Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader
  • Home
  • Resource library
  • Services
  • Courses
  • Books
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Training login
  • Contact

Fiction editing and proofreading portfolio


​​Selected projects for publishers and authors

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Dracula
Picture
Little Green Men
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Mystery, thriller, suspense and crime fiction

  • A Cold Death in Amsterdam (Anja de Jager)
  • A Darker Night (PJ Brooke)
  • A Lesson in Baseball and Murder (David Unger)
  • A Lesson in Comedy and Murder (David Unger)
  • A Lesson in Cowboys and Murder (David Unger)
  • A Lesson in Music and Murder (David Unger)
  • A Lesson in Mystery and Murder (David Unger)
  • A Lesson in Reunions and Murder (David Unger)
  • A Lesson in Sex and Murder (David Unger)
  • A Lesson in Therapy and Murder (David Unger)
  • Alive and Killing (Jeff Carson)
  • Bright Belovèd: The First Reeve's Tale (Non Bramley)
  • Burnt Island (Alice Thompson)
  • Cold Lake (Jeff Carson)
  • Dark Nights of the Soul (Andrew Langley)
  • Dark Mountain (Jeff Carson)
  • Deadly Conditions (Jeff Carson)
  • Death at the Jesus Hospital (David Dickinson)
  • Death Comes First (Hilary Bonner)
  • Death in a Scarlet Coat (David Dickinson)
  • Dire (Jeff Carson)
  • Drifted (Jeff Carson)
  • Every Night I Dream of Hell (Malcolm Mackay)
  • Fandango (Julian Dollimore)
  • Foreign Deceit (Jeff Carson)
  • Gone Bad (JB Turner)
  • Gut Decision (Jeff Carson)
  • Hellyer's Trip (Philip Prowse)
  • Hellyer's Coup (Philip Prowse)
  • Hellyer's Line (Philip Prowse)
  • Infinite Kill (Rob Aspinall)
  • Killman (GW Kent)
  • Life Deluxe (Jens Lapidus)
  • Mirror on the Soul (Andrew Langley)
  • Miss Sapphire (Cliff Sadler)​
  • Mrs Jeffries on the Ball (Emily Brightwell)
  • Mrs Jeffries Takes Stock (Emily Brightwell)
  • Our Lady of Pain (MC Beaton)
  • Propolis: The Second Reeve's Tale (Non Bramley)
  • Rain (Jeff Carson)
  • RJ & Sandringham series (Richard Garner)
  • Rogue (JB Turner)
  • Rosina (Nick Broad)
  • Secondhand Daylight (DJ Taylor)
  • Sick of Shadows (MC Beaton)
  • Signature (Jeff Carson)
  • Silence of the Soul (Andrew Langley)
  • Smoked Out (Jeff Carson)
  • Snobbery with Violence (MC Beaton)
  • Stolen (Kess Goldland)
  • The Fourth Crow (Pat McIntosh)
  • The Inspector and Mrs Jeffries (Emily Brightwell)​​
  • The Pull of the Moon (Diane Janes)
  • The Silversmith (Jeff Carson)
  • To the Bone (Jeff Carson)
  • Truly Deadly (Rob Aspinall)
  • Twenty Twelve (Helen Black)
  • Visceral (Mischa Thomas)
  • Why Don't You Come For Me? (Diane Janes)
  • World Will Fall (Rob Aspinall)​​
TOP OF PAGE

​Audio books

Some of my authors have produced audio books of the books I edited or proofread. Visit Audible to listen to samples.
Thinking about creating your own audio book? This free booklet written by professional voice artist Ray Greenley shows you the ropes.

​Click on the image to get your copy. And use the button to access free fiction-writing resources.
Picture
FREE WRITING GUIDANCE
TOP OF PAGE

A CASE STUDY FROM THE EDITING STUDIO

​Working with a self-publisher

Drifted: Jeff Carson
The client: Crime writer Jeff Carson came to me after he’d self-published 10 books on Amazon. He’s a superb world-builder and it was clear right from the get-go that he's a natural when it comes to plotting, pacing and characterization. He asked for my line and copyediting services.

How I helped: I worked on Jeff’s series to fix spelling, punctuation and grammar errors in his narrative and dialogue, impose consistency, and tighten up the flow of his prose. Respecting his authorial style and his characters' voices was key. In addition to the edited files, I supplied a style sheet and editorial report outlining his strengths and areas for improvement.
​
The experience: I’m a passionate self-publishing and indie-author advocate, and editing for a series author like Jeff is a genuine pleasure and privilege.

When a new David Wolf book comes into my editing studio, it’s like delving into the lives of old friends. I've been with those core characters as they laugh and love, weep and grieve, fight and flee. A few have even died along the way, and I'm not ashamed to say I shed a tear. Better still, though, is watching Jeff hone his craft with every new story he writes.

A CASE STUDY FROM THE EDITING STUDIO

​Working with a publisher

The Rats: James Herbert
The client: Pan Books asked me to work on a new edition of the The Rats. The first edition had been published way back in 1974 and it was Herbert’s debut novel. It was an immediate hit that would sell millions in the nearly four decades that followed. The author died in 2013 and the new edition, with a foreword by Neil Gaiman, was published a year later.

How I helped: I proofread the new edition, ensuring that no errors had been introduced at design stage, and eliminating any that had been missed in the earlier editions.

