulari

Poisoned Pen Press

Watch Your Back (Devil's Backbone Book 2)

James, Tate

Foxy Publishing Pty Ltd

The Girls of Good Fortune (Deluxe Edition): A Novel

McMorris, Kristina

Sourcebooks Landmark

The Dead Husband Cookbook

Valentine, Danielle

Sourcebooks Landmark

Lesson In Red

Hummel, Maria

The Ones We Keep

Huff, Bobbie Jean

In Every Mirror She's Black: A Novel

Ákínmádé Åkerström, Lolá

Sara has 16 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Kenneth K.

Kenneth K.

Oct, 2024

Pinned
OMG! As a writer I am embarrassed to say that I don’t have the words to fully describe the fullness of the quality and quantity of work Sara did for me. I am so grateful for her and her talent. She is kind and has been so helpful and encouraging through the process. She underpromised and over del...
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Karen H.

Karen H.

Nov, 2026

Hiring Sara Walker to proofread my debut novel, Shadows of Service, was one of the best decisions I made for this book. She has a sharp eye for detail and excellent judgment. Her suggestions made the manuscript stronger, and throughout the process, I felt she understood and respected my voice as ...
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Lee Z.

Lee Z.

Oct, 2026

Working with Sara is a complete joy. She totally exceeded my expectations and she is the absolute best! I'm actually gonna miss our interactions.
Allan M.

Allan M.

Oct, 2026

Sara is excellent! She was exactly what I needed to take my story to the next level. - Meticulous attention to detail - Researched everything - Full command of the English language - Explained her recommendations as needed - FINISHED WHEN PROMISED Sara's input resulted in a book that keeps read...
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Sara W.
Allan, thank you so much for your very kind review. I thoroughly enjoyed copyediting your thriller REMORSE and am confident that readers of suspenseful, otherworldly narratives will get a true shiv...
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Jen B.

Jen B.

Sep, 2026

Sara was very responsive and kind throughout the entire process. If you are looking for an editor who has patience and understanding, especially as a first time writer then I highly recommend her.

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