Hello!
 
Welcome to my semi-regular update with all my writing, reading and editing news. If you'd prefer to get these posts in your inbox, you can subscribe via my Substack here.
 
It’s been a busy few months here, which is why I’ve ended up posting this a bit later than usual. We went up to Barra in the Outer Hebrides for a couple of weeks at the end of the summer, which was lovely apart from the weather. Our tent did not survive the trip. But despite the sleepless nights and the broken tent poles and the endless, endless wind and rain, we had a brilliant time! Our toddler was overjoyed to rampage around lots of big empty beaches and was particularly proud of himself for dragging around a piece of seaweed bigger than he was. My husband and I were overjoyed to discover the cake honesty boxes, featuring the best rocky road I have ever had in my life. Worth the journey north for that alone.

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Anyway, once I dragged myself away from eating rocky road and made it back to my desk, I busied myself with a big fantasy developmental edit and a few coaching slots. The topic of pacing has come up in nearly every conversation I’ve had with writers over the last few weeks. With newer writers, this has often involved showing how to slow events down. This can be particularly necessary at the start of a story, when there’s a tendency to want to cram in lots of events to make your story feel big and busy and exciting. In actuality, readers want to connect to a character, and it’s tricky to build that connection when we’re rushing through events and unable to experience each one properly.
 
Conversely, the fantasy novel I was doing a developmental edit on had several points where the pacing could be tightened up. There were a few places in the novel where multiple paragraphs discussed minor details about village life, which were interesting but not really essential to the overall plot. Whilst every detail in a novel certainly doesn’t need to be relevant to the overall plot (the fun, surely, of writing a novel rather than a short story where everything needs to be so much more precise and intentional), it’s worth considering whether you’re asking the reader to spend too long in mundane details, and whether you can convey the same key info/mood/vibes in a more concise way.
 
If you’re struggling with pacing, try re-reading your favourite novel and looking specifically for places where the author has manipulated the pacing. Which moments are slowed down, so it takes longer to read them than the moment would have actually taken, and how does the author do this? Which moments are skipped over using narrative summary? How would your reading experience feel if these moments were played out instead? (You can also book a coaching slot if you want to chat about pacing in your own writing!)

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​After the fantasy developmental edit, I worked on a copy edit of a long fantasy novel. This edit was for an author I’ve worked with before; it’s always really lovely to return to a world and characters I already know and see what they’ve been getting up to.
 
In between bigger edits, I’ve fitted in some shorter coaching jobs and some short story edits.

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Lots of short story writing and editing and editing and writing and editing and editing and… You get the picture.
 
My toddler has finally, at twenty months old, started going to sleep in less than three hours every night, so I’ve been enjoying slotting in an hour or two of writing in the evenings. It’s been lovely to sink back into the cosy routines of winter: soft lighting, lots of reading time, and lots of time for stories to meander around my mind.

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I’ve read so many excellent books since my last update that I’m not quite sure where to start! What a treat it is when you get a run of excellent reads in a row. Some particular highlights have been:

• The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow. I was just starting this in my last update, and am thrilled to report that this was even better than I’d hoped. Alix’s stories always hit just right for me, but I really felt her writing had stepped up a level in this novel. Strongly recommend.
• On the Calculation of Volume by Solvej Balle. I know everyone read this when it was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and I am probably the last to the party, but I really thought this was incredible. It is nothing about maths or physics at all (much to my husband’s disappointment); it’s about a woman who wakes up one morning to find herself suddenly trapped in time, living in the same day again and again. Stunning, stunning writing. And thinking back to it now has been a good reminder that I need to track down the next instalment…
• Lost in the Garden by Adam S. Leslie. A folk horror fever dream. I became absolutely obsessed with this and frantically messaged everyone I knew who had read it. Did not entirely understand it, did not care. I really loved how confident the story felt and the author’s refusal to exactly what had happened.
• The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott. A really gorgeous story about connection and community and the intersection of myths and reality.

I always really love looking back over what I’ve read over the last couple of months when I’m writing this. Aren’t books GREAT.
 

I hope autumn/winter has swept some good books and/or words your way. As ever, if you want to drop me a line about anything I've said here or want to recommend me a book, I'd love to hear from you. (And if you’re interested in booking in an edit or some coaching, start here then drop me a message!)

Hello!
 
Welcome to my bimonthly post with all my writing, reading and editing news. I'm posting this one a week or so early because I'm off on holiday this weekend (hooray!).
 
