Are you are author based on the west coast of the United States?
Are you looking for book publishing companies? Here are 21 top book publishers in Southern California.
If it is editing support you’re seeking, continue reading to learn about 19 top book editors in California.
Note: Selecting an editor for your book isn’t something you should rush into. Always do the required due diligence before choosing an editor to work with.
1. Catherine Elliott Escobedo
Catherine Elliott Escobedo is a freelance editor and founder of Wordsage, an editorial service based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. With almost 25 years of experience, Catherine has worked with companies like Random House and Yoga Journal. She prefers to work on projects of nonfiction, with specific interest in psychology, self-help topics, spirituality, yoga, health and healing, and more.
She offers developmental editing, proofreading, production editing, book proposal writing, and coaching for both traditionally published and independent authors. Catherine is more than happy to provide you with a free project estimate. To reach her, you can contact Catherine via email or through her website’s online contact form.
2. Denise Marie Logsdon
Based out of El Cerrito, California, Denise Maria Logsdon is a freelance editor who specializes in technical, academic, and creative projects. She has worked on projects like “The Button” by D.L. Finn, “Absolute Betrayal” by Andrea Phillips, and “Eden” by A.C. Hernandez.
Services that she offers include basic manuscript proofreading to help identify any issues with spelling, grammar, syntax, and more (starting at a rate of 1.15 cents per word, or $28.75 per hour), and copyediting (starting at a rate between 1.65 to 3 cents per word). She is also happy to provide free sample edits to give you a sense of her editing capabilities. If you’re interested in working with Denise, you can contact her via email to request a sample edit or free project quote.
3. Tracy DeBrincat
Tracy DeBrincat is a freelance editor based out of Los Angeles, California. With over 20 years of experience in the editing field, Tracy is herself the award-winning author of “Hollywood Buckaroo.” She offers comprehensive manuscript evaluations to help determine what areas of your manuscript need reworking before publication. She can help you with issues in dialogue, narrative pacing, and more! If you’re interested in working with Tracy, the best way to reach her is either via email or through her website’s online contact form. You can request more information about her services, or request a free project quote.
4. Lucy Laird
Lucy Laird is a freelance book editor based out of Berkley, California, who has over 18 years of experience in the literary world. She has worked with clients like the Berkley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Fordham University, Panasonic, and the World Wildlife Fund. Services that she offers includes copyediting, proofreading, transcriptions, and writing. Lucy can help you identify and correct issues with typos, punctuation, grammar, awkward phrasing, and so much more. If you’re interested in working with Lucy, the best way to reach her is either via email or through her website’s online contact form. You can request more information or a free quote for your editing needs.
5. Angela Vimuttinan
Angela Vimuttinan is a freelance editor based out of Santa Ana, California. Angela likes to work on a wide range of projects, both fictional and nonfictional. She has experience working on how-to manuals, self-help guides, fictional novels, and religious publications.
She offers comprehensive proofreading and copyediting services at a starting rate of $5 per 250 words (alternatively, $25 per hour). She is also open to free consultations to determine per project quotes. She is happy to provide a free sample edit of 1000 words to give you a better sense of her editing capabilities. The best way to reach Angela about her editing services is by sending her an email to discuss her services and project quote.
6. Amy Lacey Machado
Amy Lacey Machado is a freelance editor based out of Turlock, California. Having earned a Certificate for Professional Sequence in Editing from UC Berkeley Extension, Amy also holds a BA in English from CSU Stanislaus. She offers a wide range of editing services, including light copyediting, medium copyediting, heavy copyediting, developmental editing, permissions editing, proofreading, and fact checking.
If you’re interested in having Amy work on your manuscript, the best way to reach her is either via email or through her website’s online contact form. You can request more information about her service rates and request a free project quote. Be sure to provide a bit of information concerning your inquiry, including your manuscript’s approximate word length, it’s genre, and your expected turnaround date.
7. Shelly Davis
Shelly Davis is the editor and founder of The Detail Devil, an editorial service based out of San Hose, California. Shelly has earned a Certificate in Editing from Poynter ACES, and is an official member of both the American Copy Editors Society and the Editorial Freelancers Association. She specializes in copyediting, and loves to work with self-published authors on their manuscripts. He copyediting rate starts at $40 per hour, and she is more than happy to provide a free sample edit to give you a sense of her style and skills. The best way to reach Shelly is through her website’s online contact form. Alternatively, you can also reach her via email to discuss your editing needs.
