BOOK EDITING

Jonathan Campion book editor

I have been a professional copy editor and proofreader since 2007. At the start of my career I worked as an in-house editor – for two law firms in Kyiv, Ukraine, then a company that organised business conferences in the CIS region – before switching to become a freelance editor and translator in 2018. I now specialise in editing books, often on topics relating to health, positive psychology and mindfulness, as well as novels and memoirs about the Eurasia region. I am based in Norwich, England. I have edited over 20 titles, including:

  • The Wanderer by Begizhan Akhmedov (English translation, 2021) – A spiritual novel set in the mountains of Central Asia. The novel was voted Kyrgyzstan’s book of the year in 2019.
  • The Power of Reinvention by Mags Thomson et al (House of Hives, 2021) – A collection of personal stories by 10 authors, exploring how personal trauma became a catalyst to reinvent their lives. 
  • Drop the Motherf*cking Struggle by Susanne Grant (Susanne Grant, 2021) – A book that encourages people to work more mindfully, not harder or for longer, to achieve success.
  • A History of Lithuanian Writers in the United Kingdom by Aldona Grupas (Hertfordshire Press, 2021) – A collection of biographies of some writers from Lithuania, past and present, who have lived in Great Britain.
  • The Age of Gold and Tulips by Camelia Andrei (2022) – A memoir of the author’s childhood in communist Romania, 1975-1989. This book is awaiting publication in English; the link is to an edition already published in Italian. 
  • The Warrior’s Daily Journal by John Metzger (Warrior Code, 2022) – A journal of contemplations written by a veteran firefighter, intended for people who have suffered traumas in their professional lives.
  • The Conscious (Self-)Leadership Handbook by Laurence Rottesman (awaiting publication; 2021) – A handbook for helping leaders to introduce mindfulness techniques into their work.
  • Caught in Between by Erich Shelton (awaiting publication; 2022) – A novel about an English woman who moves to Uzbekistan after the fall of the Soviet Union, to teach English in a small town.

Reviews for my book editing work (from the publishing platform Reedsy):

“Jonathan was a pleasure work with! This was my first foray into professional writing, and Jonathan helped to make it a great experience. I was a little worried about the distance between us – geographically – as Jonathan is in the UK and I am in the US… but it wasn’t an issue at all. He is extremely professional, and was on time with his work. I appreciate Jonathan seeing the value in keeping ‘my voice’ within my unique project.” – John Metzger, author of The Warrior’s Daily Journal

“Jonathan Campion was very competent and a master of the small details. His work exceeded my expectations at a very reasonable fee. He was clear in his communication and this carried throughout my book. I would definitely recommend him as an editor for anyone and am very appreciative of his work. He was excellent to work with and turned my manuscript around in a very short time.” – Erich Shelton, author of Caught in Between

“Jonathan has been absolutely amazing. I’ve been writing for many years but as English is my second language, I know I make mistakes here and there. Jonathan really understood my work and managed to keep my tone of voice throughout whilst creating an excellent masterpiece in the process.” – Susanne Grant, author of Drop the Motherf*cking Struggle

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Jonathan Campion is a writer, a translator from Russian and Ukrainian, and a book editor. He has travelled in Eurasia since 2005. Read about his work here, and contact him here.