PETER JACOBS EDITING

ABOUT ME

I’m a freelance editor with over six years’ in-house experience at Quartet Books, London – including three years as Editorial Manager – and these days I work independently with authors, publishers and organisations on a wide range of editorial projects.

I offer structural/developmental editing, manuscript assessments and copy-editing for both fiction and non-fiction. I also regularly copy-edit and project manage for several imprints of Little, Brown – including Little, Brown itself, Abacus, Virago, Piatkus, Constable and Robinson – giving me up-to-date insight into the publishing process from draft to final proof.

My editorial approach is collaborative and thoughtful. I work closely with authors to understand what they want their work to achieve, offering honest, detailed feedback while remaining respectful of their voice and vision. I’m thorough and hands-on without being overbearing – you won’t find your manuscript arbitrarily crossed out in red, but you will get practical, clear suggestions for improvement.

Over the years, I’ve worked on a wide range of fiction – literary and commercial – and on all kinds of non-fiction, from memoir and travel writing to illustrated books, anthologies, manifestoes, and histories. If your book isn’t a technical manual, I’m confident I can help improve it. Shorter pieces are also very welcome.

Scroll down to see selected titles and author testimonials. If you’re interested in working together, feel free to get in touch for a quote. For those planning to self-publish, I also collaborate closely with an excellent publicist – more on that here.

Author Testimonials

'Peter is a brilliant editor. He is able to provide the perfect balance of big-picture encouragement and incisive criticism that is nothing less than transformative. I’ve been very lucky to work with him and recommend him in the highest possible terms.'

Venetia Welby, author of 'Dreamtime' and 'Mother of Darkness'

'I worked with Peter Jacobs (the surname is a coincidence; we are in no way related) over several months in the development of my recent novel, Pomeranski, published by Quartet Books.
'From the very start, this was both a productive and a pleasant experience. Peter understood exactly what I was aiming to do in the book, and he consistently and constructively helped me to achieve that aim. He read every word of the original and revised versions of the text with meticulous attention and every suggestion he made was intelligent and perceptive.
'Peter possesses two great qualities for an editor — he is calm and he is thorough. Any little differences of opinion over words or phrases were settled by agreeably interesting discussion. We spent entertaining and enlightening hours of discussion about the book jacket — which, in the final result, thanks to Peter, drew a great deal of positive comment from readers, booksellers, and even reviewers!'

Gerald Jacobs, author of 'Pomeranski', 'Sacred Games' and 'Nine Love Letters'

'Peter Jacobs edited my last book, Heavy Years (Quartet Books, 2018). It proved to be a collaboration that has led me to avail of his services for two further manuscripts.
'As a top-class professional editor, his precision in sub-editing can be taken for granted. What is rare amongst editors I have dealt with over the years is that he engages with the text with an enthusiasm that comes with acute insight. Any possible misunderstandings by readers are identified and alternative phrases or sentences are offered. His educational foundation gives him a sure but sympathetic touch in this, and amendments are negotiated with a pleasing complicity.
'I have benefitted greatly from his editorial exactness, which is, however, deeply sensitive to authorial whims and imperatives. It is always a pleasure working with Peter. Not least because a better book is inevitable.'