Miranda Vaughan Jones

I am a freelance editor with over twelve years’ experience in the commercial publishing industry, working for global and independent publishers and organisations including Bloomsbury, Penguin Random House, Ebury, Mensch and the House of Editors. My specialist areas are developmental and structural editing, copy editing and proofreading.

I have worked on award-winning books and with bestselling authors, as well as mentoring debut writers both in the UK and US. I cover all genres of fiction and non-fiction, with a particular fondness for high literary, crime, quirky and dystopian fiction, as well as memoirs, narrative non-fiction and investigative journalism.

I have a diverse network of publishing contacts. I can also assess a book’s potential when it comes to market trends, target audience, competitors, marketing opportunities and global sales potential.

I have a BA in English Literature, and an MA in Creative Writing from Goldsmiths. I have been trained on the job by some of the best publishers and editors in the world, and have formal qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading.

Below are the standard packages I offer, but I am very happy to discuss partial edits, reader assessments or a different service from which you think your work could benefit. Please feel free to get in touch with me to discuss further and for a quote.

Round 1: Developmental and line edit

I’ll focus mainly on the story, providing in-depth commentary on point of view, characterisation, showing vs telling, description, sensory details, dialogue, setting, pacing, plot, etc. After I deliver the manuscript, I will work with you to help fix content issues, as well as discussing potential in terms of market trends, competitors and target audience.

Round 2: Second pass and copyedit

I’ll read the whole manuscript again to analyse the changes you have made and provide detailed in-line edits picking up more intricate details (such as awkward sentences, repetition, overused words/phrases, inauthentic dialogue, dangling modifiers, noun/pronoun mismatch etc) along with correction suggestions. I’ll also correct any punctuation errors/typos I find and amend the formatting in line with publishing standards. Although not a proofread, I will edit this pass in the way I would prepare a manuscript for submission.

Submission Package

I will help you to prepare a query letter, short synopsis, and up to fifty pages of example prose. I will also provide advice on finding the right agent and, in exceptional cases, can solicit your work and put it forward for consideration.