Each year, the Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP), the professional association that I belong to, runs a three-day conference that has become an unmissable event for me. I’ve only been attending SfEP’s annual conferences since 2016, but I’m not exaggerating when I say that even in that short span of time, the impact they’ve had on me is profound.
 
I attended my first SfEP conference a few months after leaving my previous job with a higher education news publisher to strike out on my own, and while I had 10 years of experience with that publisher, I wasn’t sure how well that experience would translate into the fiction and academic proofreading and copy-editing I wanted to pursue. So when the SfEP Forum and my local group in London started buzzing about the upcoming 2016 conference, I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to brush up on some of my self-taught-in-a-hurry-on-the-job editorial skills.
 
The conference was indeed that, and so much more. The speakers were first-rate, and each session felt like an editorial masterclass. I was also amazed at the collegiality and encouragement I saw all around me. Far from guarding their secrets, delegates were eagerly sharing the best practices they’d developed for everything from creating the perfect style sheet to securing repeat business from clients. At the sessions and while chatting with people during meals and coffee breaks, I learned new tips and techniques, but I also gained a sense of belonging among this group of talented and generous people from all over the UK and the world. Upon hearing that I didn’t have a hotel room of my own, the wonderful Helen Stevens invited me to be her roommate for an hour so that I wouldn’t have to change for the gala dinner in the public loos!
 
I had been able to afford only a one-day ticket for the 2016 conference, but I was determined to attend for all three days the following year. I excitedly booked my place and registered for sessions at the 2017 conference. And when Lucy Ridout put out a call for 5-minute Lightning Talk speakers, I decided to volunteer, buoyed by how much I’d enjoyed my first conference. Like many SfEP members, I get nervous about public speaking, but I could not have asked for a friendlier audience. The experience taught me that each of us has something to contribute to this community, and I remember that lesson whenever imposter syndrome rears its ugly head.
 
I now live in Toronto, and I still make attending SfEP conferences a priority. I was one of four Toronto SfEP members who flew in for the recent 2018 SfEP annual conference, and I led an hour-long session on editing erotic fiction — something that pre-SfEP me would have never believed I could do. The 2018 conference featured sessions on everything from medical editing, inclusive language and editing in the EU to growing your business, not to mention late-night tea and wine parties with colleagues-turned-friends.
 
Small wonder, then, that I’ve had my place booked for the 7 November 2018 SfEP mini-conference in Toronto for weeks now. The one-day mini-conference, organised by Janelle Bowman, Janet MacMillan and Kelly Lamb from the Toronto SfEP group, boasts an impressive roster of speakers from the Canada, the UK and the US, and I can’t wait to learn from, be inspired by and have fun with them!

Imagine that you're editing a novel, merrily making your way through a story that you quite like. It has memorable characters, an engaging and well-paced story, beautifully described settings, and is altogether an enjoyable read. But something about the story feels tiresome, and at first you can't quite pinpoint what it is. You look over your character notes, and somehow you feel a certain narrowness of perspective from the characters, as fleshed out and distinct as they are. Then it hits you: this is a story about white guys.

I'm hardly the first person to bang the drum for more diversity in literature, and in recent years there has been wider recognition of the value of hearing different stories from different types of people with different perspectives. Some people may still miss the point and kvetch about 'heavy-handed message fic' taking over genres like science fiction and fantasy, but with thankfully little credibility.

Perhaps this is why I feel disappointed when an otherwise good story is populated with a cast of cisgendered, heterosexual, able-bodied, white, male-identified characters. Sure, it may have a couple of characters who don't fit that profile as love interests or to help or hinder the white guys in their adventures, but ultimately the stories are not theirs. We've all heard this complaint before, and as readers the only way we can encourage diversity in literature is with our wallets.

As an editor, however—and especially as an editor who works with independent authors—it's my job to help shape the story (and not just in a postmodern 'Death of the Author' kind of way) before it reaches the general public. The question then becomes one of remit: I am the editor of this story, not the author. Ultimately the author has the final say over the content of their text, and a story about a white guy may be the story that they want to tell. Of course, anyone wishing to write that kind of story—and anyone wishing to read it—is perfectly welcome to do so. To mangle a phrase: some of my favourite literary characters are white guys. My job is not to tell authors that they can't, or shouldn't, write about white men.

