maternity leave when you really, really love your job

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!

​Things I’ve Been Reading

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.

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow, featuring a cat.

​Things I’ve Been Writing

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. 

Doggerland by Ben Smith, also featuring a cat.

​Editing Training and Updates

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.