Hire the Best Book Editors in Los Angeles, CA

Hi, I'm Allison! 👋 I'm a published writer, story expert, and former Hollywood development executive with a deep background in film, TV, and documentary. I can get your screenplay ready for industry eyes and create your pitch deck. 🎥 My other passion is books! As a professional book editor at Luminary Publishing House, I work across fiction, nonfiction, and YA. I know story inside and out, and love helping authors with their manuscripts, whether that's as broad as helping you solve a tricky plot hole or as focused as finding the best use for commas in a certain paragraph. You already did the hard work of putting your creativity on the page -- let me help you shape it into the best version of itself! ✏️ My background in writing and entertainment also makes me an expert in copywriting and narrative writing of all kinds, from social posts to ghostwriting. 📖 If you need: - Insightful developmental editing (big picture) for your manuscript - Expert copy editing or line editing (small picture) for your manuscript - Thorough proofreading (grammar nerd to the rescue!) for your manuscript - Beta reading for your manuscript - A professional script doctor's eyes on your screenplay - An undeniable pitch deck/pitch materials for your creative project - Tailored copy for your website, newsletter, or social media - A compelling narrative ghostwritten in any medium I'd love to jump in and help! 📚 It all starts on the page! I'm an award-winning screenwriter, six-time novelist, and published fiction writer and essayist. My work can be found in Maudlin House, Every Day Fiction, Herstry, DuFrank Lit, The Barley Field, and Switchboard Magazine. 🏆 My scripts have placed in multiple screenwriting competitions, including the Austin Film Festival competition and the Screencraft Feature Competition. ✨ Words are magic: let's make yours sing!

I bring a professional publishing background and a sharp editorial eye to every project. With a Master’s in Publishing and hands-on experience in the industry, I’ve worked across the full spectrum of editorial tasks—developmental editing, copyediting, proofreading, and beta reading. I understand not only the mechanics of clean, polished writing but also the expectations of literary agents and publishers. Whether you need big-picture feedback to strengthen narrative flow, or meticulous proofreading to eliminate errors, I can provide thoughtful, reliable support that elevates your work. My expertise extends beyond fiction and nonfiction manuscripts—I am equally comfortable working with technical and academic material, including medical and scientific articles. I pride myself on adapting to the needs of each project, respecting the author’s voice while ensuring clarity, coherence, and professionalism. Services I offer: Developmental feedback and beta reading Copyediting and line editing for style, clarity, and tone Proofreading for grammar, spelling, and formatting consistency Editorial assessments tailored for agent and publisher submission Editing support for academic, medical, or scientific writing Clients can expect precision, confidentiality, and clear communication throughout the process. My goal is to help your work reach its full potential, whether you’re preparing a manuscript for submission, publishing independently, or polishing an article for a journal.

Hello! My name is Amanda, and I’m a Developmental Editor and Proofreader specializing in creative writing projects. I have 6 years of professional proofreading, editing, and content creation experience and 2 years of experience editing works of fiction. There's nothing I love more than working with writers to strengthen and breathe life into their projects. I believe my role as an editor is to help writers express themselves as clearly as possible while maintaining their distinctive voices, and I pride myself on taking a communicative and collaborative approach to polish each manuscript to a shine. As a result, my services are thoughtfully designed to meet writers' unique needs and effectively tell the story they want to share. Services offered for my hourly rate include: • Free Consultation — A Zoom or phone call to discuss your visions and goals and to address any questions you may have. • Free Sample Edit — Comprehensive work sample of the first 1000 to 2000 words of your manuscript to determine if our work styles are a fit. • Read Throughs — Multiple in-depth readings before proceeding with editing processes. (Beta Reading services also available at a discounted rate.) • Proofreading and Line Editing — Revision of spelling and grammatical errors and suggestions for sentence structure, word choice, and consistency of writing style. • Developmental Editing — Feedback on story structure, character development, pacing, and coherence. Contact me for your free consultation and sample edit. I'm looking forward to working with you!

