Rachel Rowlands | Fiction editor

Looking for an editor who understands the struggles of writing and publishing? That's me!

As both an editor and author of fiction, I’ve been where you are. I combine my writing and editorial experience to support you every step of the way. My approach to editing is to be kind, but honest. I’ve worked on over 240 books for publishing houses and authors, and my first traditionally published book, Snowed in at the Cat Café (Hodder & Stoughton) is being translated into eight languages worldwide. I’ve self-published some books, too, so I understand both sides of publishing.

Any writing challenge you’ve been through, odds are, I’ve experienced it, too – from completing a first draft to fighting your way through the slush pile. This industry is hard, and that’s why every writer deserves to work with someone who is friendly, supportive and on their side.

You’ve done the hard part – writing the book. I can help to make the next step less daunting.

Free resources for writers

My resource library contains plenty of information on all things writing and publishing. It's an organised collection of posts from my blog, which is updated monthly. You can follow my blog to get notified of new advice posts when they go live.

Expertise

I specialise in fiction, and have experience working across a range of genres, including: fantasy, romance (including romcoms, contemporary, paranormal, and romantasy), YA/young adult, sci-fi, and thrillers. 

I also take on non-fiction projects in a few specialist subject areas – the humanities, self-help/wellness, and memoirs and autobiographies.

Services

• Developmental editing
• Manuscript assessment
• Copy editing and line editing
• Literary agent submission packages
• Query letter editing

Clients

Past clients have included:

• Bedford Square Publishers
• Storm Publishing (Hachette UK)
• Thread Books (Hachette UK) – non-fiction
• Chicken House (Scholastic)
• Ebury (Penguin Random House) – non-fiction
• HarperCollins UK/US
• Black Library (Games Workshop)
• Writers & Artists (Bloomsbury)
• Bookouture (Hachette UK)
• Canelo
• Skyhorse Publishing

Credentials

• BA (Hons) English and Creative Writing
• Copyediting 2: Headway (CIEP)
• Copyediting 1: Introduction (SfEP)
• Proofreading 1: Introduction (SfEP)
• Essential Proofreading (The Publishing Training Centre)
• Introduction to Fiction Editing (SfEP)

Testimonials

I was blown away by Rachel’s thoughtful and thorough work and there is no doubt that my novel will be incalculably stronger because of Rachel’s feedback. She is simply amazing. If you are a writer in search of professional editing services, you found them. End of search. – Wes Cook, author of The Ruiner

You are amazingly thorough. I love your process and your level of detail. And your enthusiasm for the story means everything. THANK YOU so, so much for levelling this manuscript up. I knew it was in capable hands. I don’t feel any anxiety around looking at these edits, and trust me that is an enormous feat. – K.T. Anglehart, YA fantasy author

Rachel’s manuscript assessment taught me so much, and unlocked a completely new way of looking at and understanding what did and didn’t work in my manuscript. Her notes were incredibly thorough, thoughtful and detailed, returned in a well-structured document with constructive ideas for fixing the big issues. I felt such an injection of energy after working with her, it has been invaluable for me. – Rachel Dauncey, YA author

I can’t praise Rachel enough. From the first conversation we had, I could see how professional she was, but, more importantly, how much she genuinely wanted to help bring my projects to life. Her editing skills are top-quality, not only catching and highlighting issues for me to address but giving me detailed feedback and critiques to help me improve as a writer. As an added bonus, every deadline was met and work was delivered promptly, which helped me keep to my own schedules. I look forward to working with her on future projects! – Dave McCreery, sci-fi author

If you ever need an editor, Rachel is AMAZING. She’s so nice, professional, and understanding. Working with her has been great! – Kristen Hynes, YA author

Rachel was a wonderful addition to my team and in helping bring my book to life. I would recommend her, especially to new authors who need a helpful hand in cleaning up their work. She was worth every penny. I would hire her again without a doubt.– Ean S. Mills, fantasy author

Thank you so much for your feedback – it's really helped me cut away all the fat from the story and streamline it, and to really focus on the story that I want to tell and what I want readers to get out of it. I'd struggled to explain my book to others and I see now that this was because I was throwing too many plotlines and characters at the wall and seeing what would stick. I've re-written around 50,000 words from scratch and it already feels so much better and is more snappy than the earlier draft. I feel much more immersed as I feel I know the characters and the world better than before.– Aaron S. Jones, fantasy author

• Editor
• Proofreader

• Non-fiction
• Fiction
• Children & young adult
• Crime, mystery & thriller
• Dystopian fiction
• English literature
• Historical fiction
• Humanities
• Narrative non-fiction
• Paranormal
• Publishing
• Romance
• Science fiction & fantasy
• Self-help
• Speculative fiction

• Self-publishing
• Book coaching