We've been so lucky with a long, glorious summer here in Eryri/Snowdonia, and I've enjoyed being outside as much as possible. The toddler has done his first wild camp and his first boat trip, and I've managed a couple of lovely and restorative toddler-free trips into the hills. The balance between family time and solo time and work and hobbies and actually relaxing is always going to be a tricky one, but there have definitely been weeks recently when it's felt like we've finally managed to get it right. (There have also been weeks where everything has felt like complete chaos 24/7. It's a balance!)

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Over on the blog last month, I was chatting about the importance of connection. If you've got any thoughts on how connecting with other writers has been helpful for you, I'd love to hear them.

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Goodness, I've been so lucky with the manuscripts I've been working on recently. These last couple of months, I've been busy with a developmental edit of a fantasy novel, featuring dragons and nature-based magic. It's been a joy to work on. I've posted some notes on Substack about how I do a developmental edit, and I'll probably turn these into a more in-depth blog post once I'm finished with it, in the hopes of demystifying the process a bit.
 
I've also done a proofread of a delightful nature memoir. I've worked with the author right through from her first draft to the proofread, and it's been an absolute delight to see this book take shape and to see the author's skill and confidence as a writer grow. This book features lots of photographs, so I was delighted to see the proofs and finally be able to see all the photographs after reading so much about them. It's rare that I get to work on one book right the way through all the different stages, so this has been a real treat. 
 
And I've also just taken on a couple of new coaching clients. I'm excited to get to know them and to learn more about their writing! For coaching, I particularly love to work with writers
who are passionate about the craft of writing and keen to hone their skills as much as possible, which both of these new clients definitely are. I’m looking forward to working with them both once I’m back from my holiday.

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​I'm not sure I actually have much writing news this month. I've been tinkering away with edits for a couple of short stories, but with a busy work schedule and lots of outdoor adventures, it's been tricky to find much time or brain space for my own writing. That's okay; I always write less over the summer, and sometimes my brain just needs a bit of time to re-charge.
 
Autumn feels like it's just around the corner, and I can feel a couple of new ideas already stirring. I've printed out a couple of drafts to take on holiday, which I can edit if I fancy or ignore if I don't. I'm excited to get back into a regular writing rhythm after our trip – lots to make progress on!

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​I read and quickly became obsessed with The Second Death of Locke by V. L. Bovalino. If you're on bookstagram, you might have seen lots of excitement recently about a run of "lady knights" books being released soon. This is one of that group, and it's absolutely brilliant: complex and nuanced characters, a slow-burn romance arc that avoids a lot of the usual romantasy tropes, a unique magic system, and plenty of nods to Arthuriana. One of the best things I’ve read this year. Incidentally, I’m just about to start Alix E. Harrow’s The Everlasting and am so excited for it. She’s one of my favourite writers and the blurb sounds incredible.
 
I've also read and really enjoyed Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor. The writing in this is so beautiful and careful; it's a stunning read. It's set on a Welsh island heavily inspired by Ynys Enlli/Bardsey Island. I'm always a fan of island settings anyway, and as chance would have it I'd actually been over to Ynys Enlli a couple of weeks before reading this which made it all the more enjoyable to read. And I’ve just finished Dream Angus by Alexander McCall Smith, part of Canongate’s series on myth re-tellings. The story flits between a re-telling of the original myth, and looking at how that myth might be re-imagined into the present day – it was an intriguing read.

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​And with that, it’s time to switch my Out Of Office on and shut down my laptop for a couple of weeks. We’re off to the Outer Hebrides, and I'm so looking forward to being somewhere so quiet and remote, to being outside the entire time, and to working my way through some good books, although there is a chance that I have significantly overestimated exactly how many books I can read during a two-week camping trip with a toddler.
 
I hope all of you are also enjoying the slow transition into autumn and all the new starts that inevitably seem to come along at this time of year. 
 
Wishing you happy reading or writing or even just day-dreaming about stories, if that’s where you at the moment. As ever, if you want to drop me a line about anything I've said here or want to recommend me a book, I'd love to hear from you.

(If you'd prefer to get these posts delivered straight to your inbox, you can subscribe via my Substack.)

Hello hello! Welcome to my bimonthly update with all my writing, reading and editing news.