I am a professional copywriter, editor, and proofreader with experience across a wide range of publications. I earned my BA in English Language and Literature at University College London (UCL), where I researched and wrote a dissertation on Shakespeare and the Law, learned Old English, and even prepared my own translation of Beowulf from the original! I earned my J.D. at University of Michigan Law School in 2021, where I served for three years as a senior editor on the Michigan Journal of Law Reform. After graduating law school, I clerked for a federal district judge in Nevada, where I researched and wrote legal opinions, many of which are published in the Federal Register. Most recently, I have developed my portfolio as a freelancer on UpWork editing online articles, blog posts, cover letters and other application materials, journal articles, business documents, reports, upper-level scholarship, book manuscripts, and more. I have helped aspiring authors edit and improve their works for publication, guided prospective students through college and graduate admissions, proofread corporate documents, and reviewed marketing materials. My clients' final products have gone on to be published with independent and major outlets alike, including textbooks and major academic journals. Across my experiences, I picked up a variety of editorial methods (including all major citation styles) and am happy to adapt my writing to the needs of the author. In the last year, I have taken on several weekly clients in need of AI fact-checking and editing and assisted them in ensuring their AI-generated materials are polished to perfection. Furthermore, I myself have written multiple articles and blogs using ChatGPT4 and am interested in developing my skills in the field. I care deeply about linguistic precision and want to ensure you are producing clear, succinct, and accurate works of writing for whatever the goal. I am also fluent in Spanish and have performed translation work for Spanish language clients in the immigration law context! I would love to help you develop or finalize your next written work.

I am a published author with over 20 years of experience developing and writing treatments, screenplays, proposals, and books. I have a proven history of successful collaborations with clients from all walks of life to produce complex and compelling storytelling. I am proficient in line editing to enhance language, flow, and readability, and copy editing for grammar, spelling, and consistency. I can also provide essential developmental editing to refine the story structure, pacing, and character development. I have been involved in all stages of the book publishing process, whether it be traditional or self-publishing. My first book, Street Player: My Chicago Story (Wiley), with legendary drummer Danny Seraphine of the band Chicago, was published in October 2010. Jimi Hendrix: A Brother’s Story (Thomas Dunne), written with Jimi’s younger brother, Leon Hendrix, followed in May 2012. The book has also been translated and released in Sweden, Finland, Italy, Poland, and Brazil. In May of 2015, Book of Man: A Navy SEAL's Guide to the Lost Art of Manhood (SP Publishing) was released, written with Navy SEAL Derrick Van Orden. My latest release is The Homes of Hope Story (YWAM Publishing), written with Homes of Hope founder Sean Lambert. While working with author Laura Morton for the past two decades, I've contributed to or been acknowledged in twenty-nine other books, including six New York Times Bestsellers. The diverse list of clients includes professional racing driver Danica Patrick, television personality Al Roker, bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman, musician Melissa Etheridge, actress Susan Lucci, and many more.

Writing a memoir is brave, but it can also feel terrifying! 😬 You are handing a stranger the raw material of your life and hoping they know how to hold it. I help memoir and narrative-nonfiction authors transform raw life experience into focused, emotionally compelling manuscripts, without flattening the author's voice. Recent Upwork projects include complete edits of 50,000-word memoirs valued at $2,850 and $3,820. And when authors need more than an editor, I write: ghostwritten chapters, book proposals, and long-form nonfiction built from your interviews, notes, and voice. Working one-on-one with writers, my services are for authors who require more assistance than just proofreading or copyediting. I mostly offer line-editing and editorial guidance on structure, emotional arc, flow of the narrative, chapter order, voice, and prose to help your book be clearer, stronger, and more marketable. Without becoming generic or "edited to death." I'm known for voice-preserving work: maintaining the author's language, point-of-view, and emotional integrity while tightening clarity, pacing, flow, and connection with readers. That same skill is what makes my ghostwriting sound like you rather than like a ghostwriter. With memoir in particular, I concentrate on helping your story hit the page with depth and restraint: what stays, what goes, where the emotional heart of the piece is, and how each chapter should propel the reader. 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲: - Line editing for clarity, rhythm, tone, and emotional impact - Developmental editing for memoir or narrative nonfiction - Ghostwriting and co-writing for nonfiction books and chapters, from outline or interview to finished draft - Manuscript evaluations and editorial letters - Crafting and refining your manuscript's story arc - Voice-conscious prose polishing - Nonfiction articles and essays in psychology, personal growth, and self-development (Boston University psychology researcher) - Personal growth books, self-help and recovery, spirituality, family memoir, trauma narrative, career-focused memoir, life stories - Getting a manuscript ready for query agents and publishers, beta readers, or self-publication As an editor and writer, I am detailed, direct, and truly empathetic with you for inviting me into such personal material. I won't let a draft slide with "looks good!" when I know it can be better. But I also won't steamroll your voice to prove I did my job. My role is to safeguard what is most vital in your writing while shaping the manuscript to be clear, focused, and emotionally effective. I'll push the work carefully and honestly (Atticus Finch, not Gordon Ramsay!), with respect for both the story and the person who lived it. 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘁: memoir writers, personal-growth authors and coaches, founders, career professionals, and first-time authors seeking senior-level guidance writing or editing their nonfiction book.