Our Book Editors
Looking for a professional book editor?
Getting feedback from an experienced external editor is the best way to improve a manuscript. Traditional publishers have always relied on the personal interaction between editor and author as a way to hone their works. Modern digital-first publishers use the exact same model. The best self-published authors all employ third-party editors too. And that same service is available to you to, with standards that meet or exceed the quality threshold of the world’s Big 5 publishers.
If you want to dive straight into a review of our editors, you can do so here. Otherwise, read on to understand what editors do, what you need to do – and how to find the editor that’s going to be right for you and your book.
Understanding Editing: Service Definitions and Tips for Working with Book Editors
Book editing isn’t a single process. At a large commercial publisher, a single manuscript will go through at least three editorial stages, and maybe more. You almost certainly don’t need that level of input, but you do need to know what the different services are, so you can understand what’s right for you.
Almost all writers should start with manuscript assessment. It’s quite likely to be the only editorial service they ever need. (Manuscript assessments are also called editorial assessments or structural feedback. Minor differences aside, these all refer to the same thing.)
A manuscript assessment offers deep analysis of every major element of your book: plot, character, settings, pacing, prose style, and more. Your editor won’t rewrite the book for you (that’s definitely your job), but they will tell you, in detail, what’s working, what’s not working, and how to fix the bits that aren’t yet right. You’ll be given plenty of examples and whatever further editorial advice seems helpful. The emphasis is always on constructive, actionable feedback.
At Jericho Writers, our editorial reports are a minimum of 3,000 words long. All of our editors are very experienced. We don’t work with anyone who doesn’t meet our standards and we have a superb track record of helping writers through to publication.
The service is suitable for all works of fiction and non-fiction, including memoir and including Young Adult or Middle Grade fiction for kids. Details of our children’s manuscript assessment can be found here.
If you are on a budget and only want an opening section review, then we can offer that too – it’s the same basic service but involves less text and shorter reports.
A developmental edit (or “dev edit”) involves everything you get from a manuscript assessment, but also includes detailed line-by-line comments on your manuscript and a one-hour follow up by phone with your editor.
This is the most rigorous, most challenging – and most costly – version of editing. It’s really suitable only for authors who are confident that their manuscripts are getting close to publication-ready. It’s conventionally the last (optional) step before submission to agents.
If you’re not sure whether developmental editing is right for you, you can book a free consultation with one of our team. In most cases, we’ll be likely to guide you to a cheaper option.
Copy editing is the most common form of text correction for authors. Copy editing will focus on eliminating grammatical and factual errors in the text and will improve overall readability and consistency within your writing. Your editor will make changes using tracked changes (or a suitable alternative) directly onto your manuscript.
Some form of copy editing is essential if you are planning to self-publish. If you are aiming to submit to traditional publishers via agents, you probably don’t need copy-editing, unless there are specific reasons otherwise (for example, dyslexia, or writing in English as a foreign language.)
If you want a deeper version of copy-editing – one that also tackles clumsily written sentences and aims to improve flow and clarity – you can ask for line editing.
Proof reading is the lightest form of text correction and is really only suitable for text that has already been copy-edited and for authors who want a near-perfect manuscript prior to publication. The editor will identify simple typos or in-text errors. You will receive a marked-up manuscript, however any changes will be minimal compared to the other text correction services.
Seeking editorial advice should not be a passive process. On the contrary: the magic happens in the interaction between you and your editor.
To get the most from your editor, you should do as much as you can on the book before submitting it to us. So don’t just reach the final full-stop, then send the book out. You need to self-edit your work as rigorously as you can first. That way, the editor will be solving genuinely difficult and important problems, not just things that you could have found and solved by yourself.
As a rough rule of thumb, you should continue to self-edit your work until either you find yourself going round in circles or you know there’s something not quite right, but you can’t confidently identify the issue. That’s the point at which you will get maximum benefit from a professional editor.
And when you receive your feedback – be prepared! The typical reactions include a mixture of shock – you wanted the book to be perfect, and it isn’t – and relief. The relief comes from finally understanding what the issues are and being given a path to fixing them. Be assured that the relief (and energy release) will soon take over from any initial shock.
Our editors are all either:
A) Experienced editors from major publishing houses; or B) Experienced authors.
