Editing guide Lauren smiling while typing on keyboard

Apply to Join Our Editorial Team

You edit. We’ll handle the rest.

A developmental editing agency for Adult and YA fiction.

Get personally matched with projects in the genres you love, from talented writers targeting traditional publication.

Apply to Join Our Team

“By far the best experience I’ve had with an agency.”

Full-time editor at Little, Brown

“Lauren has a passion for helping writers reach their goals. She has a deep care for her editorial staff as well and prioritizes making sure she is pairing the right editor with the right writer. She’s readily available to answer questions and personally vets all clients.

This is a MASSIVE difference from marketplaces where writers can often ghost or send a manuscript that isn’t ready. It has been an immense pleasure to work with her. And as someone who has worked with other agencies I can say this is by far the best experience.”

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What sets us apart

The editors you’d be joining came from:

Penguin Random House
Harper Collins
Simon & Schuster
Hachette

Our writers are working in:

Adult, New Adult, YA, and Middle Grade Fiction
Romance & Women's Fiction
Fantasy, Spec, & Science Fiction
Mystery & Thriller
Contemporary, Historical, & Literary Fiction
Memoir & Nonfiction

Our writers.

The writers drawn to our agency are serious about the craft — often full-time professionals, usually aiming for traditional publication, and further along than the average writer shopping for an editor. The manuscripts are smarter and more advanced, and a meaningfully higher share of these writers go on to sign with agents.

They're also vetted. Every writer talks with our agency manager before they're matched, and we turn away projects we don't think we can genuinely help. That's a real filter, and it's why our editors tell us the same thing over and over: the caliber of writing here is noticeably higher than what they see from other freelance agencies and marketplaces.

What we look for in our editors:

Experience and market knowledge matter to us — most of our senior editors come out of the Big 5, and our junior editors come out of publishing or have built serious editorial track records of their own. But here's the part that matters just as much:

Our writers are usually working on the book they've been trying to write for years. The editors who are good fits for the agency care deeply about the projects they work on and understand how to give feedback that helps a writer level up without crushing their spirit.

They're fast, reliable communicators — with their writers and with us. They're happy to hop on a call before a match is confirmed. And they treat the collaboration as being in service of the writer's book, not a demonstration of their own taste.

How Our Matching Process Works

1. You tell us what you want to work on.

After you join, you'll fill out an editorial preference intake form — genres, age categories, capacity, the kinds of projects you love and the ones you'd rather pass on.
2. We send you projects that fit.

When a writer comes in who we think would be a good fit for you, we’ll send you an email with their project details and sample pages. You review and decide whether you're interested. There's no obligation to take anything.
3. You send a short note for each job you are interested in.

We ask that these are turned around within 1 business day.
4. You meet the writer.

If you're interested and the writer is interested in you, we set up a 15-minute consultation call over Zoom.
5. We handle the payment and logistics.

We negotiate rates, send the payment link, and collect payment before your work begins. You never chase an invoice, and you never have to have an awkward pricing conversation with a client.
6. You edit.

Typically about a month for a full developmental edit, delivered as an editorial letter (ours generally run 10–20 pages) plus in-line comments.
7. You meet with the writer to discuss your notes.

Our editors offer a call after the letter goes back, to talk through the feedback and next steps.

Apply Now

Author guide Lauren smiling while holding a gold and navy mug and wearing a white suit

The Right Editor Changes Everything

I went from aspiring writer to a six-figure deal with HarperCollins, so I know firsthand how much the right developmental editor can change a book — and a career.

I built this agency in December 2023 so writers could find editors like that. We’re now a team of roughly 30 — former Big 5 editors, literary agents, and published authors — who have edited for hundreds of writers. We put the team together in one search before we opened, and in nearly three years we haven’t needed to run another one.

- Lauren Kay

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More Than Just Editing:
A Complete Support System

Your writers aren’t on their own between drafts. Everyone who books with us joins a community built to keep them writing — which means stronger manuscripts landing on your desk.

