Hello, lovely reader! We’re back, after a busy month, I wanted to share what’s been going on behind the scenes.
In this month’s newsletter you’ll find:
- My snapshot review of the GenreCon writing conference
- Writing update
- Editing business availability update
- The books and articles I’ve loved recently
Settle in, grab a snack, and let’s catch up.
Writing (GenreCon & Other Exciting Opportunities!)
The last month and a bit has been a big one in my writing. I’ve been making it a priority to get in regular writing sessions to work on my current projects. The last few years I’ve been particularly focused on my editing career, completing my Masters last year being a major part of that.
So one of my goals for 2025 is to focus on my writing career. This doesn’t mean I’m letting my editing career fall by the wayside, but rather being intentional about what time and money investments I make—and shifting some of those resources towards my writing career.
As a result, I booked myself to go to the Australian genre writing conference, GenreCon, in Brisbane. This was my first time properly traveling solo, and the journey there did involve a car, bus, train, and plane—but it was so worth it.
If you don’t know, GenreCon is put on by Queensland Writers Centre and hosted at the State Library of Queensland, in Brisbane. For three days, writers of genre fiction (romance, sci-fi, fantasy, crime, horror etc.) come together to learn and hone their skills.
I was so impressed by the breadth of material covered by the event, and it was great value for money. This year’s theme was ‘Alchemy’ and key note speaker was Steff Green—author of kooky, spooky romance stories.
I’ll likely do a whole post about the experience (if you’re interested in that, let me know!) but my key takeaways were:
- Community is key – the conference had a ‘chatterbox’ event, where you go and speak with other writers of your chosen genre (I went along to the romance event, though it was difficult to choose just one!) Writing is often a solitary activity, so it was lovely to get to know others in the romance writing community, and share a few laughs together.
- Diversity of the conference program – I was impressed by the conference’s approach to ensuring there was a wide range of experiences represented on the panels. Some speakers had traditionally published, self-published, or a mix—but they also shared different life experiences of cultural background, disability, gender, sexual orientation, and age. This made for a richness in the discussions on panels. While it’s difficult to say what the experience was like from the presenter’s perspective, as a participant this appeared to be a considered and thoughtful approach to conference programming.
- Additional Opportunities – There are a number of add-on experiences at the conference, which means you can really customise your experience. This ranged from swag-bag upgrades, booking in consultations for your work with industry professionals, or reading your work to others for critique. Personally, I applied for the pitching program, where you are matched to publishers and given a 15 minute slot to pitch them your book. I was thrilled to have two manuscripts accepted and matched with two publishers. The pitches themselves were daunting to deliver (and one, I had to deliver from the airport boarding gate) but I was really happy with how both went. Both publishers were happy to keep the conversation going in the future. It’s a long road towards publication, but it was a nice boost to have these professionals interested in continuing to discuss my work.
Based on the last point, and how my pitches went, I have some clarity around which project I’ll be focusing on in my writing sessions. I’m excited to keep going and see where these opportunities lead. I’ll be aiming to complete my revisions and submit these manuscripts for consideration in the next few months.
For one of my manuscripts, I will be applying for some funding, given there’s a particular historical research aspect to that project. We’ll see! But I’m practicing what I preach, and putting my writing out there.
Another exciting opportunity occurred in February, when I had the delight of interviewing S.K Stapar at her book launch for Midnight Gate. It was such a fun night, and it’s been great to see the warm reception the book has been getting. Huge congratulations, Sanja!
Editing
I’ve been grateful to have been offered (and accepted) a part-time, in-house role for the rest of 2025. I’m excited about this new opportunity and may share more in future.
What does this mean for my editing business? Because this is a part-time role, I will still have some scope in my schedule for freelance work. Overall, my availability for new projects & clients will be limited until early 2026.
Scaling things back a little in my editing business will allow me to settle into this new role, and have scope to explore my own writing practice more.
That being said, for the rest of 2025 I will be accepting some new projects, especially shorter manuscripts, manuscript assessments, and author accountability/’pick my brain’ sessions. If you’re interested in booking in, send me a message and let’s chat. If I can’t help within the timeframe you have in mind, I may be able to refer you to someone who can 🙂
Bookings for editing packages commencing in 2026 will likely open later in the year.
Thank you so much for your continued support of my business, and I’m excited to share where this journey takes us!
I will still be aiming to update this blog with useful editing tips, editing explainers, author interviews and more, so stay tuned.
Resting
With so much going on, it’s become more important than ever to rest well. These are a couple of things that have filled my cup recently:
- Tracker on Disney+ has surprised me with its earnestness and engaging mystery storylines. The Mister and I were needing a new show to watch, and this one has been great so far. Also, as a longtime Smallville fan, it’s great to see Justin Hartley back in an action role. (I know, I know, I need to finish watching This Is Us).
- Cozy fantasy galore. This genre is one I started engaging with a few years back, but it’s been a great source of comfort. I’m currently listening to This Will Be Fun by E.B. Asher and so far, I would rate it highly.
- In keeping with the cosy theme, I’ve been enjoying playing the Stardew Valley videogame with The Mister. Our farm is chugging away nicely and my favourite characters so far are Elliot (any surprises there, given he’s a writer?!) and Abigail.
- Sleep, exercise, eating well, journaling. All those slightly boring but definitely necessary, adult things that are actually quite vital in making me feel more like myself. With so much going on, it can be a challenge to do these things, but I’m getting there.
Open tabs
In this section, I share a couple of my favourite articles from recent times. I hope you find something interesting to pique your curiosity.
- Novelists, Trust Me: You Can Really Learn a Lot About Storytelling From Video Games Like Elden Ring by Nick Newman. I loved the exploration of a different storytelling form, and the acknowledgement that some writers feel self-conscious about their gaming habits
- Who Were the Women Novelists Who Really Inspired Jane Austen? by Rebecca Romney. I don’t know if I’d ever considered the female novelists that Jane Austen had looked to for inspiration. An inspiring read that made me question (once again) the embedded patriarchy in the way that “literature” is examined.
- Hard Knock Life by Heather Radke (in conversation with Kristen Martin) is an exploration of the ‘orphan’ character in literature and its role within culture. This article definitely made me question assumptions and consider how much of a role art has in shaping society. Also, I had a massive Annie phase as a kid, so this was a great read on that front too (anyone else?)
Cat Corner
The cats have been chasing the sun across the floorboards, and generally living their best house lion (or in Luna’s case, panther) lives.
Steph Huddleston 
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