This newsletter is actually about a month late; the transition back to work after a lovely long spell of maternity leave has felt pretty intense, and I’ve ended up dropping a few non-urgent tasks. I’m really grateful to be returning to a job that I love so much, and I can’t say how much I’m enjoying spending so much of my time thinking about words and stories again. That said… working and having a very energetic toddler is A Lot! Every day feels about ten hours too short, so I’ve prioritised paid work which means things like writing this newsletter have taken a bit of a backseat.

Still, I’m already finding a better balance than I had a few weeks ago, so I hope to be posting more regularly in the upcoming months.

I’ve been busy with a line and copy edit of a fantasy novel. This one is the third instalment of a trilogy; I’ve started working with authors mid-way through a series a couple of times now, and although a mid-series change of editor is obviously not ideal, it definitely can work if needed. During an edit I’ll always compile a style sheet, which is a list of all the choices made when editing the book: things like how to style ellipses, whether we’re using single or double quotation marks, -ise or -ize endings (organise or organize), and a word list for any spelling, capitalisation or hyphenation choices made (north-west, North West or northwest). For some edits, this will include a character list to keep track of things like hair and eye colour, and there might be details about some locations used too. For this series, I’ve been sent the previous editor’s style sheet and the previous two manuscripts, and using all of these during my edit should mean that we’ve managed to avoid any inconsistencies across the trilogy.

I’ve also proofread a few short stories, and I’ve just started editing a mountaineering guidebook. The guidebook is accompanied by some absolutely stunning photos and I am trying my best not to get distracted and run off to plan a trip to the mountains. 

Although some months in my diary are already fully booked for full-length manuscript edits, I always allow a bit of space for last-minute shorter projects such as short stories or coaching sessions. Please feel very free to drop me an email with any editing or coaching enquiries! I’m always happy to discuss what your next steps could be or what level of editing you’re looking for. If I’m not a good fit for your manuscript or I don’t have availability in the timescale you’re looking for, I can point you to trusted (and lovely) editing colleagues who might be better placed to work with you.

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I was shortlisted for Moniack Mhor’s Emerging Writer 2025 Award, which I’m over the moon about. I very nearly didn’t apply for this because it just felt like such a long shot, so I’m very grateful to the judges for the confidence boost! Massive congratulations to the winner, Amy Luxton, and to all the finalists; I’m looking forward to following their work.

Just as I’ve been writing this, I’ve received a rejection for a short story that I was really hoping to find a home for. Sharing this in the spirit of keeping it honest! Writing is a rollercoaster!

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In my last update, I had just started a re-read of Samantha Shannon’s The Bone Season before reading the latest installment, The Dark Mirror. I had an absolutely brilliant time reading through this series again. I tend to favour waiting until series are finished before reading any of the instalments, so it’s rare for me to have the joy of re-reading a few familiar books with the anticipation of a new volume to finish off with. The last two books can’t come quickly enough!

I’ve also read a couple of novels by Sarah Moss (The Fell and Ghost Wall), and spent most of them amazed that I have made it this far through life without having read any of her novels. I’m sure I’ll be returning to her work.

And along with a few other editors, I’ve been working my way through the titles discussed by Kristen Tate in Novel Study, followed by Kristen’s analysis of them. This has been brilliant for pulling me to genres that I wouldn’t normally read. In the last couple of months, I’ve read Tana French’s The Searcher and Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me, both of which I enjoyed. It’s been great to discuss techniques and approaches to writing in light of these books. It’s always interesting to hear how other people have responded to things that did or didn’t work for me – it’s a brilliant reminder that ‘good writing’ is so subjective.

And I’m also slowly working my way through The Art of Punctuation by Noah Lukeman. Who knew a book about punctuation could be so interesting! That’s not sarcastic; it’s genuinely a great read (or at least, it is if you’re someone who’s interested in the nuances of punctuation – admittedly a fairly niche crowd).

If you’ve got any thoughts on any of the above titles or want to recommend me a book, please do leave a comment or send me an email – I am always delighted to talk about books!

Happy reading and/or writing, and I look forward to sharing more in a couple of months.

We’re currently having a lovely long spell of sunshine here in Snowdonia, which is making me want to spend every possible moment outside. I’ve taken the baby on a couple of delightful walks in the hills – a bit easier said than done because he is heavy, but it’s been great to get out and I’m trying to build up my ability to carry him so that we can hopefully try some nice long mountain days this summer. We’ve managed a couple of beach sunsets, and I’ve even made some plans to go climbing! Outside! On actual rock!