My job is to make each text as clear and appealing to its intended audience as possible. And if I'm doing developmental or structural editing on a work of fiction then that job can include tactfully querying whether it's vital to the story that all the cis, het, able-bodied white dudes possess all of those characteristics. I might mention the fact that their story could attract a wider readership if more readers saw themselves represented in it, and I might point out that their work is more likely to stand out if it's not confined to an over-saturated market of white-guy stories.

But the best reason to write greater diversity into a story, in my opinion, is that it reflects the diversity of the real world. Even if your story is set on another planet or in a fantastical universe, your readers are right here and they have to live in the world as it is, with all its diversity. Fiction can let each of them tell their stories.

Name:
Blue Brick Café
 
Date & Hours Visited:
Thursday, 29 September 2016, 11.15am-3pm

Free Wi-Fi?
Yes
 
How Busy?
Initially very quiet, but it got busier at lunch time and then quieter again around 2.30pm.
 
Staff Attitudes:
Very friendly. When I ordered cake I said 'If I'm spending so much time here I should order more', and the server said 'Oh, don't even worry about that!'

Noise Level:
The coffee machine and the music on the radio were somewhat distracting at times, but I won't complain too much about BBC Radio 6. The chatter in the café, although part of the friendly and welcoming atmosphere, could also be distracting at busy times.

Seating:
Mostly wooden, rustic-looking chairs and tables (seating 2, 3 or 6), which are very cosy and comfortable. Some outside seating as well, although even including those seats the café's capacity is only about 30 people. The 2-seater table I used was the only spot I could see with a power socket.

Food/Drink Price:
Fairly competitive for the area, especially some of the breakfast options and their daily soup. Their starter salads are £6 each and lunch main courses are £9 each, which is still pricey for me, though. I had a £3 glass of fresh grapefruit juice, a £9 spicy chickpea stew and a £3 slice of pistachio and spinach cake.

Food/Drink Quality & Selection:
Delicious, creative, homemade vegetarian food. Full disclosure: I've eaten here many times over the past year, although this was my first time working here. I adore their Fullest Vegan breakfast, which includes homemade beans, sourdough toast, mushrooms and spinach, roasted tomato, vegetarian sausage, and bubble and squeek.

As for this visit, my grapefruit juice was fresh, as advertised, and very tasty. The stew was rich and hearty, not too spicy for my wimpy taste, and served with brown rice, 2 vegetarian sausages and green salad, helping to justify the £9 price tag. The cake was also just lovely, with a pleasantly chewy sponge and a light mascarpone icing that had just enough sweetness to it.

Would I Work Here Again?
Yes, ideally during weekdays at non-peak meal times, but even when it was busy I found I was able to work. There was never any pressure for me to spend more money or free up the table, and the staff are attentive without being overbearing, making Blue Brick a good occasional alternative to working from home.
 
Overall Ranking:
 8/10

And another thing…
In case you couldn't tell, I love this place. It should reek of pretension, especially in this neighbourhood, but instead it's a welcoming little place that quietly makes very good food and is happy for people to sit with a coffee and a laptop for hours. Blue Brick Café may very well be the standard by which I judge all other cafés.

Hello readers,

It's high time I posted about editing on my editing blog, and I might as well start with an FAQ. These are some of the questions I'm asked most frequently when people find out that I edit romance and erotica fiction. If any of you have questions of your own please feel free to post them in the comments below or Contact Me privately, and I'll try to answer them in my next post in this series.

Enjoy!
​Maya


1. Are erotica authors less receptive to feedback than other authors because the text is more personal to them?

Thankfully, this hasn't been my experience so far. Anyone who writes a story has some attachment to the characters they create and has written things that personally resonate for them. How receptive an author is to editorial input is more a matter of their understanding of an editor's remit, their own attitude toward the writing and editing processes, and the strength of the relationship they have with their editor. I've been fortunate enough to work with erotica authors, as well as authors of various other genres, who are eager to improve their texts and who engage respectfully with my suggestions and comments even when they disagree with an editing choice that I've made.


