The best horror book copy editing services

Sign up for free to meet top copy editors on Reedsy

Michael 5 star rating

St. Louis, MO, United States

Editor of award-winning literature and NYT bestsellers, with 13 years' experience at Penguin Random House, Macmillan, and Hachette.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Health & Wellbeing, Action & Adventure, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Psychology, Humanities & Social Sciences, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • The Laryngoscope Journal
  • Self-employed
  • Graphic World, Inc
  • Penguin Random House

Stephanie 5 star rating

New York, NY, USA

Dedicated full-time and freelance editor, copy editor and proofreader with professional, creative publishing experience in numerous genres.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Comics & Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Short Story, Middle Grade, Children's, Horror, and Thriller & Suspense.

Work experience:

  • The MIT Press
  • Bedford/St. Martin's | Macmillan
  • Publisher's Weekly
  • Seven Seas Entertainment, LLC
  • Page Street Publishing Co.
  • Bedford/St. Martins | Macmillan
  • Bedford St. Martin's | Macmillan
  • Ploughshares
  • Clarion, Boston University
  • University Press of Florida
  • First Second
  • Scholastic
  • Applewood Books
  • Springer Nature
  • Penguin Random House
  • Inkyard Press/HarperCollins

Shawna 5 star rating

New York, NY, USA

Editor of award-winning, NYT and USA Today–bestsellers from Tor, Nightfire, Forge, Bramble, and more, excited to help your story shine.

Genres: Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy, Romance, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Tor Publishing Group
  • St. Martin's Press

Nicole 5 star rating

Chicago, IL, USA

Former Big 5 editor with 10+ years of experience in fantasy, romance, horror, and any combination therein. Let's get cooking!

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Romantic Fantasy, Science Fiction, Epic Fantasy, and Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • InterVarsity Press
  • Del Ray (Penguin Random House)
  • Self-employed

Jeff 5 star rating

Clifton Park, NY, USA

Author and editor specializing in genre fiction. From NYT Best Sellers to serialized web novels. New author friendly. Send me weird stuff!

Genres: Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Gaming & LitRPG, Contemporary Fiction, Middle Grade, Children's, Action & Adventure, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

David 5 star rating

Long Beach, CA, United States

Give me your dangling participles, your absent oxford commas, your run-on sentences yearning to be written correctly.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Action & Adventure, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Classics, Plays & Screenplays, Mystery & Crime, Fantasy, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Penguin Group, USA; Random House, LLC
  • Pegasus Books and Publishing House
  • Words That Stay, LLC

Rachel 5 star rating

Albuquerque, NM, USA

I am a writer, a life-long educator, and an editor who works to help other writers find their voice.

Genres: Coming of Age, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Dystopian, Science Fiction, Short Story, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Biographies & Memoirs, and Non-Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Narrative Magazine
  • Antioch Review
  • Antioch College

📞 Chat with our team

Need a hand finding the perfect professional? Our team is here to help. Get in touch for recommendations.

Sara 5 star rating

Nashua, NH, USA

Flexible, fierce, efficient editor with decades of experience in editing everything from horror to science fiction to literary fiction.

Genres: Short Story, Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Contemporary Fiction, Time Travel, Science Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Military Science Fiction, and Literary Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Ascend Learning
  • Jones & Bartlett Learning
  • Self-employed

Lyndsey 5 star rating

Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, USA

Professional editor of horror/fantasy with over five years' experience helping authors and traditional publishers elevate their novels.

Genres: Cozy Mysteries, Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy, Historical Romance, Romance, and Urban Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Eerie River Publishing (Indie Publishing House)
  • Turner Publishing (Established Traditional Publishing House)

Hugo-nominated and 12 time #1 bestselling author and editor of 21 anthologies, and over 200 novels—let’s make a great story together!

Genres: Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Technothriller, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Writing & Publishing, Non-Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy, Young Adult, and Women's Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • 25 and Y
  • Wordfire Press

Isabella 5 star rating

New York, NY, USA

Experienced freelance editor specializing in SFF, horror, and speculative fiction for Adults and YA. Formerly with S&S.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Science Fiction, Romantic Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult Fantasy, and Young Adult.

Work experience:

  • Simon & Schuster, Touchstone/Atria
  • Self-employed

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

Andrea Lorenzo 5 star rating

West Palm Beach, FL, USA

Ph.D. (ancient literature with focus on myth and folklore) -- extensive editorial career includes comics, graphic novels, and novels.

Genres: Comics & Graphic Novels, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • SCOUT COMICS and ENTERTAINMENT
  • CALIBER ENTERTAINMENT
  • GLOBAL REAL ESTATE EDUCATION NETWORK
  • BARRY UNIVERSITY Satellite Program

Kevin 5 star rating

Idaho Falls, ID, USA

Fiction writer and editor with nearly twenty years in the industry. I love weird writing and pushing boundaries. Don't send me AI stuff.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor & Comedy, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Action & Adventure, and Science Fiction.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed
  • Eraserhead Press

Leya 5 star rating

Milwaukee, WI, USA

What a life! I get to edit books--especially true crime, self-help, and dark fiction--and gently help authors share their passions.

Genres: Mystery & Crime, Fiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Self-Help & Self-Improvement, Anthologies, True Crime, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Legal Thriller, and Psychological Thriller.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Benjamin 5 star rating

Philadelphia, PA, USA

Developmental editor with 10+ years in publishing, helping authors shape clear, compelling manuscripts from concept to final draft.

Genres: Literary Fiction, Fiction, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, Science Fiction, and Short Story.

Work experience:

  • Self-employed

Lisha 5 star rating

Kansas City, MO, USA

I am a fiction, nonfiction, and technical editor and proofreader. I am also a traditionally published author of children's books.

Genres: Children’s Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction, Middle Grade, Children's, Fiction, Picture Books, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Horror, Thriller & Suspense, and Fantasy.

Work experience:

  • Olsson
  • Self-employed

Browse 2,000+ additional profiles

Create your free Reedsy account and begin requesting free quotes.

Hire the best horror copy editors

Imagine reading a tense horror story, knowing that a terrifying revelation is on the way, and then on the way encountering a ridiculous typo, or realizing the protagonist’s name is all of a sudden completely different. Takes you out of the experience, doesn’t it?

For your readers not to be distracted by anything and lean wholeheartedly into your spine-chilling story, you’ll need to hire a horror copy editor. Far from simply spotting simple spelling mistakes, copy editors can work with you to even out the tone of your writing, maximize suspense, and reword any sentences that subtract from the horror experience because of poor syntax or vagueness.

The horror copy editors for hire here on Reedsy have all been carefully vetted, so you can trust that they’ve got the necessary skills and experience to help your manuscript truly bare its teeth.

How it works

Browse profiles, request quotes, then collaborate.

Step 1

Apply filters

Reedsy is home to thousands of professionals. Select the specific services you need and narrow your search based on your book’s genre and requirements.

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.