​Summer is generally when my reading and writing time drops off massively in favour of being outside allll the time, but with a baby around, there’s going to be less of a switch over than normal this year. I’m trying to keep my expectations for the next few months pretty low and just try to fit climbing in whenever I can. And in the meantime, I’ll make the most of not completely abandoning writing for a few months like I normally end up doing!
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​My baby is in nursery for a couple of days a week, so I’ve been making the most of having a bit of headspace to get some writing things ticked off. I have a few short stories which I’d had some helpful feedback on and just needed to finalise before submitting; I’m always amazed at how utterly painful it can be to edit my own work when I am literally paid to edit other people’s writing. The latter is so, so much easier! But over the last few weeks I’ve made some good progress in getting things finished off and submitted. I’m enjoying writing so much at the moment – maybe because the time still feels so precious after a year in baby-land.

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​I’ve just finished reading The Overstory by Richard Powers – just an utterly incredible novel. I was reading it in hardback which is huge, and as nearly all of my reading time at the moment is whilst a baby is snoozing on me, it took me ages to get through it just due to the sheer logistics of how to physically read it! It’s really unlike me to have a book on the go over several weeks (and whilst reading other fiction books), but this slow pace ended up feeling like the perfect match for such a huge, arching story. It’s going to take me a while to fully process this one, I think, but I do know that I will absolutely be reading other titles by Richard Powers. What a writer.

I’ve managed to almost entirely replace scrolling time with reading time over the last couple of months, and thus have read loads of books! Some other titles worth mentioning include Hagstone by Sinead Gleeson (loved the remote and slightly haunting setting); The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (another one with a fascinating use of setting – also, Patchett’s writing is always so good); The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (cosy fantasy, all very chilled and enjoyable), and The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins (pretty much the opposite of cosy fantasy and should have come with a good few trigger warnings – but all the violence is very easily skippable, thankfully). I also chose to DNF on a memoir which I’d been keen to read, but which didn’t quite grab me as I’d expected and felt a bit more depressing that I was up for. This year I am wholeheartedly embracing leaving books unfinished if I don’t love them. Life is too short and my TBR list too long.

​Up next: I’ve been looking forward to a re-read of Samantha Shannon’s The Bone Season for a while; the fifth title was released at the end of February, but I had a busy few weeks and knew I was going to be grumpy if I had to squeeze in re-reading such an addictive series around other life stuff. The next couple of weeks are quieter, so I’ve just started it and am already having a brilliant time.

Shannon released a revised edition of the earlier books in the series recently, and if you’re interested in writing, it’s a really fascinating exercise to compare the new version of The Bone Season with the earlier version of it. The worldbuilding is much more expertly woven in now, and you can really notice how much the pace has tightened up in response. It’s also just really interesting to get a glimpse into how a skilled and experienced writer like Shannon approaches the editing process, and in what flaws she’s noticed in her own work and decided to change.

(If you’ve got any thoughts on any of the above titles or want to recommend me a book, please do leave a comment or send me an email – I am always delighted to talk about books!)

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​I celebrated my return to work with a lovely copyedit on a delightful nonfiction nature book. I’d worked with the author for a couple of rounds of developmental editing, and it was such a joy to see the manuscript in its final shape.

I then ended up having a few more weeks off! Getting the baby settled into nursery has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for all of us, so I decided not to book any work in until the start of May so that I could keep his nursery sessions short if needed rather than feeling pressured due to work deadlines. This was definitely the right decision for all of us, but from the start of May he’s got regular nursery hours and I’m back to being at my desk four days a week. I’m really excited to get back into a routine and to get stuck back in with some brilliant projects: I've got a couple of big fantasy novels lined up for developmental editing and copy editing over the next couple of months.

Although some months in my diary are already fully booked for full-length manuscript edits, I always allow a bit of space for shorter projects which might appear last minute, like short stories or essays or coaching sessions. Please feel very free to drop me an email with any editing or coaching enquiries! I’m always happy to discuss what your next steps could be or what level of editing you’re looking for. If I’m not a good fit for your manuscript or I don’t have availability in the timescale you’re looking for, I can point you to trusted (and lovely) editing colleagues who might be better placed to work with you.

Whilst I was on maternity leave, I had the opportunity to do some early reading for a major book prize. It was a nice gentle way to start my brain working again, and great to be easing my way back into a literary focus.

