The end of August has snuck up on me, not gonna lie. I thought I had sooo much more time before the end of the month, and yet here we are. A little look at what I’ve been up to this month, what I’ve been reading, and what I’m taking into September.

Free vs paid beta reading: discover which option is right for your manuscript, what feedback to expect, and when hiring a professional editor may be worthwhile.

This month, I’ve been working on a contemporary romance as well as a historical romantasy, and both stories (and their characters!) are still lingering in my mind. One of the best parts of editing is getting to spend time in so many wonderful fictional worlds. Towards the end of July, things became a little quieter, so I decided to try something new: offering a pay-what-you-can proofreading slot. It won’t become a regular service, but I thought it was a nice way to make profe

I’ve curated a list of (mostly) romance book groups where you can promote your books for free, actually connect with your target audience, as well as find beta readers or ARC readers.

I’ve been fully booked from May through to mid-July! As a new romance editor, that feels like a huge achievement, and I’m incredibly grateful for it. I hope the momentum continues. It almost feels as though everything has started falling into place since my reset last month. Finding the right balance has been important. I’m still working on being visible and putting myself out there, but I’m also getting better at recognising when it’s time to step away and rest. There have

I know that working with an editor can be just as exciting as it can be nerve-wracking. Every editor works a little differently, so I thought I’d walk you through my process step by step so you know exactly what to expect when working with me.

I decided to slow down at the beginning of May. I had to. I’ve put so many hours into my business – day and night, weekends included – with what felt like little success at the time, and very little time left for family or hobbies. I really had to change my approach to prevent burnout. I felt ashamed for falling into this trap despite knowing better (in theory, anyway). One small change had a huge impact: tracking all of my working time instead of only the hours I spent

Enemies to lovers is one of the most popular tropes in romance. To write and market it effectively, you need to understand what makes this trope work – and why readers love it so much. In this post, I’ll break down what makes (and breaks) a true enemies-to-lovers romance.

I’m so pleased to announce that I’m now an Intermediate Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP). Professional growth has been at the heart of my journey as a new editor – and it always will be.

Have you ever wondered when to use hyphens, en dashes, or em dashes? They may look similar, but they serve very different purposes – it’s worth getting them right.

We’ve had lots of good weather, and I’ve been enjoying a lot of time outside in parks and gardens. We even had our first barbecue! This month, I haven’t bought a single book. Can you believe it? Because I can’t, haha. My March Reads: Audiobook: Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood Physical: You’ve Found Oliver by Dustin Thao The House Of My Mother by Shari Franke Ebook: Fight by Sloane St. James You’ve Found Oliver was not what I expected. I mean, I’m not sur

Romance novels vary widely in their approach when it comes to the physical intimacy between characters. Whether your story is gentle and sweet or steamy and passionate, understanding the different heat levels can help you connect with the right readers. Here’s a breakdown of the different heat levels you might encounter in romances: 01 Clean Romance Clean romances focus primarily on the emotional connection between the characters. Characters may kiss, but any sexual conte

What a first month it has been. Finally launching my editing business was equally as exciting as it was daunting, to be completely honest with you. Now I have to work on my visibility, networking ... and creating content, like this blog post here! ‘On a Personal Note’ will be my monthly, private-ish corner where I want to talk about my work, my reads, and anything bookish I find interesting to share.

You’ve finished your first draft – now what? Time to hire an editor? Panic over your query letter? Or maybe you just want to hit ‘publish’? If you said yes to any of these... hold your horses. You don’t want to hire an editor to make your rough draft look presentable. You want your story to go from great to its full potential. Let me share 11 self-editing tips to improve your manuscript.

Proof-editing is a hybrid editing service that sits somewhere between line and copy-editing and proofreading. Line and copy-editing not only corrects grammar or spelling mistakes, but also involves stylistic changes to strengthen your voice, whereas proofreading focuses on catching lingering errors after line and copy-editing. Generally speaking, proof-editing means that once the process is complete, there will be no additional proofreading afterwards. In this post, I’ll ex

Many readers think romance and erotica is basically the same – the latter only has a bit more heat and open-door sex scenes. However, there is a difference, and understanding it can change the way you write, edit, and market your book.