The best developmental editors for hire near London

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Claire 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Editor with 20 + years experience working with bestselling and award-winning authors - formerly Associate Publisher at Headline, Hachette UK

Genres: Humor & Comedy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Literary Fiction, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • Headline Publishing Group
  • Self-employed

Tom 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Highly experienced academic and educational book editor, previously worked as Senior Book Production Editor for a leading publishing house.

Genres: Business & Management, Non-Fiction, Psychology, Humanities & Social Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, & Dentistry, Math & Science, Political Science & Current Affairs, Sociology, Education & Reference, and History.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • SAGE

Colm 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Freelance developmental editor, with a focus on thriller and contemporary fiction, memoir non-fiction, and LGBTQ+ writing.

Genres: LGBTQ Fiction, Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, LGBTQ Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Contemporary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-Employed
  • RateSetter

Scott 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

A publisher and editor for over 20 years. I have worked on many award-winners and bestsellers. 150+ five-star reviews from Reedsy clients.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Science Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, and Women's Fiction.

Work experience:

  • The Friday Project, HarperCollins
  • Waterstones
  • Oxford Brookes University
  • Eye Books & Lightning Books
  • Abandoned Bookshop
  • Unbound

Parul 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Professional editor with 10 years of experience at Random House, Quercus. Cofounder: London Writers' Salon. Genre: Thrillers, NonFiction, YA

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Business & Management, Non-Fiction, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery & Crime, Middle Grade, and Children's.

Work experience:

  • Random House
  • Quercus/ now Hachette
  • Cornerstones
  • London Writers' Salon
  • Eccles Fisher

Ruthlessly cheerful, aggressively optimistic: I'm an author's cheerleader, editor, advisor + promoter. Genres: thrillers, adventures + more

Genres: Action & Adventure, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Bloomsbury
  • Canongate Books Ltd & Severn House
  • The Publishing Training Centre
  • Self-employed

Anna 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Award-winning editor and publisher with a near-obsessive eye and over twenty years experience in the industry.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Short Story, Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Women's Fiction.

Work experience:

  • The Pigeonhole
  • Random House
  • Peters, Fraser & Dunlop
  • Curtis Brown
  • The Bookseller

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Friendly non-fiction editor with ten years' experience developing projects, copy-editing and proof-reading at a top non-fiction press.

Genres: History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Philosophy, Political Science & Current Affairs, Education & Reference, and Geography.

Work experience:

  • Polity Books
  • Self-employed

Clare 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

A freelance copy-editor and proofreader specialising in cookery, craft and other lifestyle titles.

Genres: DIY & Crafts, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Home & Garden, and Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits.

Work experience:

  • Cico Books
  • New Holland Publishers
  • Clare Sayer

Formerly editor for Old Street Publishing, UK. I work on crime, thrillers historical and general fiction, history, travel and memoirs.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Mystery & Crime, Espionage, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Old Street Publishing

20+ years in non-fiction book editing. I offer full editorial reports, fact-checking. copy editing and proofreading.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Children’s Non-Fiction, Art, Humanities & Social Sciences, Nature, Travel, Historical Fiction, Fiction, and Mystery & Crime.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Editor and proofreader of trade non-fiction, formerly at Thames & Hudson. I'll make detailed, sensitive edits that let your work shine.

Genres: LGBTQ Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Music, Humanities & Social Sciences, History, Entertainment, Design, and Comics Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Thames & Hudson
  • The Green Economics Institute

I'm an illustrated adult non-fiction publisher specialising in art, design, nature and food. I'm an expert in making beautiful books.

Genres: Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Non-Fiction, Design, Fashion & Textiles, Nature, Photography, Art, Humanities & Social Sciences, Home & Garden, and Travel.

Work experience:

  • Collins and HarperNonFiction, HarperCollins Publishers UK
  • Ebury, Penguin Random House UK
  • Laurence King Publishing, Hachette UK
  • Self-employed

Editorial Director at Hodder and Stoughton working on commercial fiction, previously at Penguin Random House.

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, and Romantic Comedy.

Work experience:

  • Hachette
  • Penguin Random House
  • Penguin Random House, Audio

Editor and publisher with 29 years' experience in children's publishing. Published The Hunger Games, His Dark Materials, Horrible Histories.

Genres: Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Middle Grade Fantasy, Children's, Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, New Adult, Coming of Age, and Picture Books.

Work experience:

  • Templar Publishing
  • Carlton Books
  • Scholastic UK
  • Self-employed

Lucy 5 star rating

London, United Kingdom

Editor with 9+ years experience developing projects for leading publishers, dedicated to guiding first-time authors.

Genres: Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Nature, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Sex & Relationships, Historical Fiction, Fiction, and Biographies & Memoirs.

Work experience:

  • Bloomsbury Publishing
  • The Siren Press
  • Watkins Publishing
  • Pan Macmillan
  • Hachette

Experienced non-fiction editor and researcher with a decade's experience at large publishers. Focused on technology, politics and society.

Genres: Sociology, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Political Science & Current Affairs, Technology, Business & Management, Writing & Publishing, Computers & Internet, and Self-Help & Self-Improvement.

Work experience:

  • Packt Publishing
  • Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
  • Springer Nature
  • Mossycoat Theatre Company
  • Self-employed
  • Apress, Springer Nature

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Hire the best developmental editors in London

You’ve finally finished your manuscript, and it’s been a long road getting this far. Congratulations – next up is the revision process, which might sound daunting, but is actually a gratifying experience, as you get to polish your draft into a literary gem.

However, whether you’ve written fiction or non-fiction, it can often be tough to spot your book’s potential “big picture” issues because you’re too close to the content. This is where a developmental editor comes in: someone who will look at your book from a bird’s eye view to ensure everything from the structure to character development and prose is all fine-tuned.

Working with a developmental editor is beneficial for all authors — but especially first-time authors who might not yet know what to keep an eye out for when going through the revision process.

So where can you find a great developmental editor in London? Right here on Reedsy. Reedsy is home to a diverse roster of editors based in London, some of whom have worked with bestselling authors like Stephen King and Neil Gaiman. Sign up and start browsing their portfolios today, or simply request a quote from an editor who looks like they could be your collaborative soulmate.

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Step 2

Browse

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Step 3

Request quotes

Request quotes from up to five freelancers at any time. They’ll look at your sample pages to give you a tailored quote as well as a sense of how they work.

Step 4

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Once you agree on terms and a timeline, you’ll start collaborating using the many communication and editing tools available on Reedsy.