The best developmental editors for hire in Australia

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Stu 5 star rating

Castlemaine VIC, Australia

I’m a freelance editor with over 15 years’ experience. I work primarily with academics, poets, and neurodivergent writers.

Genres: Education & Reference, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Fiction, Philosophy, Humanities & Social Sciences, Writing & Publishing, Buddhism, and Religion & Spirituality.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Vignette Press
  • La Trobe University
  • Deakin University

Abigail 5 star rating

Sydney NSW, Australia

I'm a genre-fiction specialist, mentor, editor and literary agent with over 20 years' experience helping authors get their stories written.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Romantic Comedy, Romance, Romantic Fantasy, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Thriller & Suspense, Technothriller, and Mystery & Crime.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Rachel 5 star rating

Lithgow NSW, Australia

Award winning publisher, author and educator with 20 years experience in ghost writing, resource writing and curriculum development.

Genres: Children's, Fiction, Education & Reference, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Elsevier
  • Cengage
  • Sydney Symphony Orchestra
  • Word Travels
  • Currency Press

Garima 5 star rating

Adelaide SA, Australia

An editor with expertise in STEM editing (books, research papers, and theses). Worked for Macmillan, Elsevier, Springer, Cengage, AACR

Genres: Business & Management, Non-Fiction, Education & Reference, Health & Wellbeing, and Math & Science.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • MacMillan Publishing Services Ltd. (MPS Ltd.)
  • Aptara, Inc.
  • Thomson Digital

Jessica 5 star rating

Sydney, Australia

Edited over 100 fiction and non-fiction titles, including Prime Minister's Prize, The Age and various Premiers' literary award winners.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Home & Garden, Mystery & Crime, Education & Reference, Parenting & Families, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Amnesty International
  • Thomson Reuters
  • Arts Hub Magazine
  • News Ltd

John 5 star rating

Brisbane QLD, Australia

Editor with over twenty years of experience working for major commercial publishers (Wiley, McGraw-Hill and Cambridge University Press).

Genres: Business & Management, Non-Fiction, Economics, Humanities & Social Sciences, Education & Reference, Psychology, Sports & Outdoors, Health & Wellbeing, Parenting & Families, and Writing & Publishing.

Work experience:

  • Wiley
  • Cambridge University Press
  • Self-employed

Kelly 5 star rating

Sydney NSW, Australia

I love working with authors on their manuscripts, helping them tease out their ideas and realise their publishing dreams.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Coming of Age, Contemporary Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Women's Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, and True Crime.

Work experience:

  • Allen & Unwin

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Kate 5 star rating

Sydney NSW, Australia

Children's fiction editor with over ten years industry experience with Scholastic, Disney and Marvel.

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Middle Grade Fantasy, Mystery & Crime, Humor & Comedy, and Picture Books.

Work experience:

  • Scholastic Australia
  • Allen and Unwin
  • Lexis Nexis

Sherryl 5 star rating

Melbourne VIC, Australia

Writer, teacher, editor- my job is to help writers create terrific, publishable stories.

Genres: Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Picture Books, Young Adult, Poetry, Short Story, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Children’s Non-Fiction, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Victoria University

Christina 5 star rating

Murwillumbah NSW, Australia

General and academic books in humanities, self-help, social sciences, published with Ashgate, Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan and Springer.

Genres: Architecture, Non-Fiction, Life Sciences, Math & Science, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Biographies & Memoirs, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Women's Fiction, and Design.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Ed 5 star rating

Newcastle NSW, Australia

Astute, experienced and empathetic, I'm a narrative problem solver and sentence sharpener who works well with big presses and solo authors.

Genres: History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, Sports & Outdoors, True Crime, Biographies & Memoirs, Literary Fiction, Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, and Contemporary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Puncher and Wattmann

Heather 5 star rating

Aldinga Beach, South Australia

Accredited editor specialising in biography, memoir, self-help, psychology, spirituality, general non-fiction. Former editor at Hardie Grant

Genres: Health & Wellbeing, Non-Fiction, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Psychology, Humanities & Social Sciences, Biographies & Memoirs, New Age, Religion & Spirituality, and Inspirational.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Hardie Grant Publishing
  • John Brown Publishing, London

Jocelyn 5 star rating

Blue Mountains NSW, Australia

Developmental and copy-editor with 25 years' experience at Penguin and indie publishers, specialising in creative non-fiction and memoir.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, History, Humanities & Social Sciences, Literary Fiction, Fiction, and Women's Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Penguin Random House
  • Self-employed

Darren 5 star rating

Geelong VIC, Australia

I’m a specialist SF & Fantasy editor with more than 25 years of publishing experience including Gollancz, Orbit and Earthlight.

Genres: Thriller & Suspense, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Space Opera, Post-Apocalyptic, and Steampunk.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Victor Gollancz
  • Orbit

Kirstie 5 star rating

Woodend Victoria, Australia

I work on politics, current affairs, history and memoir. I'm a nonfiction specialist with over 20 years' experience.

Genres: Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Political Science & Current Affairs, Humanities & Social Sciences, History, Inspirational, LGBTQ Non-Fiction, Earth, Space, & Environmental Sciences, and Math & Science.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Black Inc.

Gary 5 star rating

Brisbane QLD, Australia

Experienced fiction editor, available for developmental editing, book coaching, and copyediting. Founder of the award-winning Influx Press.

Genres: Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Fiction, Science Fiction, Short Story, Literary Fiction, Travel, Non-Fiction, Fantasy, Biographies & Memoirs, History, and Humanities & Social Sciences.

Work experience:

  • Titan Books
  • Influx Press
  • Unsung Stories
  • Ambit Magazine

Rebecca 5 star rating

Coffs Harbour NSW, Australia

Using structural expertise and market insight, I work with Big 5, smaller publishers and indies to help make writing shine.

Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance, Literary Fiction, LGBTQ Fiction, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • New Holland
  • WHSmith
  • Hachette and Curtis Brown

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Hire the best developmental editors in Australia

After months, or maybe even years, of hard work and determination, you’ve finally completed your manuscript.

But now, in the midst of celebrating this accomplishment, you might be wondering: “What’s next?”

Well, for your best chances of coming to market with a professional and polished book, your answer should be: “Hire a developmental editor.”

A developmental editor works to ensure that your plot, characters, structure, prose, and all other pieces of your story are fine-tuned and cohesive as possible.

So how do you find a developmental editor in Australia you can trust to really make your story shine? Our marketplace is home to hundreds of experienced editors — many who worked for Big 5 publishers or with bestselling authors like Neil Gaiman. Sign up for a free account to start browsing the profiles of developmental editors in Australia today.

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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.

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