The Book
Editors
Meet the Editors!
Gideon Roberton
Fiction Editor
Gideon is an experienced editor, story analyst and a published author. Gideon writes the Drake's War series of WW2 Espionage Thrillers under the pen name Gideon Saint. Drake's War has been selected for the Bernard Cornwell Reading Club and has been an Amazon.co.uk best-seller.
Before he took up novel-writing, Gideon previously worked for Twentieth Century Fox, Focus Features, and Universal Pictures International as a story analyst. He also ran a department of a trade publishing business in London for a number of years. Additionally, he works as a freelance manuscript editor for a number of well-known writing institutions.
What Clients Say:
"Gideon understood my vision for a different style of espionage novel, and he showed me how to achieve it.
He set a very high standard, which I wanted, and his deep understanding of the Thriller and Crime genres provided insights that nobody else had spotted.
Excellent value."
Adrian Cowderoy, June 2024
Experience & Qualifications
Gideon has a BA (hons) in Contemporary Media Practice (Westminster University), an MA in Creative Writing (Lancaster University), an MFA in Creative Writing (Kingston University), and he studied Screenwriting at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles).
Having been on all sides of the table, as an author, a publisher, and an editor, Gideon is uniquely placed to help you on your journey to becoming a published fiction author.
Gideon is an approved
Jericho Writers editor (the UK's leading writers' resource), and he is the proprietor of The Book Editors.
Gideon is also happy to do assessments for TV or Feature Film Scripts, where he can bring his experience of the industry to bear!
He'd love to hear from you!
What Gideon says about Editing...
I know how enlightening it is to have a good editor help to get your writing to the next level. Whether it’s first draft or almost ready for publication – editors really help!
I come to every manuscript with a simple question: what would I do if it were my job to take this manuscript to publication? That means identifying what works well, and what could be improved. But it means more: how does the writer actually fix those issues? What are the practical steps and the skills involved?
The real magic is in finding the heart of the story and helping to bring it out. There is a joy in seeing an edited manuscript take wings and fly…
I cover a range of genres: contemporary, literary, historical, mystery, crime, thriller, espionage, action, adventure, or military/naval fiction. I will also be happy to look at mainstream science fiction or fantasy. For other genres – just ask! I have a particular interest in WW2, which I write about. Get in touch!
Testimonials
from recent editorial clients...
This wasn’t my first published book, or even my second, but Gideon’s review of my third manuscript quickly homed in on critical blind spots: where someone slipped out of character, or when the tone shifted out of thriller mode, or when the dialogue was too ‘on the nose’. He also pointed out where the prose shone, and where the protagonist’s dark humour hit the mark. Well worth the money!
Having authored multiple books I thought I pretty much had it down. Gideon quickly showed me I had much to learn to take my writing to the next level. I am very glad to have had his excellent insight into my work.
Thank you very much for the excellent and detailed analysis. All of it was extremely helpful.
Gideon's feedback has proven to be incredibly valuable, and I truly appreciate the insights and suggestions.
Your editorial report and comments were extremely helpful!
Thank you for your comments on my submission. I really appreciate the depth of analysis and the frank but constructive observations. You have given me a lot to think about.
Mark Hooper
Non-Fiction Editor
Mark is an award-winning editor, author and editorial consultant. He has more than 25 years' editing experience, working with some of the biggest and most respected publications in the UK.
Mark is the author of two non-fiction books; The Great British Tree Biography and The Story of Tools, both published by Pavilion, part of Harper Collins. Mark was co-founder of the literary periodical BSJJ: The BS Johnson Journal.
Mark has also written for The Economist, The Guardian, Wired, Wallpaper, The Observer, and The Times.
With his breadth of experience as editor, journalist, and author, Mark is uniquely positioned to help you with your non-fiction project.
We'd love to hear from you!