Developmental Editing for Fantasy, Horror, and Queer Romance Writers

Hi, I'm Dr. Andrew Hodges, founder of Second World Editorial.

I'm a fiction developmental editor who specializes in fantasy, horror, and queer romance. I work across YA, adult, and literary fiction.

I'm drawn to character-driven novels, weird fiction, stories where the setting comes alive, and fiction that engages with the social, political, or ecological questions of our time.

Learn more about me and my work

My portfolio includes multiple New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors and a Hugo Award finalist. Recent projects include:

Queen of Faces by Petra Lord (HarperFire)
A Visit to the Husband Archive by Kaliane Bradley (AOS Publishing)
The Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton (Viking)
Deadstream by Mar Romasco-Moore (Viking)
Call of the Camino by Suzanne Redfearn (Lake Union).

"Dr. Hodges's editorial feedback was careful, exacting, and genuinely useful. He has identified structural and craft level pressures around POV discipline, narrative distance, and reader orientation and with clarity and specificity. His notes were grounded in craft rather than preference, which made them actionable without being prescriptive. I would recommend him to those who want serious editorial engagement."

G. C. Literary Fantasy Author

Editorial Assessment

My Author-Editor Philosophy

There’s no clear roadmap for a fiction-writing career, and even experienced authors often feel they are figuring parts of their process out as they go.

Writing advice can be contradictory and high-quality feedback hard to source.

Trusted critique partners and writing communities are invaluable, but sometimes a project needs an experienced second opinion, especially when deadlines, submissions, or revisions start to feel overwhelming.

In short, I love fiction and the creative act of publishing and finding your audience. It can be liberating and exciting, but parts of the industry are elitist and capitalist too. This situation doesn't help most authors—so let's try to change it! My practice is grounded in the following principles:

Human creativity rules—no generative AI in my writing and editing workflows
Anyone can learn to write well—writing is not a “natural gift”
Stories, like people, are social and live in ecosystems
Words and tropes can cause harm, and so we should choose them carefully

Get in touch about your project

"Working with Andy made my debut novel better, and the results in distribution and reviews prove it. Sound feedback, a great partner in the process, and a push in the best direction."

Nathan Wagner, Historical Fantasy Author

Editorial Assessment & Line Edit of The Samurai Cowboys Series

"Andy was a pleasure to work with, responsive, quick, and thorough in his feedback. His critique and suggestions have definitely helped me improve my novel and to deepen the story I wanted to tell."

Robert Winter, Fantasy and Romance Author

Full Developmental Edit of Falconsaga.

"The edits were necessary and incredibly valuable. The editorial report was one of the greatest feedback tools I have ever received, as it covered so many aspects that I tended to gloss over."

Vincent Burke, Queer Romantasy Author

Editorial Assessment of Flesh & Bone: Awakening

"Andy is an excellent editor. He gives more than a standard line/copy edit. He helped clarify POVs and the timeline for Scarlet and the White to make this a better and easier book to read."

Michael Fellowes, SF Horror Author

Substantive edit of Scarlet and the White

"I absolutely loved working with Andrew on my project. His feedback, review, and suggestions were all dead on the things that I had not even noticed. He explained everything thoroughly, giving me the bigger picture of why his suggestions and or feedback would improve a section or chapter in my novel. I highly recommend Andrew and his professionalism and hope to be able to use him again in my next project."

Orlando Trevino, LGBTQ+ Fiction Author

Editorial Assessment of Second Time Around