Zennor Compton – Editor

Looking for an honest but empathetic editor to make your non-fiction book shine? Whether you have the nugget of an idea, a full manuscript or anything in-between, I can help. I offer book coaching, editorial assessments and developmental editing to help you reach your goals. If you're not sure what you need, that's fine. I offer a free 15-minute consultation call to all new clients.

I specialize in memoir, nature, travel, narrative non-fiction and entertainment books but I’ve also worked on self-improvement, spirituality, history, humour… Even colouring books! I help authors realise their full potential by combining high editorial standards with clear commercial focus. I balance respect for an author's voice with grounded understanding of what readers want and need.

Over my 12 years working at Penguin and Macmillan, I published dozens of bestsellers; half of the books I published in the year before I left Penguin hit the Sunday Times lists. Books I've worked on have won prizes, been bookseller picks and featured on countless outlets from The Times and Radio 4 to This Morning. I have worked with seasoned writers, experts, celebrities and major brands such as:

Night People: How to be a DJ in 90s New York by Mark Ronson

Me vs Brain: an Overthinker’s Guide to Life by Hayley Morris

Bimbo: Ditch the Labels, Find Your Voice, Reclaim Your Confidence by Ashley James

The Wilder Way: A Memoir of Adventure, Freedom and an Uncharted Life by Eva zu Beck

Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga

North Road by Rob Cowen

Hermit: A Memoir of Finding Freedom in a Wild Place by Jade Angeles Fitton

The Boy Who Followed His Father Into Auschwitz by Jeremy Dronfield

Drop me a line!

Testimonials:

'Zennor has a genius for honing in on what the true story of the book is, where the focus should be. She seemingly instinctively senses the shape of a book with an omnipotence a writer too close to the page is unable to. Zennor is a sensible, sensitive guide with a gimlet eye for detail, gently nudging when a writer might have gone off course, while maintaining the all-important for a writer: faith and encouragement. I can say from experience that if she is your editor you are in a very safe pair of hands.' Jade Angeles Fitton, author of HERMIT

'Working with Zennor gave me the confidence to finally put pen to page and write my book, Bimbo. I’d already put so much of myself into the manuscript, but she helped me step back and see the bigger picture without losing my voice. Zennor has this rare ability to hold the structure, the argument and the reader in her head, while also caring deeply about clarity and tone. She asked thoughtful, sometimes uncomfortable questions, but always with kindness and purpose. I never felt edited out of my own work; I felt more confident, focused, and clearer about what I was trying to say and why it mattered.' Ashley James, author of BIMBO