What every writer gets:

Private Slack community access
Beta reader network
Weekly writing sprints

What Our Editors Have to Say:

Freelance Editor & Publishing Associate at Random House

I've been editing at Lauren Kay Writes ever since its inception and have loved every second of it. Before joining the LKW team, I used to freelance on my own and always struggled with outreach and marketing. As much as I love editing and talking about editing, I hated marketing my services. Now, Lauren does all the work I hated doing and does it one thousand times better than I ever did! I get to decide my bandwidth, the kinds of projects I want to work on, and my rate, and the projects just magically appear on my inbox (and by magically, I mean through the tireless amazing work of our other team members). Lauren and the team are highly communicative, kind, and always ready to step in if I need anything before, during, or after a project. They are excellent mediators and after working on over 50 projects through LKW, I can still confidently say I've only ever had fantastic experiences!

Former HarperCollins editor

Working with Lauren has completely changed how I approach my work as a freelance editor! It's been a huge relief to benefit from her marketing expertise and industry knowledge, and I have loved every author and project she's sent my way!

Published memoirist and full-time developmental editor

Before joining the agency I had been working for over two years as a teacher at a top online writing school. I was struggling to get enough work to get by, Marketplace websites totally overwhelmed me, and I didn't know how to establish an editing client base or set my own rates. Since joining the agency, I've been able to transition to full-time freelance editing work, I never have to worry about marketing to get new clients, I love the varied clients I get to work with, and I feel confident in my rates.

Freelance Editor

In my years of working with Lauren Kay, I have always been grateful for the sheer professionalism involved. They handle all of the front-end soliciting pitches, matching authors to editors, contracting with the authors, and they handle all of the back-end, sending payment on time, and making tax forms available at the earliest opportunity. That leaves me only with the job I like doing, working with authors on their books. It is tremendously reassuring to know that everything peripheral to my job is being covered by smart, detail-oriented people who are great at their jobs. I recommend Lauren Kay to any editor looking to freelance.

Freelance Fiction Editor

I've been working with Lauren Kay since the beginning, and love the entire set-up. The fact that clients' work is vetted for suitability before even being passed on to an editor takes a lot of the worry and admin off my hands. Each author comes into the process already knowing what to expect, which is such a weight off the overall workload. Lauren and Riley are incredibly supportive, and really helped when I had a family emergency that meant pausing my work for a few weeks without warning. It's just nice to feel like you have some backup in this industry. I've also had plenty of work, and it's completely flexible!

Published Author & Freelance Editor

Working with the Lauren Kay Writes team has been a breeze from the beginning. Lauren and her team are communicative, proactive, and skilled at connecting editors and writers. Everything about the process has been straightforward, clear, and, honestly, joyful!

We believe every great story deserves a chance.

Writers from historically marginalized communities can apply for reduced rates. Editors opt in on the projects they’re excited about, and we waive our agency fee entirely — the writer’s full payment goes to the editor.

FAQ

Feel free to email me at any time with additional questions!

Always. There’s no penalty for turning down a project, and you can mark yourself unavailable for as long as you need. Declines are confidential — writers never know an editor passed.
A full developmental edit means a big-picture editorial letter — plot, structure, character, pacing, genre expectations, market positioning — plus in-line comments throughout the manuscript. We occasionally get line edit requests. We also offer story development packages and monthly book coaching for earlier stage writers, but the majority of our editors focus solely on developmental edits.
We can't guarantee volume, and we're honest about that upfront. What we can say is that our most-booked editors stay booked — many of our team are scheduling one to three months out. How much comes your way depends on your genres, your availability, and how quickly you respond when a project lands.
Yes. Most of our editors do. We're not asking for exclusivity.
We will suggest a range of rates depending on your level, and you can choose what rate to apply at for each project. From there, we handle all pricing conversations with writers.
Writers pay the agency before work begins, and you're paid through our payroll service, remote.com. You can choose to invoice 50% upfront and 50% upon delivery, or the full payment upon delivery.
Fantasy and romance are our highest-volume categories, followed by thrillers, historical fiction, contemporary fiction, and literary fiction — Adult and YA. We do have some nonfiction projects as well.
A short application form, then a conversation with our team. If it's a fit from there, we'll ask to see a sample editorial letter you've written (anonymized is fine) and two client testimonials. Then onboarding: an intake form, our terms, and payroll setup. It usually takes no more than one week to join.