The Professional
Book Editors Association
We are independent editors who are dedicated to
the craft of refining great ideas into exceptional books.
500+ Authors have trusted us with their words.
What type of editor does your book need?
If you're an author, we know it can be confusing journey to find a great-fit editor for your book. We'd like to send you some resources and recommendations—free and no obligation—to help you find the best editor for your book and in your budget.
The essential phases
of book editing
Here are some ways in which authors work with a professional book editor as their great ideas evolve into an exceptional book and become ready for professional publication.
Writing Coaching
Turn your great ideas into words on a page, writing every week and receiving guidance from your writing coach along the way. If you've been "working on" your book for more than six months and haven't finished a full first draft, this may be the support you've been missing.
Manuscript Review
Send a draft of your book to an editor, who will read the whole manuscript and provide feedback on what's working well and what still needs to be revised before publication. Your editor will specifically provide their professional recommendations on whether your book needs developmental editing, copyediting, or proofreading. Clear is kind, in our world.
Developmental Editing
Need help reorganizing your first draft into a more streamlined, compelling narrative? For simpler books, you may be able to rely on alpha readers to provide the feedback you need to reorganize. For more complicated books, you'll likely need a professional editor who is able to see a variety of ways to reorganize and tigthen up your narrative.
Copyediting
Looking to smooth out sentences, revise awkward wording, and remove repetition? In an in-depth copyedit (also called a "line edit"), your editor helps to wordsmith language, transitions, and details in your writing. It will still sound like you—just a bit more polished.
Proofreading
Wanting to ensure that your final manuscript is ready for the publication process? In a proofreading pass, your editor will ensure consistency across all capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and style choices. After this pass, your manuscript is ready to go to the designer.
Final Proof Pass
THIS is the pass that so many authors (and even publishers) accidentally skip! After a book has been designed as a PDF, an eagle-eye editor does a full page-by-page turn to make sure every last error is removed and all words and design elements lay out beautifully on the page before it goes to the printer.
meet the Professional Book Editors Association Team
Dedicated to your book
Morgan Gist MacDonald
Founder
Brian Dooley
Board of Advisors
MA Hinkle
Board of Advisors
Colleen Tomlinson
Board of Advisors
Our board of advisors trains, certifies, and mentors professional editors in the craft of book editing, specifically. In addition, each of our editors specializes in particular genres and narrative styles. To see our full directory, with all of our professional book editors, please click the button below:
Lorelei Loveridge
Author, Counsellor, Performance Coach
"The manuscript review was incredibly beautifully done and so precise in language and quality. I felt inspired to look at my book again, this story of mine, my reasons for publishing and the complexity of it, and just come back to the story. The level of feedback made me realize - yet again - that I do need help shaping this story, and the quality of feedback was clearly indicative of what happens when a professional has your back."
Who we are
Our Core Values
When you trust us with your words, it matters to us—both because of who you are and because of who we are.
We believe you can tell a lot about someone by who they associate with and what they value.
Here are the values of our Professional Book Editors Association:
Courage
Because we help authors succeed in a book publishing world that changes constantly, we value courage— in the editors we support, the authors we serve, and the publishing professionals we work with.
Collaboration
Producing a book great book requires collaboration. The vision of an author comes together with a team of professionals to become a book. If we're going to collaborate, let's do it well, from the beginning.
Clarity
We communicate our expectations with as much clarity as possible, and when things change we reach out proactively to each other, our authors, and the larger publishing world. As one of our authors, Erin Thorp says, "Clear is kind."
Integrity
We show up with integrity in every situation. We do what we said we were going to do, and we perform to the best of our abilities. If situations change, we seek the best possible outcome for everyone involved.
Significance
Life is short. Let's make the most of it, together. Your words change your readers' lives, and we offer an invaluable contribution to your work in the world. We value significance in all of the work we do in the book world.
How We Work
Find your book editor
As an author, finding an editor who can trust with your words can be a daunting task. We're here to help authors connect with editors and discover whether they might be the right fit for the book they're working on, right now. Here's how we suggest finding your book editor:
Review the directory
We have editors who specialize in fiction genres, nonfiction areas, and memoir. They've each completed comprehensive training in their area of expertise, passed rigorous assessments, and proven themselves a joy to work with.
Send your project notes
Select one or more editors to reach out to. We recommend you send over to the editor(s) with notes on your project, so they can quickly become familiar with where you are in the process and provide next steps in exploring working together.
Start with a manuscript review
The PBEA recommends that editing relationship begins with a "manuscript review." The editor provides high-level, helpful feedback, as well as an editorial assessment. The editor offers to credit the investment of the manuscript review toward a full editorial package.
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