8. Marissa van Uden
Marissa van Uden is a freelance editor and founder of Marissa VU Editing, an editing service based out of Los Angeles, California. With over 10 years of experience, Marissa has worked with several award-winning projects like “In the Company of the Dead’ by Ciara Ballintyne, “A Mortal Song” by Megan Crewe, and “Shadow Swarm” by D. Robert Pease.
Services that she offers includes manuscript evaluations (starting at $0.016 per word), developmental editing (starting at a rate of $0.035 per word), content editing (starting at a rate of $0.03 per word), and outline evaluations (also starting at a rate of $0.03 per word). She also offers line editing (at a rate of $0.03 per word), and manuscript consultations and editing samples (at $50 per hour). If you’re interested in enlisting Marissa’s help, you can reach out to her through her website’s online contact form or via email.
9. Bryna Kranzler
Bryna Kranzler is a freelance editor based out of San Diego, California. Having earned an MBA from Yale University and a Certificate in Copyediting from the University of California, Bryna is a talented editor, author, and publishing consultant who can help you with your manuscript editing needs. She is capable of working on both fiction and nonfiction projects. Some titles that she’s edited include “Into the Tiger’s Mouth: A Novel of the China Trade, 1857-1856” by David T. Dana III, “Turbocharge Your Future” by Logan Hensley, and “Katy Rose Likes to Say No!” by Delin Colón.
Services that she offers includes developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading. If you’re interested in working with Bryna, you can reach her through her website’s online contact form or via email to discuss project quotes or offered services in more detail.
10. Paula Lavattiata-Lopez
Based in Fremont, California, Paula Lavattiata-Lopez is a freelance editor and founder of My Edit Check. With over 12 years of experience in the editing field, Paula likes to work on a wide range of nonfiction and fiction projects. Titles that she’s worked on include the Amageddon Unleashed series by Christina Kallias, “Nirviira XXIV” by C.J. Hope, and “Mars Colony Chronicles: Martian Plague” by Brandon Ellis.
Services that Paula offers includes copyediting, proofreading, and manuscript formatting. Her rates tend to vary depending on the length and genre of your manuscript. For fiction, her normal cost per word is between $0.007 to $0.008, depending on the type of editing. For nonfiction and academic works, her rate begins at $40 per hour. The best way to reach Paula to request a free project quote is either via email or through her website’s online contact form.
11. Gail Fay
Gail Fray is a freelance editor based out of Moorpark, California. With over 12 years of experience as a freelancer, Gail loves to work on nonfiction projects like biographies, history books, how-to, memoirs, self-help, and educational titles. Projects that she’s worked on include “Greenback Dollar: The Incredible Rise of the Kingston Trio” by William J. Bush, “Lee J. Cobb: Characters of an Actor” by Donald Dewey, and “Big Ideas for Little Kids” by Thomas E. Wartenberg.
Editing services that Gail offers includes developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading. Her starting rate is $35 per hour, with her standard pace of 1000 to 2000 words per hour. She is more than happy to provide you with a free quote, so be sure to inform her about the type of editing service you need, your projects approximate word count, and your expected turnaround deadline. You can reach Gail through her website’s online contact form or via email to get started.
12. Erin Willard
Erin Willard is a freelance editor based out of San Diego, California. Erin has worked on several award-winning fiction novels and nonfiction books in a wide variety of genres. She loves to work with independent authors and small publishing companies to help make their manuscripts stand out from the rest of the competition. She has worked on projects like “Trials and Trails; Adventures and Unexpected Discoveries of Life” by Jim Halverson, and “Dust in the Wind” by Patricia O’Hanlon.
Editing services that she offers includes copyediting, proofreading, and substantive editing. Her rates can vary depending on manuscript length and the type of editing service requested, but her average range for first-round edits starts around $35-$60 an hour. For a more accurate quote, you can reach Erin via email to get started.
13. Michelle Martin
Based out of Laguna Beach, California, Michelle Martin has over 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, and has spent 10 of those years as a freelance editor. She specializes in nonfiction projects, specifically academic works having to do with social work, human services, and social justice advocacy.
