What is The Honest Editor?

The Honest Editor is a Substack dedicated to the truth about publishing. Whether you are an author or an aspiring publishing professional, this aims to give an insight into what really goes on behind the scenes: how a large publishing house functions, why we do things in the way we do, and how you fit into that. Writing a book can be a terrifying, vulnerable process, and information is power! The more you know, the more fun the journey, and the more sustainable, too.

What do I know?

I have worked in publishing since 2013, in three major publishing houses: Hachette UK, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster, where I am currently the Executive Publisher for commercial fiction. I have published a huge range of authors, including Sunday Times, New York Times and Kindle bestsellers, I run the commercial fiction team, and I write my own novels (published by HQ, HarperCollins). I love my job and I am passionate about sharing information with others; the industry is often criticized for feeling elitist and hard to break into, and I hope the information in this newsletter helps to make it more accessible. I am always open to feedback as to what topics you would like to see it cover.

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Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and publication archives and never miss a post. You can also be a paid subscriber if you would like to show appreciation for my work, and to be eligible for competitions (where I will critique your writing).

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