2. Are these stories more thrilling to edit than texts in other genres?

Honestly, no. I don't edit erotica because I'm looking for a cheap thrill—I do it because I believe that stories about human sexuality and intimate relationships deserve to have the same high-quality writing as other literature. When I edit any type of fiction I read a text in a very particular way, even during my initial read-through before I start making any changes to the text. I am looking for a coherent narrative, interesting characters that grow and change throughout the story, and a sense of the author's style and voice. There is enjoyment in my work, but it's the same enjoyment I'd feel reading about a compelling character, rich setting, exciting plot point or elegantly crafted sentence in any fiction genre.

All that said, I do look at whether any of the story elements take away from the overall eroticism and whether the story would appeal to its intended audience. I will sometimes suggest changes to create more evocative imagery or remove elements that break a reader's suspension of disbelief, especially if I am doing structural editing or copy-editing, but also when proofreading if changes can be made at the word level. This often leads to the removal of...

​
3. What are some of the most un-sexy things you've read in a sex scene?

Thankfully I haven't yet read anything to rival the hilariously misguided winners of the Literary Review's Bad Sex in Fiction Award, but I have come across sentences that were seemingly constructed using a random adjective generator. In those cases it's worth reminding the author that long, meandering sentences filled with flowery descriptions for every person and every action can distract the reader rather than entice them. Sometimes less truly is more, and the author should be confident enough in the characters, setting and narrative to avoid over-describing them with adjectives and adverbs. Verily, I say, heartily and with purposeful intent, such powerfully, mind-blowingly, epically tragic word choices are made at the unwary author's engorged peril.

The most memorably unsexy word choice I've seen, however, has to be the use of the words 'bowels' and 'intestines' during a lovemaking scene. The author was clearly trying to emphasise the depth of one character's, er, physical closeness to another, but there is nothing appealing about the word 'intestines'. Moreover (and not to be too blunt about it), no matter what kind of sex you're having, if your lovemaking involves those parts of your lover's anatomy then something's gone horribly wrong and you should seek medical attention immediately!

Name:
Café G Artisan Kitchen & Coffee House
 
Date & Hours Visited:
Monday, 8 August 2016, 3.30-4.45pm

Free Wi-Fi?
Yes, with no password required
 
How Busy?
Fairly busy. Most of the tables outside were full, but the café is quite spacious and there were half a dozen free tables inside.
 
Staff Attitudes:
Friendly, although my needs were few and my interaction with them was pretty minimal.

Noise Level:
I sat near the back, and there was a Gymboree kids' play group in an adjoining room that I could hear clearly for about half an hour. After that one of the staff turned on the radio. First two songs: Karma Police by Radiohead and Island in the Sun by Weezer, which I enjoyed but found distracting. The café patrons were pretty quiet, give or take the occasional baby crying.

Seating:
Wooden-top tables and plastic chairs or booths. I sat on a booth seat that was very comfortable. The table was just big enough for my laptop, tea and snack.

Food/Drink Price:
Fairly pricey for my money, although competitive for East Dulwich: A large yogurt-topped raspberry flapjack was £2.75, and a pot of Earl Grey tea was £2.15.

Food/Drink Quality & Selection:
The flapjack was very sweet, probably too sweet for some peoples' tastes, but I loved it. The tea was a little on the bitter side for me, which I often find with Earl Grey in coffee shops, but still just about drinkable and passes the Starbucks test (Ugh, Starbucks Earl Grey is the worst.) The café has a good selection of breads, cakes, coffee, tea, milkshakes and smoothies, although the menu info is on a few different chalkboards on the walls around the cash area and it's a little hard to see all the options.

Would I Work Here Again?
Probably not, although I may occasionally drop by for a cake with one of my friends who has kids.
 
Overall Ranking:
 5/10

And another thing…
G Café sits comfortably in a niche of child-friendly cafés, which is a smart move in Yummy Mummy central. One of East Dulwich's defining features is its abundance of affluent (and predominantly white) young families, and on weekdays the streets, pubs and shops are full of moms with prams.

