Jess Shulman

Please note that of January 2026 am no longer taking freelance work. I have gone back to work full-time, as puzzles and games editor for The Globe and Mail. I’m thrilled about this exciting new chapter in my career that blends my editorial skills with my passion for puzzles.

A certified professional editor (CPE) with more than two decades of experience, I specialized in helping authors and businesses refine their writing in both fiction and non-fiction. Find me at jessshulmaneditorial.com.

Whether assessing a manuscript for content and structure, polishing language line by line, copy editing or proofreading with a perfectionist’s eye, completely rewriting a draft, or even writing from scratch, I worked to get distractions out of the way to allow the writer’s words to sing. I love language and I am at my best when I’m helping to improve other people’s writing. 

I’m a certified structural editor, stylistic editor, copy editor and proofreader. I’m an ardent book lover, and as a freelancer I worked with publishers, including HarperCollins, Goose Lane Editions, Greystone Books, and Dundurn Press, as well as independent authors in fiction and non-fiction. Authors have praised me for my attention to detail and my collaborative working style. I’ve edited novels (both YA and adult), memoirs, travel books, recipe books, parenting books, business books, biographies, and even a book of interviews with actual serial killers. 

Before I launched my freelance editorial business, I spent seventeen years in in-house writing/editing roles (in healthcare, insurance, employee benefits, and professional services), spanning a wide range of projects including marketing materials, thought leadership, newsletters, website copy, news articles, internal communication materials, executive speeches, and proposals. 

I have a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree (a past life!) and I am very good at grasping, and then explaining, technical concepts. I also have a post-grad certificate in Magazine Publishing from Ryerson University (now called TMU).

Testimonials

Here’s what some of my clients are saying about my work:

“Jess Shulman is an extraordinary editor—everything a writer dreams of and wants. She handled my extremely complex manuscript on the globalization of food cultures—in four languages: English, of course, but also many words and phrases in French, Italian and Chinese. Jess is attentive to detail, flow, context and logic. She made a couple of my jokes even better, saved me from a tasteless gaffe or two, and fixed numerous errors of fact and grammar. She is a joy to work with, a true collaborator who is respectful, tactful, gentle, and articulate, and who meets every deadline. I highly recommend her.”
— Jan Wong, author of Apron Strings: Navigating Food and Family in France, Italy, and China 

“I’ve really enjoyed working with you; it’s been one of the best editing experiences I’ve had. I think you are absolutely worth your salt and are a terrific editor!”
— Kristine Scarrow, author, The 11th Hour, 2018, Dundurn Press

“Thank you so much for your superb copy editing of my book. I gave you what I was sure was a very clean manuscript, but you found and corrected dozens and dozens of errors, inconsistencies and other problems, large and small.  I was especially impressed with your careful editing of the endnotes, which were very complex and required strict adherence to the Chicago Manual of Style. Where there was more than one possible way to fix a problem, you identified that and clearly explained what you recommended and why. On top of that, you completed the project on time and on budget! Your work was everything I could have asked for and more: the result is a manuscript that I am proud to send to my publisher. I have included thanks to you in the acknowledgements. If you ever need a recommendation I will be glad to give you five stars, and I will certainly use Jess Shulman Editorial again.”
— Ian Angus, author, A Redder Shade of Green, 2017

“Special kudos to Jess—this is one of the best editing/proofreading jobs I’ve ever seen.”
— Paul Bien, Director of Insights, Deloitte Canada

“Thank you for your consummate patience and professionalism on this project. It dragged on and on (through no fault of yours!), but you stuck with it, kept things on track, and left the client happy. I couldn’t ask for more.”
— Martin Ainsley, Production Editor, Goose Lane Design