Erin Clyburn

Erin Clyburn – Editor

Former literary agent with 15+ years of experience, specializing in developmental & copy edits for MG, YA, horror, mystery, & magic realism

Overview

I am a book industry professional with over 15 years' experience in copy editing, proofreading, and developmental editing.

As a literary agent for eight years, I represented middle grade, YA, and adult authors. I have acquired and edited client projects that have gone on to become award winners and international best sellers. While I represented a wide variety of genres, I gravitate toward the dark and strange: horror, thriller, mystery, magic realism, and grounded fantasy. I currently work as a freelance editor for clients in a variety of industries, including an independent literary horror publisher.

I love how collaborative the editorial process can be, and I enjoy working with clients from a big-picture, developmental level—pacing, characterization, worldbuilding, plot, etc.—down to the line-level, nitty-gritty details of grammar and word choice. As I edit, I put as much effort into pointing out what is working well as I do what isn't—I know that your manuscript is your passion on the page. My goal is to elevate your voice and vision to help make your project the strongest it can be.

I particularly love working with debut authors and seeing their projects come to life, but I also have experience working with established authors. I work with authors pursuing both traditional and self-publishing routes.

Services
Fiction
Horror Magical Realism Middle Grade Mystery & Crime Young Adult
Languages
English (US)

Work experience

Howland Literary

Apr, 2022 — Dec, 2024 (almost 3 years)
I represented authors of middle grade, young adult, and adult works to publishers, pitched projects, and negotiated deals between authors and publishers. I specialized in projects that are darker in tone: mystery, thriller, horror, magic realism, and grounded fantasy and science fiction. I read and evaluated manuscript submissions. I performed developmental edits and copy edits on client manuscripts, and I represented the agency at conferences and workshops.

Self-employed

Jan, 2021 — Present
I am a freelance developmental editor for the independent horror press Creature Publishing. I am also a freelance copy editor, proofreader, fact checker, and developmental editor for print and digital clients in food media and tech, including DoorDash, Caviar, Yoga Journal, Vegetarian Times, HelloFresh, Outside, the James Beard Foundation, and Food & Wine.

The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency

Jul, 2019 — Mar, 2022 (over 2 years)
At JDLA, after an internship with a New York–based boutique literary agency, I began to build my client list in middle grade and young adult fiction and adult fiction and select nonfiction.

Dotdash Meredith

Jan, 2016 — Jun, 2023 (over 7 years)
I copy edited and fact checked print and digital content, including stories and recipes, for Food & Wine and Cooking Light magazines. I worked with editors to implement a consistent voice and recipe style, and helped to develop and implement a universal style guide for recipes across all DDM brands.

Portfolio

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
Necrology (The Dirty, 1)

Ripley, Meg

Creature Publishing

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
Wake the Bones: A Novel

Kilcoyne, Elizabeth

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
That Night in the Library: A Novel

Jurczyk, Eva

Poisoned Pen Press

Clara Poole and the Wrong Way Up

Tyng, Taylor

Pixel+Ink

The A&A Detective Agency: The Grimthorpe Grave

Saxton, K. H.

Union Square Kids

The Devil's in the Dancers

Yu, Catherine

Page Street YA

Helga

Yu, Catherine

Page Street YA

Sprout

Taylor Tyng

Random House

Sprout has always hidden from the world—having antlers growing out of your head will do that. But when she hears that someone else like her might exist, she's willing to risk her safety—and th... read more
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
6:40 to Montreal: A Novel

Jurczyk, Eva

Poisoned Pen Press

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
Shadow Drive

Nolan Cubero

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading
Direwood

Yu, Catherine

Developmental Editing Copy Editing Proofreading

Erin has 23 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Mori G.

Mori G.

Aug, 2025

Pinned
I have worked with several editors on Reedsy and Erin is by far the best. I initially collaborated with her for a Query Letter review, and the insights she provided were so thorough, accurate, and insightful that I worked with her again for two more projects (editorial assessment and synopsis dev...
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Olga V.

Olga V.

Aug, 2024

Pinned
Erin was absolutely fantastic, and I enjoyed our collaboration a lot. Erin provided developmental editing for my horror novel. She completed the work ahead of time and provided a quality report, plus, left a lot of useful comments, observations, and notes in the manuscript itself. Her comments d...
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Daniel R.

Daniel R.

Dec, 2023

Pinned
I was about ready to toss this manuscript in the "stories to forget" drawer where I intended for it to remain until the crack of doom, but I had spent so much time on it over the last year (not to mention that the story was a personal one for me). I decided to consult with Erin on developmental ...
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Sabina D.

Sabina D.

Nov, 2025

Erin was a pleasure to work with. She helped me polish my query and delivered a week in advance from the scheduled time frame. I have not tested my query long enough to give feedback on reply rates. However, I am confident the query is better than it would've been without her help and would highl...
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Natasha S.

Natasha S.

Oct, 2025

I appreciated Erin's messages were professional and I felt like I could ask anything if I needed too. At the end of reviewing my dev edit, which took me a week to read and sit with, I felt overwhelmed of course, but also excited to lock into a revised roadmap for my plot and characters. I think i...
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