She offers a wide range of services include heavy copyediting (starting at $45-$50 per hour), manuscript line editing (starting at a rate of $55-$60 per hour), developmental editing ($50-$60 per hour), dissertation or Master’s Thesis editing (at a rate of $85-$90 per hour), query letter writing ($50-$100), and book proposal writing and editing (starting at a rate of $500). If you’re interested in working with Michelle, you can reach her either via email or through her website’s online contact form to request a free project quote.
14. Michael Mohr
Michael Mohr is a freelance book editor based out of El Cerrito, California. He specializes in adult literary and commercial novels, and is especially interested in working on young adult fiction and memoirs. He’s worked on projects like “Hustle” by Tom Pitts, “The Buried Secrets of Peonies” by Mery Dorgoly, and “White American Youth” by Christina Picciolini.
Michael offers developmental editing starting at $0.03 per word, line editing starting at $0.04 per word, manuscript evaluations starting at rate of $0.02 per word, agent query letter assistance starting at a rate of $50 per hour, and ghostwriting services (prices to be negotiated).
If you’re interested in working with Michael to help improve your manuscript prior to submission, you can reach him via email or through his website’s online contact form.
15. Jennifer Graybeal
Based out of San Jose, California, Jennifer Graybeal is a freelance editor with over 15 years of experience in the publishing industry. She specializes in romance fiction, but is always open to other genre fiction and nonfiction projects. She’s worked on projects like “Red Light to the African Bush” by Frankie Hogan, the Starlight Hill series by best-selling author Heatherly Bell, and the Thistle and Hive series by best-selling author Jennae Vale.
She offers a wide range of book editing services, including line editing ($0.015 per word), proofreading ($0.007 per word), blurb writing and editing ($60 to write, $30 to edit), and developmental editing and submission support (rates are negotiable). You can reach Jennifer through her website’s online contact form to discuss project quotes. She should get back to you very shortly to help you along your publishing process!
16. Adrienne Moch
Adrienne Moch is a freelance editor based out of San Diego, California. With over 37 years of experience in the publishing industry, 14 of which she has spent freelancing, Adrienne has prior experience as a journalist, corporate communicator, and PR professional. She is capable of working on both fiction and nonfiction projects. The best way to reach her about her editing services is either via email or through her website’s online contact form. You can request a free project quote and more information about her editing services.
17. Laura Ann Long
Based out of Irvine, California, Laura Ann Long is a freelance editor with over 10 years of experience. She is also the founder of Wordsworth Editorial Services. She has worked on a wide range of nonfiction projects, including “The Culture of Excess” by J.R. Slosar, “The Long-Expected Jesus” by Rick Thompson, and “Heavy! The Surprising Reasons America Is the Land of the Free-And the Home of the Fat” by Richard McKenzie.
Her editing services include copyediting, copywriting, and proofreading. She is more than happy to provide free project estimates, as all projects vary in length, topic, and editing requirements. The best way to reach out to Laura is either via email or through her website’s online contact form.
18. Ann Aubrey Hanson
Ann Aubrey Hanson is a freelance editor based out of Santa Barbara, California, who has over 25 years of experience in the editing field. She has worked on a wide range of fiction and nonfiction projects, including technical writing, science writing, fiction, and academic projects. She is a full-time editor with Via Lucis Press and specializes in fine art book editing.
Having earned a BA and MA in English, as well as an MFA in Creative Writing, Ann knows exactly what it takes to identify and correct any errors she comes across in your manuscript to help get it ready for submission. If you’re interested in working with Ann, you can contact her via email or through her website’s online contact form to discuss project quotes and editing services in more detail.
19. Danielle Seybold
Danielle Seybold is a freelance editor based out of Davis, California. She loves to work on a wide range of fiction, regardless of genre, but especially loves young adult fiction, historical fiction, and memoirs. Danielle is also the founder of Put A Finish On It, a copyediting service for writers. She has worked on projects like “The Pitcher Plant” by Pat Rigley, “Mind Games” by Esther K. Bowen, and “Consequence” by Steve Masover.
Danielle offers several editing services like proofreading (starting at $0.01 per word), copyediting (starting at a rate of $0.025 per word), and developmental editing (starting at a flat $0.02 per word). Also offers query letter critiques for $50, editorial letters starting at $100, and is capable of providing you with book mapping services starting at just $100. If you’re interested in working with Danielle, you can contact her about your project and editing needs via email.
Do you know of any other book editors in California? Please tell us about their activities in the comments box below!
K. Z. Kwan is a freelance writer based out of Halifax, Canada.