We make extensive use of professional authors, for the same reason that carpenters are usually the best people to teach carpentry: this is a practical task, and you’ll often get the best advice from hands-on, working practitioners.
That said, we also use well-qualified editors from publishing houses, but only those with a real passion for the task of editing itself. (Although the job title is ‘editor’, in practice the role covers management of the entire publication process from acquisition to production to marketing.)
As a very broad guide, authors often make the best editors for newer writers (where the practitioner-type advice is most important) and publisher-editors often make the best editors for later stage writers (where knowledge of the publishing market becomes more relevant.) But that’s a broad rule only. We allocate manuscripts to editors based on genre, author, specific editorial issues, an editor’s specific experience and passions, and so on. It’s our job to find the right editor for you.
We don’t use any editor who doesn’t meet our standards, and we check every editorial report before it goes out to the client. We aim to be the best and work hard to make sure we live up to that aim.
The cost of an editorial service is dependent on the service you require and your wordcount. The services that require a lighter editorial touch, such as proofreading, will be on the cheaper end of the scale. However, the more in-depth level of editing you need, the more expensive the fee will be. When you choose your editorial service, just enter your wordcount for an immediate quote.
Some authors will find they need another round of edits even after purchasing a professional review. This is normal – and unlike some other online companies, we are very upfront about that. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll need to pay for a second or third professional edit – you may be able to handle another round of edits yourself or with the help of a beta reader. But you should be prepared to go on editing until the day your book is published. (Your book will get better with every round of edits.)
At Jericho Writers, we pride ourselves in providing services we would value ourselves, with editors we truly believe in. So if you’re in any doubt about whether your manuscript is in fact ready for a professional edit, then get in touch with our Writer Support team, and we’ll offer you honest (and free) advice on your next steps.
We’re confident that we’re the best at what we do. That’s why we offer a guarantee for all the editorial work we undertake.
We promise:
- To advise you honestly and in good faith.
- To give you a stringent, in-depth editorial report.
- To use an expert book editor with authority in the industry.
- To consider the market for your manuscript.
- To be honest and constructive.
- To respect your copyright.
- To pitch your work to agents on your behalf if, in our view, it is strong enough to be marketed. We will always seek your permission first.
View some of our book editors
Over the last 20 years we have built up a list of professional book editors of the highest calibre. From bestselling authors themselves, to former commissioning editors, literary agents, and Big 5 Publishers, our book editors have years of experience working with all fiction genres across adult, children’s, middle grade, and Young Adult, and non-fiction projects, including memoirs.
Holly Seddon
Editor • International Bestselling Author
- Bio
- Books
- Genres
- Awards
Holly is an international bestselling author with five published novels to date: ‘Try Not to Breathe,’ ‘Don’t Close Your Eyes,’, ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, (Corvus) ‘The Hit List’ and ‘The Woman on the Bridge’ (Orion).
Alongside fellow author Gillian McAllister, Holly co-hosts the popular Honest Authors Podcast.
Holly is also an tutor on our Ultimate Novel Writing Course, working alongside authors over a one-year period to offer support and advice.
- Contemporary
- Literary (including book club)
- Crime / Thriller / Action
- Women’s
- Short Stories & Novellas
- Plays & Screen Scripts
- International bestselling author
Dexter Petley
Editor • Acclaimed Novelist
- Bio
- Books
- Genres
Dexter is the acclaimed author of a number of novels: Little Nineveh (Polygon 1995), Joyride (Fourth Estate, 1999), White Lies (Fourth Estate 2003) and One True Void (Two Ravens Press 2008).
An experienced editor, literary novelist, memoirist and translator. Dexter publishes regularly and is now considered to be one of our most original nature writers. As a long serving editor with Jericho Writers, (since 2005) many of Dexter’s clients have achieved considerable success in finding agents and publishers. Among them is Costa shortlisted novelist, Elisa Lodato.
