The best non fiction book developmental editing services

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Brittany 5 star rating

Rye, United States

Experienced cookbook editor and proofreader with a background in nonfiction publishing.

Genres: Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Non-Fiction, Nature, and Education & Reference.

Work experience:

  • Cider Mill Press Book Publishers
  • Book Passage Bookstore
  • Saint Mary's College of California
  • MARY: A Journal of New Writing
  • The Music Hall

Kathryn 5 star rating

Chicago, United States

Experienced developmental book editor specializing in parenting books as well as children's PB, MG and YA fiction.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Middle Grade, Children's, Parenting & Families, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Sourcebooks, Inc.
  • American Academy of Pediatrics
  • The Purcell Literary Agency
  • Entangled Publishing
  • Author Claudia Gray

Georgette 5 star rating

Carmel, IN, United States

I'm a freelance editor and proofreader who's committed to helping authors produce the best work possible for their audiences.

Genres: Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Non-Fiction, Business & Management, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Picture Books, and Children's.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
  • Scholastic Reading Counts!

Kathy 5 star rating

San Diego, United States

Freelance copyeditor and proofreader offering 25 years of experience in scientific and educational publishing

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Art, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Medicine, Nursing, & Dentistry, Math & Science, Nature, Action & Adventure, Classics, Women's Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Fantasy, Education & Reference, Science Fiction, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Academic Press (Elsevier Science/Harcourt)
  • Academic Press
  • Brian F. Smith and Associates (Archaeologist)
  • Converse Consultants West
  • Cajon Valley, Mountain Empire, and Palm Middle Schools
  • Self-employed

Sandra 5 star rating

Omaha, United States

Skilled nonfiction book editor and book coach in business, true crime, self-help. Get from idea to published. I love first-time authors.

Genres: Business & Management, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Psychology, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, and True Crime.

Work experience:

  • Southeast Community College
  • Self-employed
  • Metropolitan Community College

Nell 5 star rating

Jacksonville, FL, United States

From bestselling business titles and cookbooks to academic manuscripts, I've helped authors polish their prose for more than 15 years.

Genres: Business & Management, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, and Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits.

Work experience:

  • Callisto Media
  • The American University in Cairo Press
  • Millionacres and The Motley Fool
  • Bankrate

Rebecca 5 star rating

New York, NY, United States

With 10+ years of experience working at NYC publishers, I've edited 100s of books across genres. Thorough, candid, and easy to work with!

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Picture Books, Young Adult, Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Education & Reference, and Women's Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Disney Publishing Worldwide
  • McGraw-Hill Education
  • Penguin Random House
  • Self-employed
  • Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Education

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Julia 5 star rating

Berkeley, CA, United States

NYT-bestselling author, book reviewer, and editor. I've helped dozens of clients get published in small and large presses. I love what I do.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Political Science & Current Affairs, Education & Reference, Literary Fiction, and Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • The Los Angeles Times
  • El Financiero de Mexico
  • Wired News
  • The New York Times
  • Stanford University

Nicole 5 star rating

New York, NY, United States

I'm a literary agent with a passion for collaboration and a love of storytelling. Always thoughtful, engaged, and optimistic.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Short Story, Women's Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Sex & Relationships, and Literary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • The Book Group
  • The Reading Room
  • ICM Partners

Erik 5 star rating

Minneapolis, MN, United States

Editor with years of in-house experience. Founder of a literary agency. Writer. Host of Print Run Podcast.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Career Guides, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Nature, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Children's, Sports & Outdoors, Life Sciences, and Math & Science.

Work experience:

  • Red Sofa Literary Agency
  • Self-employed
  • The Overlook Press
  • Oxford University Press
  • Headwater Literary Management

Eliza 5 star rating

Maplewood, NJ, United States

I'm a detail-oriented editor, specializing in children's nonfiction, with 10 years of experience at publishing houses and literary agencies

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Picture Books, Children's, Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Education & Reference.

Work experience:

  • Diversion Books
  • Self-employed
  • Leigh Feldman Literary
  • The Bent Agency
  • Callisto Media
  • Rebel Girls

Marcy 5 star rating

Montclair, NJ, United States

I am a published novelist. I want you to become one, too. I specialize in literary fiction, YA, women's fiction, thrillers and memoir.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Humor & Comedy, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopian, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Knopf
  • Dow Jones
  • About.com

Beth 5 star rating

Maineville, United States

Seasoned editor and proofreader with more than 20 years of experience in multiple genres. I have worked with several best-selling authors!

Genres: Health & Wellbeing, Non-Fiction, Action & Adventure, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, LGBTQ Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Science Fiction, and Dystopian.

Work experience:

  • Self-Employed

Ray 5 star rating

Northampton, United States

Developmental editing and copy editing for the nonfiction world: health, nutrition, fitness, tech, and entrepreneurship.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Health & Wellbeing, Sports & Outdoors, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Business & Management, Computers & Internet, and Technology.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Winning Edits
  • Rocket Code
  • Amazon Services (Amazon.com)
  • Smart Passive Income
  • Buy Box Experts
  • The Storied Future

Jim 5 star rating

Tigard, OR, United States

An editor with over twenty years of publishing experience at major houses, who has a sweet spot for genre fiction and comic books.

Genres: Action & Adventure, Fiction, Comics Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Plays & Screenplays, Comics & Graphic Novels, Thriller & Suspense, Science Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Cozy Mysteries, and Mystery & Crime.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Kirkus Media, LLC
  • Hachette Book Group
  • Time Warner Book Group/Hachette Book Group
  • DC Comics

Lisa 5 star rating

Berkley, MI, United States

Every sentence matters! My passion is helping your words shine, whether you're at the beginning of your project or you need a final polish.

Genres: Cooking, Food, Wine, & Spirits, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Travel, Home & Garden, Career Guides, Fantasy, Fiction, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Ronit 5 star rating

Detroit, MI, United States

Developmental editor with 10+ years' experience at Doubleday. Honest, detailed, supportive. Book club fiction, literary fiction & memoir.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Coming of Age, Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Contemporary Fiction, Cultural & Ethnic, Humor & Comedy, and LGBTQ Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Penguin Random House Inc.
  • Random House Inc.
  • Detroit Metro Times
  • The Daily Orange (Syracuse University)

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Hire the best nonfiction developmental editors

Chances are, your non-fiction book is posing a problem and trying to help readers understand it better (e.g. economic inequality) or deal with it in a practical way (e.g. setting up a business). To do that successfully, you need to convince your reader that you’re worth listening to because of your experience or expertise, and then lay out your thoughts in an engaging, intuitive way.

By hiring a non-fiction developmental editor with experience in the genre, you'll get their help with several important aspects of your work: from organizing your thoughts in a more coherent order, to pointing out when something is hard to follow or identifying gaps in your logic, these editors can help you make sure that your book is as compelling and helpful as possible.

We carefully vet our non-fiction developmental editors to ensure they have extensive experience editing not just any kind of books, but books in your particular genre. The editors on our platform have worked with bestselling authors and large publishing houses, polishing non-fiction works just like yours. Make an account on Reedsy’s marketplace and browse their profiles to get a sense of what you could accomplish together.

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Step 2

Browse

Then, browse professional profiles to find out more about their personalities and past projects.

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

Collaborate

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