I’ve been a freelance copyeditor since 1987, when I started copyediting for Zebra and Pinnacle Books, and I’ve specialized in science fiction and fantasy since 1989, when I started copyediting for Del Rey. I also worked full-time in Editorial at The New Yorker for fifteen years, the last bunch of them as a Page O.K.’er (senior copyeditor/closing editor).
Other houses I’ve freelanced for include Bantam, Tor/Forge, St. Martin’s Press, Random House, Simon & Schuster, Baen, Byron Preiss, DAW, Phobos, Meisha Merlin, Prometheus, Putnam, and Skyhorse.
Genre authors whose work I’ve copyedited include Alan Dean Foster, Andre Norton, Angus Wells, Ann Tonsor Zeddies, Anne McCaffrey, Baoshu, Ben Bova, Brandon Sanderson, Bruce Sterling, C. J. Cherryh, Charles de Lint, Charles L. Grant, Charlaine Harris, Charles Sheffield, Chen Qiufan, Cherie Priest, Christopher Pike, Christopher Rowley, Dave Duncan, David and Leigh Eddings, David B. Coe, David Drake, David Farland, David Mack, David Weber, Dean Wesley Smith, Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald, Diane Carey, Elizabeth Arnason, Elizabeth Haydon, Elizabeth Willey, Esther Friesner, Frederik Pohl, Gene Wolfe, Glen Cook, Hal Duncan, Harry Harrison, Harry Turtledove, J. V. Jones, Jack Chalker, Jack McKinney, James Gunn, James P. Hogan, James Luceno, James White, Jane Lindskold, Jerry Oltion, John Barnes, John Ringo, Julian May, Juliet Marillier, Kate Elliott, Katherine Kurtz, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Kay Kenyon, Ken Liu, Kevin J. Anderson, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., Larry Niven, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes, Mark L. Van Name, Melissa Scott, Michael Swanwick, Mike Resnick, Mirah Bolender, Norman Spinrad, Orson Scott Card, Patrick Rothfuss, Paul Chafe, Peter V. Brett, Poul Anderson, R. A. Salvatore, Richard Baker, Robert Jordan, Robert Sawyer, Robin Hobb, S. P. Somtow, Sarah Zettel, Scott Oden, Sean McMullen, Shariann Lewitt, Stephen King, Steven Barnes, Steven Brust, Steven Erikson, Steven Gould, Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind, Tim Powers, Timothy Zahn, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Vernor Vinge.
I’ve also worked on a lot of mainstream and literary titles, mysteries, Westerns, romances, media tie-ins, military fiction and nonfiction, suspense and thrillers, teen fiction, and general nonfiction.
My articles about copyediting have appeared in the SFWA Bulletin and the Del Rey Books newsletter. A Writer’s Guide to Understanding the Copyeditor is available to read online at the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America website.
I’m sorry to say that I’m no longer accepting inquiries regarding editorial services for works in development or being prepared for submission; I’m fully booked with publishers and personal clients of long standing. The Editorial Freelancers Association’s Hire a Freelancer is an excellent resource if you’re in need of an editorial specialist. I strongly recommend SFWA’s Writer Beware.
Terry McGarry 