I thought I’d share about my experience here; I’ve always been intrigued about how the reading and judging process works, so it was really interesting to get a glimpse behind the scenes.

How did the selection process work?

Via application form. Potential readers were asked about our literary background and experience, and had to submit sample reviews for the last three books we’d read.

Was it paid?

I wish! We did get sent free e-books though. Some would say receiving free books is as good as being paid; I would agree, but sadly my mortgage provider would not.

What was the reading schedule like?

The main reason that I was happy to apply for this was that the schedule was really flexible. You could read anywhere between one and ten books, and just had to ask for another one to be sent when submitting your previous review. Maternity leave was quite unpredictable, with plenty of reading time when trapped under a snoozing baby one week followed by having a baby who completely refuses to nap the next week, so I was relieved not to have to commit to a set number of books in advance.

The slow pace also meant that I didn’t need to rush through any of the books, and the breathing space between them allowed me to reflect thoroughly on each one before submitting my thoughts on it.

How were the books evaluated?

I’ve always wondered about how this works for literary awards and prizes, because the idea of a ‘good book’ is so personal and subjective. I’m part of two informal reading groups, and I’m always surprised by the range of opinions on books; one person will have appreciated a story’s attention to close details while another found the pace too slow. One person might have found the plot too coincidental to be believable, whilst another was happy to accept that unlikely coincidences happen in fiction. One person’s beautiful and vivid prose might have felt heavy-handed and convoluted to another reader.

It's something I always try to keep in mind when editing someone else’s writing: just because I don’t love something doesn’t mean a reader won’t.

We were given some guidance on literary criticism, then had to submit scores and comments for each book in a range of areas, including enjoyment, structure and literary merit. It was key to be objective, and there was space to share specific examples from each book to justify our scores and comments.

Each book was read by three people, so the judges had a good amount of information to pull their longlist from.
 
What was the reading experience like?

Brilliant! I really loved having an excuse to read slowly and thoughtfully, and enjoyed considered each book’s objective merits.

One of the books I read had a slow start, and in all honesty I probably would have abandoned it if I’d just been reading for pleasure. I’m so glad I kept going though: it turned out to be one of the most interesting books I’d read in a long time, with some really vivid scenes which I’m still thinking about. The writing was mixed, with the odd clumsy sentences suddenly followed by a moment of brilliant and eloquent insight; I’m not sure I’ve read many books with quite such a discrepancy in writing skill.

Another book I read was a real struggle. The narrative was about 80–90% dialogue; every single character spoke in obtuse and verbose paragraphs, and the initial premise wasn’t resolved. This was one time where I was really relieved that two other readers would either be confirming or disputing my reading of it, in case it just hadn’t landed with me for some reason. I was very conscious that making the longlist for these prizes can be career-changing for authors, so I definitely wanted to be sure that all the feedback I submitted was as considered and objective as I could possibly make it.
 
I’m really glad to have taken part – it was a brilliant experience, and so nice to feel like I was doing something literary despite spending nearly every waking moment trying to keep a baby alive. I’m looking forward to seeing which titles make it on to the longlist, and to repeating the experience next year.

Got any questions or comments about my post? I’d love to hear from you; you can reply in a comment, or my inbox is always open. And if you’re interested in my availability for editing or book coaching, please drop me an email to enquire: [email protected].

Hello! It’s been a while since I did an update post. After a lovely ten months off on maternity leave, I’m now
back at my desk. I’m working slightly reduced hours at the moment, so please excuse any slow replies to emails. 

I've recently set myself up on Substack, so you can sign up over there if you'd like to receive these posts in your inbox. Sorting out a newsletter has been on my to do list for ages, so I'm excited to have one set up now!

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It’s felt like a busy couple of months for my own writing. I’m currently taking part in a series of writing workshops which involves giving feedback on around 20,000 words each month. I’m really enjoying giving feedback on genres and writing styles that I wouldn’t normally read much of, and discussing these pieces with other writers has been so valuable. I’m also appreciating having deadlines for submitting my words for feedback; I have a ten month old and some weeks it’s definitely tricky to make time for my own writing around all the baby-ness. Having deadlines by which something has to be ready to share with a group of experienced writers is helping keep me on track!
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I’m thrilled to have had a short story accepted by Folding Rock for their inaugural issue, alongside a list of brilliant writers including Sophie Mackintosh and Joe Dunthorne. It’s so exciting to see a new magazine dedicated to the Welsh literary scene! The theme for the issue is ‘roots’; my story is about a family living in an abandoned estate, and about how we experience grief and wildness and isolation. The team have been fantastic to work with, AND they pay – so if you’re a Welsh writer, I’d highly recommend keeping your eye out for future submission call outs. 

