Susan Allott - Editor
Susan Allott is a critically acclaimed author whose debut novel, The Silence, was published internationally by Harper Collins in 2020 and was longlisted for the Crime Writers Association New Blood Dagger award. Her second novel, The Imposter, is due to be published in summer 2023 with Borough Press.
Susan studied English literature at Leeds University and Media & Communications at Goldsmiths College. She is also a Faber Academy alumna, but she credits the Jericho Writers self-edit course with her ultimate success and raves about it to everyone.
Testimonials
Robin Lodge
WHY WE LOVE SUSAN
She loves crime fiction, thrillers, literary and book club fiction, where complex characters come alive in a satisfying story arc. Her own work leans toward the literary end of crime, and her debut has been compared to Jane Harper and Gillian Flynn. She has extensive experience mentoring and editing aspiring authors and delivers creative writing workshops in-person and online.
WHAT SUSAN SAYS ABOUT EDITING
I received a lot of support from editors and book doctors over the years that I was writing my first novel. It’s my privilege to pass on the techniques that brought my work up to a publishable standard, and to help writers avoid the pitfalls that I encountered along the way. It gives me huge pleasure to see writers develop their skills and achieve success.
My own work sits in the sweet spot where literary meets commercial, and I love to bring out the commercial potential in a manuscript, looking at how to increase the impact of that all-important hook, and how to make sure the engine of the plot is always running. I also enjoy helping writers to fully inhabit their characters and the world of their book, by getting out of the way of their writing.
I’m a trained journalist with an eagle eye for typos, grammatical errors and broader structural issues, and am happy to carry out line-editing, copy-editing and developmental editing as well as manuscript assessments.
What Susan works on
Manuscript assessment
Developmental Editing
Agent Submission Pack assessment
Post-editorial guidance
Line-editing
Copy-editing
Proof-reading
Genres Susan specialises in
Susan's published books
The Silence
A literary thriller set in Australia where the cold case of a missing woman opens up a darker secret.
‘Allott uses the scandal of Australia’s stolen children to devastating effect in this memorable debut.’ SUNDAY TIMES
