About

Do you want to make sure your novel is as good as it can be before you publish it?

Hello, I’m Kim Brockway. I help authors of cosy mysteries and speculative fiction improve and refine their manuscripts.

However, I suppose you’ve got a few questions.

Why are you a fiction editor?

Stories are an integral part of the human psyche and have been since the dawn of mankind. They help us understand the world we live in, teach us, entertain us and ignite our imaginations. Being an avid reader and bookworm myself from a young age, I have the greatest respect for those wordsmiths who craft these tales for our entertainment.

You spend hours (years) working tirelessly to create something that you are proud of. Something that you want to share with the whole world. Of course, you should be able to earn an income from your work and receive suitable accolades. We share the same work ethic; attention to detail, pride in our work and a desire to add to readers’ TBR (To Be Read) piles.

What experience do you have?

As I said, I’ve been a book nerd all my life and love delving into a great story. For a number of years, St Martin’s Press and BooksGoSocial would regularly send me ARCs (Advance Reader Copy) to garner my thoughts about upcoming releases. This evolved in 2017 when one of those published authors asked me to read their first draft and tell them what I thought – I was thrilled. I diligently did as she asked and offered my thoughts about the characters and plots, and helped her polish her manuscript before publication.

Word of mouth meant that more authors who self-publish contacted me asking me to assess their manuscripts.

“Kim is a superb beta reader, who goes above and beyond in delivering insightful and helpful feedback. She has a brilliant eye for detail, including plot inconsistencies and flawed characterisations. She is professional, with a quick turnaround, and I trust her work completely.

I whole heartedly recommended and will be using her service for my future novels.”

Victoria DeLuis (2019)

Do you have any qualifications to edit my novel?

Yes. In 2019, I decided I wanted to be able to offer my authors more and have a recognised qualification for my growing editorial skills. Therefore, I enrolled in the Online proofreading and editing course (QLS Level 4) run by the College of Media and Publishing.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, learning new skills and background knowledge, and passed with distinction in the spring of 2020. However, my learning journey is ongoing – every day is a school day!

At the beginning of 2021, I joined the Chartered Institute of Editors and Proofreaders (CIEP) as an Entry-Level Member. The CIEP has a wealth of knowledge within its pages and membership and I am working towards upgrading to an Intermediate Member.

Kim Brockway Headshot2013 (391x500)

More about me

You can find me in the beautiful and historic city of Salisbury where I live with my husband and two daughters.

For the last 10 years, I’ve been working part-time as a teaching assistant for my local county council. It’s a wonderful and often challenging job but I love supporting the children in every aspect of their learning. I get great job satisfaction from ensuring that each child reaches their potential before leaving us to start the next step in their exciting journey.

I feel that same sense of satisfaction as a fiction editor. Whether you’re writing a cosy mystery, paranormal romance or urban fantasy, find out how I can help you by visiting my services page.