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I’ve read five books this month, but in all honesty three of those were not as brilliant as I was hoping for. There wasn’t anything particularly bad about any of them – they just didn’t quite live up to my expectations. I am, in fairness, an extremely picky reader.

I did enjoy What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher; I’ve seen her name mentioned regularly in fantasy circles, so it was great to finally read one of her books. Looking forward to getting more acquainted with her writing.

I loved Katie Hale’s The Edge of Solitude, in which a disgraced environmental activist heads to Antartica on board a ship owned by a billionaire. Katie’s writing is spectacular, and I enjoyed how nuanced and layered this felt, with a complex and unusual MC. (As a sidenote, I also really enjoy Katie’s newsletter.)

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It seemed fitting to finish maternity leave at the start of January, when everyone is always feeling a bit slow
and rusty after the festive break. I’ve been working part-time hours this month to ease myself back into the swing of things.

My time off was actually surprisingly productive! I’ve posted here about how I spent it (when I wasn’t, you know, feeding a baby or changing a nappy or being used as a giant pillow…), including the best fiction I read and a couple of excellent craft books that I worked my way through.

One big update is that I’m now offering writing coaching and one-off consultations. These are very flexible services, tailored to fit you and your writing and your budget. Some ways you might want to use these include getting feedback on short stories, seeking advice on your next steps, or discussing ways to strengthen your writing. There’s more info here if that sounds like it might be what you’re looking for.

I did basically no marketing whilst I was off, so my work calendar for the year is currently looking a bit emptier than I’d like (apart from June? Everyone wants to book for June? Is something happening in June that no one has told me about?). Please feel very free to drop me an email with any editing or coaching enquiries!

That's all from me this month! I'm excited for February: some extra daylight sneaking in, maybe a bit more snow (I am always hoping for more snow), a copyedit of a delightful nonfiction book, and then finishing the month off with a relaxing week away. 

Wishing you all plenty of winter sunshine and/or cosy reads.

Hello! It’s been very quiet around here recently, mainly because I’ve been busy having a baby. Said baby is now nine months old and very definitely keeping me on my toes!
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I’ve taken on some small jobs whilst on maternity leave, including a developmental edit of a non-fiction nature book, developmental edits of a couple of fantasy/sci-fi short stories and lead magnets, and proofreads of flash fiction and short stories that were being submitted to varying literary magazines and competitions. I feel very lucky as every one of these edits/proofreads was a delight – all strong and interesting story ideas and lovely authors. It really has been a joy!

Although I haven’t spent very much time at my desk over the last few months, I have spent an awful lot of time learning about and thinking about stories. I’ve read a surprising amount, mainly thanks to those middle of the night feeding slots. It’s been an interesting mix of pregnancy/birth/parenting books, lighter reads for when my brain felt like mush (I’ve particularly been enjoying Emily Henry’s bookish romances), short story collections (perfect for dipping in and out of depending on my mood/brain power levels), and some really excellent books which had been on my TBR pile for a while. Particular highlights have included:

- Doggerland by Ben Smith. Just EXCELLENT.

- Lanny by Max Porter. As above tbh. Utterly unlike anything else I’ve ever read.

- The Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. A friend lent me this; I rarely read books or authors that I haven’t heard of before (life is short and my TBR list is long…), but this was fascinating and immersive and I was really glad to have read it. Also short! Short books are great when you’re in baby-land!

- This Paradise by Ruby Cowling. I loved how experimental this was, and found every story completely absorbing.

- Orbital by Samantha Harvey. Worth every word of hype. I cannot get over how well-written and also well-researched this was; if you told me Samantha Harvey had spent a year on the ISS I would have believed you without a second thought. Very much hoping this starts a new trend of literary fiction set in space.

- The Garden by Nick Newman, out at the end of January 2025. Part dystopia, part folk horror, all round brilliant.

- Starling House by Alix E. Harrow. I absolutely loved The Once and Future Witches, so I was thrilled to find this was just as good. Strong Piranesi vibes.

I also did some early reading for a national book prize, which I’m planning to share some more info about in a future blog post.

