John David Kudrick

Copy Editor, Proofreader

Action/Adventure, Children’s Fiction, Christian Fiction, Contemporary/Mainstream, Detective/Crime, Historical Fiction, Mystery/Suspense, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller/Suspense

John David Kudrick has been working with words for nearly three decades as a writer/editor and holds an MA in Professional Writing (Fiction). Throughout his career, he’s been a staff writer, copy editor, managing editor, and paginator for newspapers; an editor and then senior editor at a publishing house; a copywriter and editor for a marketing/consulting agency; and a freelance writer and editor who’s appeared at writers conferences as a presenter and panelist.

Through the years, John David has had the opportunity to serve as an editor in some capacity on nearly 300 published fiction and nonfiction titles, lending a hand to authors from across the US and around the world. At this point in his career as a full-time freelance book editor, he specializes in copy editing and proofreading all genres of fiction. His main focus is ensuring that your story is as clean and coherent as possible and that it’s ready for submission to agents/publishers or to publish independently.

As not only an editor but also a writer of fiction himself, John David understands the feelings that go along with letting someone else edit and polish all those words you’ve spent so much time and energy on, so he’s ready to serve you as an editor who can relate.

Editing Services

Copy Editing—Line-by-line and word-by-word editing for grammar, word usage, tone, format, mechanics of style, and consistency of facts, spelling, capitalization, and numerals. Also includes recommendations to author on part of editor. Revisions made by editor within Word document using tracking feature. Includes two rounds of editorial review.
Proofreading—A final polish to clean up typos, inconsistencies, misspellings, and punctuation problems. Revisions made by editor within Word document using tracking feature. Includes two rounds of editorial review.

Please Note …
My apologies, but I don’t provide critiques/evaluations or developmental/substantive/content editing, and I don’t work on nonfiction, nor do I work on partial manuscripts or parts of manuscripts. Because I specialize in copy editing and proofreading, the authors I work with are satisfied with their stories from a big-picture perspective and are not looking for large-scale edits or ideas on how to improve the story, but rather seeking an editor to smooth out, enhance, and polish the entire tale’s text. Many thanks for taking the time to read this note. 🙂

“While I won’t claim John David’s work on my novel elevated the writing to the level that earned it honors from two book awards, I give him much credit for helping me make the reader’s experience a seamless one. His eye for detail, his ability to track consistency, his fact-checking, his sense of flow, and his grasp of narrative logic all contributed to my manuscript’s readability so that nothing gets in the way of the story. His suggestions and thought-provoking questions led me to make subtle but potent, effective changes. Best of all, John David brings his irrepressible spirit as well as his top-notch professionalism to the process, making it an absolute joy to work with him.”

—Karuna Das
Author of Sex, Drugs & Spiritual Enlightenment (but mostly the first two) and Kat’s Cradle: Webolution Book One

“John David Kudrick is thorough, adaptable, and attentive. His strength in proofreading for us has been providing consistent work on an epic fantasy series, and his grasp of detail throughout the intricate story arc has been especially helpful.”

—Elisa Tally
Assistant Editor, Bethany House Publishers

“It has been my pleasure to work with John David Kudrick, one of our A-list freelancers. John David is a magnificent proofreader, as he has done stellar work for our publishing company. He not only catches all of the little details by adhering to The Chicago Manual of Style rules, but he also queries questionable content when he thinks something is off (for instance, a timeline discrepancy in a fiction book). In addition, John David has never missed a deadline. In fact, a good amount of his projects have even come in a few days early. These extra miles separate him from our average proofreaders. I could not give a freelancer a higher recommendation.”

—Jack Campbell
Project Coordinator, David C Cook

“You have a true talent, John David, something God-given. All the learning in the world can’t give it to you, and nothing can take it away. You comprehend on several levels far beneath the story itself, a rare thing in literature these days. You can have my back anytime.”

—James Byron Huggins
Author of A Wolf Story, The Reckoning, Leviathan, Cain, Hunter, Rora, Nightbringer, The Scam, Sorcerer, Dark Visions, Crux

Godiva, by David Rose “I highly recommend John David Kudrick. As an editor for Whitaker House, his strong leadership and management skills became very evident, and he was soon promoted to senior editor. John was instrumental in Whitaker House’s expansion into fiction.”

—Robert Whitaker Jr.
President, Whitaker House Publishers

From Bad to Worse, by Todd and Jedd Hafer

“John’s attention to detail and knowledge of language give him the foundation that every good copyeditor needs. He has the skills to spot errors and refine writing, resulting in a clean, polished manuscript. And his responsible and professional manner means you can depend on him to follow through on deadlines.”

—Darla Hightower
Production Director, NavPress

“As a copy editor and project coordinator at David C. Cook, I have a long list of freelance proofreaders to choose from for each project. John David Kudrick is at the top of that list as a thorough, dependable proofreader. He consistently turns in excellent work, catching the tiny details as well as finding discrepancies in the overarching stories and themes of the books. He is willing to complete rushed projects, and I know I can count on him for high-pressure jobs. I thoroughly recommend him for any project.”

—Jaci Schneider
Copyeditor/Project Coordinator, David C Cook

Contact John David