About Second World Editorial

About Second World Editorial

 

Second World Editorial helps speculative, upmarket, and genre-blending fiction writers strengthen their manuscripts before querying, submission, or self-publication.

​

My goal as a fiction developmental editor is to help authors like you develop and confidently submit books that resonate with your intended readership. This might involve aligning your manuscript with current market expectations or intentionally choosing to do something different.

​

Whatever your publishing goal, my edits will identify issues that confuse, frustrate, or disengage readers, then strive to find the simplest and most effective solutions.

​

Who I work with:

​

• I work with authors who write stories with speculative elements and thriller, horror, weird, or romance elements.

• I work across multiple audiences from YA through to commercial and upmarket (also known as book club fiction if you’re in the UK!)

• I love collaborating with LGBTQ+ authors in particular and authors who love writing and publishing but are giving the industry some serious side-eye.

• I'm a former cultural anthropologist also fluent in Croatian, German, and Spanish, and I love collaborating on novels with intercultural elements, themes, or settings too.

​

Who I don’t work with:

​

• I don’t work with complete beginners. If you have started writing this year, I recommend taking some more courses and getting feedback from other editors who work with total beginners.

• I don’t work with authors who use generative AI tools to generate or substantially assist their writing. If your process involved prompting, we are unlikely to be a good fit, but AI spelling and grammar checkers are fine.

​

My credentials:

​

Editing is an unregulated profession, so I think it’s important to be transparent about my experience and background:

​

• Full-time book editor from 2019. My portfolio includes multiple New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors and a Hugo Award finalist.

• Book editor who has collaborated with three of the Big Five and with other large fiction trade publishers, primarily as a copyeditor but also as a sensitivity reader and occasional line/developmental editor.

• Developmental editor who has collaborated with many authors who have then gone on to secure literary representation, sign with independent presses, or successfully self-publish.

​

My core values and approach:

​

• My feedback style is direct, kind, and supportive.

• I take an intersectional approach to oppression under capitalism and actively support writers from historically marginalized groups and communities.

• I believe that writing is a collective act of connection, and that stories, like people, are social and live in ecosystems.

• Human creativity rules: No generative AI in my writing and editing workflows.

• Anyone can learn to write well: Writing is not a “natural gift” that can’t be taught.

• Words and tropes can cause harm, and so we should choose them carefully.

​

My commitments:

​

• At Second World Editorial, it’s important to me to work in a way that suits how your mind works. I offer various accommodations for neurodiverse folks (see FAQ).

• ​I offer payment plans at no extra cost for my edits (see FAQ) and offer sliding-scale pricing for webinars and courses I run independently.

​

Outside my day job, I’m a trail runner, mushroom forager, and speculative fiction writer.