When I’ve found time, I’ve been plodding away with my own writing. My novel (currently mid-way through draft two) has been put to the side for a bit; I find I need full days to get into the world of a novel, and that hasn’t been possible recently for obvious reasons. However, I have really enjoyed focusing my attention on short stories. I’ve had a short story called Rise published by Dark Mountain Project in their latest anthology, Dark Ocean, and another one of my short stories called The Dolls, The Dolls was shortlisted by Comma Press for The Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction 2024, with a theme of the uncanny. Having a couple of successes has definitely made the submission slog feel less painful!

I’m usually outdoors most of the summer, but with my climbing/mountain time reduced this year, I was able to get more involved with the local writing community instead. I went to the Anglesey Writing Festival (a whole baby-free day!) and have managed to attend a couple of local open mic nights. It’s been great to hear other people’s work, and I even worked up the nerve to read a bit of my own writing at the most recent one (this was terrifying).

There is always so much to learn about writing, and it’s been refreshing to use my brain for something non-baby related. I’ve worked my way through Short Circuit, edited by Vanessa Gebbie, which I found invaluable as a source of short story knowledge and a celebration of the form, and am currently reading Reverse Engineering, from Scratch Books, where a group of writers reflect on how their short stories came together. It’s really fascinating – not to mention helpful – to get an insight into how each writer has approached shaping and refining their stories. 

In the autumn, I worked my way through Jennifer Lawler’s excellent course on coaching writers. I’ve done a bit of coaching for writers previously, and I’m looking forward to offering more of this from January. My pre-editing background is in teaching, so it’s been great to transfer some of those skills. I absolutely love talking about writing and story ideas and helping writers figure out how to move forward. I realise manuscript critiques and full developmental edits can often be out of writers’ budgets, so I’m excited to have a more flexible and affordable option to offer.

If you’re looking to improve your writing craft or just want feedback on one specific piece/area of writing, this could be a great fit for you. Maybe you’re struggling with a tricky story opening or ending, or can’t figure out if your dialogue sounds realistic, or are wondering how to trickle in worldbuilding details without info-dumping; it can be invaluable to have someone to offer some feedback on your writing, or to bounce ideas off if you feel like you’ve written yourself into a plothole. Drop me an email and we can discuss what would work for you and your writing and your budget. If you’ve read this far, mention that when you get in touch and I’ll happily offer you a coaching session in January for 30% off.

The one thing I have not given even the slightest bit of thought to whilst on maternity leave has been marketing – oops. SO, if you’re looking for an editor or proofreader, the good news is I’ve got plenty of last-minute availability over the next couple of months! Drop me an email or fill in my contact form – I’d love to chat about your project and work out if we’d be a good fit to work together.

If you have any thoughts/questions about anything I’ve said or want to discuss any of the books I’ve mentioned above or want to recommend me a book (please do this), I would love to hear from you!

However you celebrate, I hope you’ve had a wonderful festive season and that the new year brings you joy, comfort and a stack of excellent books.

I am (mostly) on maternity leave until 1st December 2024. Get in touch to book in novel-length projects from December. If you're looking for editing services on a shorter piece or coaching, I might be able to fit you in before then; drop me an email to discuss.

Welcome to a new series on my blog! Lexical Unravellings is where I’m going to get into the nitty gritty of crafting a book that your readers will think is magical: plot, structure, characterisation, voice, writing craft… all those details that add up to create a book that will stay with the reader long after they read the last page.
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I often find myself reading published books which had the potential to be truly brilliant reads but just didn’t quite get there. My aim with this series is to unpick common areas that could be tightened up, and to offer helpful and clear advice which you can take away and apply to your own writing. It’s the sort of feedback I’d offer in a developmental edit but, of course, considerably more generalized.

Although I’m going to be unpicking issues that I’ve noticed in books I’ve read, I’m not planning to name these books or their authors (unless it’s anyone super famous – someone of J. K. Rowling’s stature is hardly going to be affected by my little blog posts). Writing is hard and finishing a novel is a significant achievement, so I am definitely not here to pull apart anyone’s work.

I’m also planning to chat about some editing stuff: how I approach edits, what to look for in an editor, do you really need to book a developmental edit – those sort of things.

I hope to finish each post with a list of resources for further reading. This might be books on the craft of writing which cover this topic, or books/authors I thought tackled it well, or blogposts on a similar topic.

I’m looking forward to diving deeper into some writing chat over the next few weeks and months! If you do have any particular topics that you’d like me to discuss, feel very free to drop me an email.