Hetty Marx

Hetty Marx – Editor

Experienced development editor for non-fiction and textbooks. Former psychology Commissioning Editor at Cambridge University Press.

Overview

I help authors to develop engaging and informative textbooks, academic books and non-fiction.

I have 14 years of publishing experience, including in-house as Commissioning Editor for Psychology at the prestigious Cambridge University Press (8 years) and Development Editor for the textbook giant, Pearson (2 years). I now work with publishers including Oxford University Press, Collins, SAGE and Pearson and work directly with authors.

I’ve worked on a range of books from illustrated, feature-rich school textbooks through to highly in-depth academic books. My core subjects are psychology, linguistics, sociology, education, law, business studies and economics. I would also be delighted to hear from authors writing in my areas of personal interest: walking, nature, gardening, baking, crafts, sewing and language learning (in my case, German). As a mother of two young daughters, I’m particularly interested in any of these topics in relation to children or families and also children’s non-fiction more broadly.

With a development edit, I will provide honest, but sensitive, feedback, helping you to develop an appropriate writing style and level for your target audience, a coherent structure and, where suitable, engaging and effective features. I will help you ensure consistency, clarity and interest. With a line edit/substantive edit, I will do the same but also reword and restructure parts of your text (while retaining your style) to help you achieve these aims.

Testimonials:
"I owe a huge debt to Hetty for her close reading of my text combined with her finely honed ability to stand back from it and see just what additions and adjustments it needed."
Susan Sugarman, Professor of Psychology, Princeton University

"Hetty is a joy to work with. … She is reliable, can be depended on to meet deadlines, is clear in her communication, highly organised, and has an excellent attention to detail. … She is responsible, thorough, and extremely conscientious about ensuring high quality content. I would highly recommend Hetty for any similar projects."
Lucy Cooper, Commissioning Editor, Collins Learning
Services
Non-Fiction
Business & Management Children’s Non-Fiction Education & Reference Humanities & Social Sciences Law Nature Parenting & Families Psychology
Languages
English (AUS) English (CAN) English (UK) English (US)
Certifications
  • Rewriting and Substantive Editing (Non-Fiction) (The Publishing Training Centre)
  • Commissioning and List Management (The Publishing Training Centre)
  • Managing Publishing Strategy (The Publishing Training Centre)
  • First-class degree in Psychology, University of Cambridge

Work experience

Self-employed

May, 2016 — Present

I work with authors and top textbook and academic publishing companies including Collins, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Pearson and SAGE. Recent projects include development editing and substantive/line editing school and university textbooks in fields such as psychology, business studies, law, economics, linguistics and sociology.

Cambridge University Press

Sep, 2008 — May, 2016 (over 7 years)

• Commissioned textbooks, scholarly trade books, reference works, monographs, edited books and electronic resources.
• Negotiated contracts and developed strong relationships with a wide range of scholars from new authors to top names in psychology.
• Managed extensive backlist, including transforming new editions of textbooks and handbooks to increase sales, reviving successful monograph series and working with colleagues to maximise sales potential for backlist titles.
• Delivered engaging and effective presentations of new projects to sales, marketing and senior management.
• Wrote persuasive copy for a variety of audiences.

Pearson

Apr, 2006 — Sep, 2008 (over 2 years)

Developed high-profile university textbooks and associated online resources in a variety of disciplines, including psychology, politics, law, education, nursing, business studies and economics. Project management, market research, reading manuscripts, author coaching.

Portfolio

Through an exacting yet accessible reconstruction of eleven of Freud's essential theoretical writings, Susan Sugarman demonstrates that the traditionally received Freud is the diametric opposite of the one evident in the pages of his own works. Whereas Freud's... read more
Hard to Find
Cognitive Science combines the interdisciplinary streams of cognitive science into a unified narrative in an all-encompassing introduction to the field. This text presents cognitive science as a discipline in its own right, and teaches students to apply the te... read more
Economics

Michael Parkin

8th Edition book of Management and Organisational Behaviour by Laurie J Mullins
Developmental Psychology

Dr Rachel Gillibrand

Developmental Psychology 1st edition provides a clear and lively coverage of the main topics and concepts required by the British Psychological Society (BPS). The book takes a broadly topical organisation addressing the social and cognitive strands of developm... read more
Modern Families
Are We Getting Smarter?

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