Mrs Louise Pearce | Fiction editor of fantasy, science fiction and adventure, crime, horror and LGBTQ

I’m a highly recommended, experienced fiction line and copy-editor based in the UK working with trade publishers and independent authors.

I will take care with your words to ensure your sentences are clear, correct and consistent, and I will help you make your sentences flow so they express your intended meaning while staying true to your authorship. But, I’ll also be gently honest. Where I think things could be improved, I’ll make suggestions on how you can revise – they’re your words, written in your voice, your style, and I will respect that.

I’m easy to work with. I’m friendly and attentive with an approachable and professional manner, and I will work to your requirements, whether you’re looking for a light edit, a more involved line or copy-edit or a proofread on-screen.

I'm flexible – I will work in British or American English depending on your requirements. I copy-edit on-screen in Microsoft Word (using track changes and comments) and proofread on PDFs using Adobe editing tools; alternatively, I can complete a spreadsheet of errors for your formatter to action. 

Once you’ve gone through the edited manuscript and accepted or rejected the edits as desired, you can return your final version to me to make any last edits as a result of my suggestions and comments.

Choosing an editor that fits you and your manuscript is a big decision. After an initial conversation about your project and the service you’re interested in, I will ask to see a representative sample of around 2000 words. If I think I could be a good fit for your manuscript, I will conduct a short sample edit free of charge so you can make an informed choice. 

I offer a personal approach, reliability and efficient turnarounds while maintaining strict confidentiality. My aim is to provide the best customer service to you as possible, so if you think I could be the right editor for you then please drop me an email and we can talk about your project and what your needs might be.

Services

Line/Copy-editing: An intensive sentence-level edit in Microsoft Word. Depending on your requirements, this can range from a light edit to a more intensive line edit. For more details, visit my line/copy-editing page.

Proofreading: A final check and polish at the end of the editing and formatting process. See here if it's the right service for you.

Experience

Since I turned freelance in 2018, I have worked on more than 140 novels, and edited a total of around 14 million words. I genuinely enjoy helping my authors produce the best possible outcomes for their projects, and as a result most of the projects I work on are from regular repeat clients. To see a snapshot of some of my favourite projects I've worked on, please see my portfolio.

Genres

• fantasy (epic, dark, urban)
• science fiction
• crime (contemporary, historical)
• mystery (cosy, historical, medieval)
• thriller 
• horror
• romance (historial, gay, fantasy, paranormal)
• LGBTQ+ 

Training

I regularly participate in professional development opportunities to keep my skills up to date. For a list of my training, please visit my website.

Testimonials

Amazing service

Amazing service. Comments were easy to understand, and gave ways to improve, not just pointing out what was wrong. Overall, super happy with this service! Thank you!

– B. T. Clarke, middle grade author

... prompt, efficient and very professional service

I thought my MS was mostly clean, but Louise made it even cleaner, with her prompt, efficient and very professional service. Thank you! I now feel more confident in pressing ‘publish’.

– J Dobson, young adult author

... warm human touch … transforms a good service into an exceptional one

You offer a wonderful professional service that is super efficient. You obviously understand a writer’s concerns/insecurities and have the warm human touch and friendliness that transforms a good service into an exceptional one.

Your manner is calm and reassuring which is exactly what I needed. After working with one editor for a long time, I was incredibly nervous about working with a new one, but you quickly put me at my ease. The attention to detail was excellent with prompt replies to my queries, and the edit/comments were pertinent and clear. I felt as if nothing was too much trouble for you. Highly recommended.

– L Hargreaves, fantasy romance author

... manuscript was very safe in her hands … much stronger piece of work than before

Louise was great to work with, provided quick feedback and was easy to communicate with. I felt my manuscript was very safe in her hands and it was returned to me as a much stronger piece of work than before. Her notes and comments were very helpful and I particularly enjoyed getting a little thumbs up on sections she enjoyed!

– K Lykkebo, fantasy author

... really couldn't ask for better

First class edit. Clear, helpful, really couldn’t ask for better.

– A Segal, crime author

Particularly impressed … Thanks a million!

Very pleased that you found these goofs before the book got published. Particularly impressed with not just the number but also the variety of edits – you found more typos than I would have guessed, plus edits for spelling, usage, missing words, punctuation, transposition, inconsistency, and – a fun one – continuity. Thanks a million!

– D Boatman, crime author

I would definitely recommend your service

I’m very grateful to you for your eagle eye and care for the appearance of my novella. I’m learning so much from my contact with people like yourself who do these things professionally. I would definitely recommend your service. 

– S. J. Southwell, literary author

It made the whole thing so much easier

I am thrilled with the work you have done. Many thanks indeed. I am signing off happy.

I liked the way all the comments were laid out for me. It made the whole thing so much easier.

– C. A. Powell, fantasy and historical author

• Editor
• Proofreader

• Fiction
• Action & adventure
• Crime, mystery & thriller
• Horror
• LGBTQIA+
• Literary fiction
• Paranormal
• Romance
• Science fiction & fantasy
• Speculative fiction

• Book publishers
• Indie authors