​Given the number of times that book had been checked over the years, one might imagine it would be spotless. Still, I found a misspelling of the protagonist’s name that had slipped through the net in the myriad previous editions – a good reminder of the importance of prepublication proofreading!

The experience: Proofreading for the publisher of this big-name author was an extraordinary experience. I’d grown up on a diet of horror and chiller fiction, and devoured my own copy of The Rats at the tender age of 11. To have that very book in my editing studio 28 years later was an absolute thrill.
TOP OF PAGE

​​Fantasy, science fiction, horror, metaphysical, supernatural and speculative fiction

  • ​​​​666 Park Avenue (Gabriella Pierce)
  • A Tale of Two Deserts (Paul T Kidd)
  • Bright Belovèd: The First Reeve's Tale (Non Bramley)
  • Dracula (Bram Stoker)
  • Encounter with a Wise Man (Paul T Kidd)
  • Enigma (Paul T Kidd)
  • Guns of the Dawn (Adrian Tchaikovsky)
  • Little Green Men (Christopher Buckley)
  • Mundane Magic (Rebecca Milton)
  • Reveal (Penny LaRaza)
  • Salva Me (Joanna Beatty)
  • The Little Scary Book (Kevin Duncan)
  • The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror (Stephen Jones)
  • The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women (Marie O'Regan)
  • The Mammoth Book of SF Wars (Ian Watson and Ian Whates)
  • The Mammoth Book of Time Travel SF (Mike Ashley)
  • The Rats (James Herbert)
  • The Stepford Wives (Ira Levin)
  • This Perfect Day (Ira Levin)
  • Three Moments of an Explosion: Stories (China Miéville)​​​​
TOP OF PAGE

​General contemporary and literary fiction

  • A Visit from the Goon Squad (Jennifer Egan)
  • Barking at Winston (Barry Stone)
  • Before the Fire (Sarah Butler)
  • Beyond the Precipice (Eva Blaskovic)
  • Breaking Free (Adele Lea)
  • Broken (Adele Lea)
  • Chasing Rainbows (Anthony Berry)
  • Clara's Daughter (Meike Ziervogel)
  • Cold Sunflowers (Mark Sippings)
  • Cool Hand Luke (Donn Pearce)
  • Crow Mountain (Lucy Inglis)
  • Dot Dash (Jonathan Pinnock)
  • If I Could Speak (Masa P Ndlangamandlal)
  • Love Itself in the Letter Box (Hélène Cixous and Peggy Kamuf)
  • Magda (Meike Ziervogel)
  • Mending (Adele Lea)
  • My White Grandpa (Enole Ditsheko)
  • Paw Tracks at Owl Cottage (Denis O'Connor)
  • Sex and the Kitty (Nancy the Cat)
  • Sister Morphine (Catherine Eisner)
  • Sliver (Ira Levin)
  • Sweet Salt Air (Barbara Delinsky)
  • The Ladies of the House (Molly McGrann)
  • The Pursuit of Xhai (Gasebalwe Seretse)
  • They Come, They Go (Mary Fraser)​
  • Where the Roots are (Ayshe Gemedzhy)​​

​Arts and entertainment

  • Blunt Force Trauma: Mixed Martial Arts Photography (Lee Whitehead)
  • Cinema and the Audiovisual (Robert Robertson)
  • Endgame: Bobby Fischer’s Remarkable Rise and Fall (Frank Brady)
  • High Light: A Vision of Wild Scotland (Colin Prior)
  • Home Herbal (Maureen Little)
  • Powder Retreats (In the Snow)
  • Still on the Road: The Songs of Bob Dylan Vol. 2 1974/2008 (Clinton Heylin)
  • The Ashes Quiz Book (Patrick Allen)
  • The Compassionate Mind Approach to Overcoming Anxiety (Dennis Tirch)
  • The Complete CBT Guide to Anxiety (Peter Cooper, Roz Shafran and Lee Brosan)
  • The Domesday Book of Giant Salmon, Volume II (Fred Buller)
  • The History of Music in 50 Instruments (Philip Wilkinson)
  • The Mammoth Book of Mixed Martial Arts (Lee Whitehead)
  • The Mammoth Book of New Erotic Photography (Maxim Jakubowski)​

​Need some help?

Get your free fiction-writing resources here:
AUTHOR RESOURCES
TOP OF PAGE

Film and TV tie-ins

  • A Brief Guide to James Bond (Nigel Cawthorne)
  • A Brief Guide to Sherlock Holmes (Nigel Cawthorne)
  • A Brief History of Vampires (MJ Trow)
  • Star Wars: The Unauthorised Inside Story of George Lucas’s Epic (Brian J Robb) 
  • The Mammoth Book of Slasher Movies (Peter Normanton)​​
  • What You Didn't Miss Part 94: A Book of Literary Parodies (as featured in Private Eye) (ed. DJ Taylor)​ ​​

Humour and satire

  • 75 Worst Ways to Die (Rich Maloof and H P Newquist)
  • A Gentleman's Bedside Book (Tom Cutler)
  • Bizarre Scotland (David Long)
  • Eurrgh! Is it Just me or is Europe Merde? (Mark Leigh)
  • Heels on Wheels (Katie Dailey)
  • There'll Always be an England: Social Stereotypes from the Daily Telegraph (Victoria Mather and Sue Macartney-Snape)
    ​
    ​