- Contemporary
- Literary (including bookclub)
- Crime / Thriller / Action
- Historical
- Women’s
- Comic / Satire
- Young Adult
- Short stories & novellas
- Memoir / Autobiography
- Other narrative non-fiction
- Subject led non-fiction
Kesia Lupo
Editor • Former Literary Agent & Senior Editor
- Bio
- Books
- Genres
Former Literary Agent and Senior Editor, Kesia Lupo has experience working within top British publishers, including Chicken House and Pan Macmillan. Her record of clients speak for itself and includes Costa Award-winning Jasbinder Bilan and Sunday Times-bestselling Pádraig Kenny, among many other talented children’s writers. Kesia is a writer herself with three YA novels out with Bloomsbury UK – fantasies We Are Blood and Thunder and We Are Bound by Stars, and horror/thriller Let’s Play Murder.
- Contemporary
- Literary (including Bookclub)
- Crime / Thriller / Action
- Women’s
- Historical
- Romance & Erotica
- Science Fiction
- Fantasy
- Paranormal
- Young Adult
Richard Roper
Editor • Former Senior Commissioning Editor at Headline
- Bio
- Books
- Genres
Richard is an experienced senior commissioning editor for non-fiction at Headline (part of Hachette UK), where he has published a number of Sunday Times bestsellers. Richard is also a novelist. His debut, Something to Live For, was published by Orion (UK) and Penguin (US), and has sold in twenty languages. You can see some of Richard’s clients on the “books” tab.
- Contemporary
- Women’s
- Comic/Satire
- Short stories & novellas
- Memoir/autobiography
- Other Narrative Non-fiction
- Subject-led Non-fiction
Pippa Goodhart
Editor • Award Winning Children’s Author
- Bio
- Books
- Genres
Pippa is an award winning children’s book author; she has had over 140 picture books, early readers, and middle grade novels published. Her picture book You Choose, sold over a million copies, and received multiple awards. While The Great Sea Dragon Discovery, won the Young Quills Award for best children’s historical novel, 2019.
Pippa’s editorial clients have included Jacqueline Wilson, Tim Bowler, Helena Pielichaty, Geraldine McCaughrean, Pip Jones and Catherine Emmett.
- Picture Books
- Children’s fiction
Jon Curzon
Editor • Literary Agent and Editor
- Bio
- Books
- Genres
Jon Curzon is a literary agent at Artellus Ltd., where he represents writers across fiction and non-fiction; from debut literary fiction (Kyra Wilder’s Little Bandaged Days and Ashleigh Bell Pedersen’s The Crocodile Bride) to titles in history and science (Christopher Othen’s The King of Nazi Paris and Lukasz Bednarski’s Lithium), and memoir (Emily Wells’s A Matter of Appearance).
Jon has worked with authors in an editorial capacity since 2015. See some of Jon’s clients’ work on the “books” tab.
- Contemporary
- Literary (including Bookclub)
- Comic/satire
- Short stories & novellas
- Memoir/autobiography
- Other narrative non-fiction
Rebecca Roy
Editor • Former Commissioning Editor at Little Brown
- Bio
- Books
- Genres
Rebecca has over ten years’ experience in the publishing industry, commissioning commercial fiction for the UK’s leading publishing houses, including Little Brown, Simon & Schuster and Bonnier Books. Throughout her career, she edited and published everyone from up-and-coming debuts to international bestsellers, including Jenny Colgan, Chris Whitaker, Heidi Swain, Santa Montefiore, Roberta Kray and Paige Toon. See some of Rebecca’s clients on the “books” tab.
- Literary (including Bookclub)
- Contemporary
- Crime / Thriller / Action
- Women’s
- Historical
- Romance & Erotica
Claire Gillman
Editor • Experienced journalist and non-fiction author
- Bio
- Books
- Genres
Claire is an experienced journalist, writer and editor.
Claire is the author of over 30 non-fiction books for adults and creative non-fiction titles for children, some under the pen-name, Rory Storm. Among her titles are three books in the Hodder Teach Yourself series on how to get published and how to make money from freelance writing. Claire has coached and mentored authors 15 years.
You can find some of Claire’s clients’ successes on the “books” tab.
- Memoir/autobiography
- Other Narrative Non-fiction
- Subject-led Non-fiction
Not sure which service or editor is right for your manuscript?
Book a call with our Writers Support team, we’d be happy to help you find the right service and editor for you and your book.
Could you be our next success story?
We’ve helped hundreds of writers like you get published. Many of our clients have gone on to win prizes, become bestsellers, get film deals, achieve huge global sales, and more. Now it’s your turn.