This café is exactly what they're after. Moms with cash won't bat an eyelash at a £2.15 price tag for a pot of tea, their babies can exhibit normal baby behaviour without drawing tsk-tsks and head shakes, and their strollers can easily navigate the wide spaces between tables. I willingly surrender the place to them and will choose to work elsewhere.

Name:
The Great Exhibition
 
Date & Hours Visited:
Tuesday, 12 July 2016, 12.15-2pm

Free Wi-Fi?
Yes
 
How Busy?
On a weekday at lunchtime it was very quiet, with only a handful of customers.
 
Staff Attitudes:
Pleasant, but not overly friendly. They had no problem with me working there.

Noise Level:
The music on the radio was somewhat distracting, but at least the tunes were good and it didn't stop me from getting my work done.

Seating:
Wooden tables and chairs that were comfortable to sit at for a couple of hours. Not enough room for my laptop and a plate of food on the table at the same time, so work paused while I ate.

Food/Drink Price:
Weekday lunch sandwiches £6 each; main menu is more varied and more expensive.

Food/Drink Quality & Selection:
Small selection of sanwiches at the £6 price during lunch hours, including a couple of vegetarian options. I had a smoked salmon and red onion baguette with (too much) mustard and a ginger beer.

Would I Work Here Again?
Nothing in particular is drawing me back, but I might give it another shot.
 
Overall Ranking:
 6/10

And another thing…
I like food. I don’t like coffee. One of the unique features of these reviews that I forgot to mention in my intro post is that I’ll have quite a lot to say about food, tea and other drinks, and nothing at all to say about coffee. Sorry, java snobs.

I also like choice. A limited menu with only one or two options that interest me is fine for a one-off but isn’t enough to keep me coming back again and again, especially with so many pubs and restaurants in the area to choose from. I'm not the type to visit the same café every day and order 'the usual' each time, and while I might have my favourite places and dishes I get bored without variety.

I understand The Great Exhibition’s strategy in making the sandwich menu limited so that customers will look to the bigger (and pricier) main menu for more options, but if nothing on the cheaper menu tempts me I'd honestly rather go home and make my own sandwich. And even in a trendy part of London where I'm not likely to find a cheaper sandwich, I don't think £6 for a ‘lunch specials’ baguette or bloomer is anything to write home about.

Café working is by no means a new idea. Ever since Starbucks resigned itself to Mac-toting hipsters nursing a chai latte and sponging free Wi-Fi for five hours, people have been flocking to cafés for an escape from office life.
 
By now everyone from the Huffington Post and Time Out to the Telegraph and the Guardian has waxed poetic about the joys of working in London cafés, restaurants and bars; so what fresh new insights can I bring to the conversation? Well, despite now feeling like I’m about to defend a PhD thesis, I’m glad you asked!

I offer to you, dear readers:

1. My razor-sharp wit and boundless charm. Obvs.
2. My shoestring budget. As someone who’s just starting out as a freelancer and who’s naturally thrifty I’ll be looking for affordable spaces and good value for money.
3. My focus on southeast London. Although I will happily review places elsewhere if I find myself working in other parts of town, at least initially the majority of my posts will feature cafés in East Dulwich, Peckham Rye and Camberwell. Lordship Lane, represent!
4. My perspective as a freelance editor and proofreader. I’ll focus on the specific challenges of doing this type of work outside of the home in settings with food, limited table space and other people.

 
I expect the format of the reviews to change over time and before more nuanced and refined as I find my feet with all this. Feel free to comment or make suggestions on this page if there’s anything specific you’d like to see!
 
Now, time for a tea break…
Maya

Hello and welcome to my blog!

Having recently made the transition from full-time employee to freelancer, I'll be using this space to post my thoughts on editing as well as the strategies I use to keep me productive and sane while striking out on my own, working from home and building up my freelance proofreading and copy-editing business.

One of my first projects will be reviewing cafés and pubs in southeast London and rating them according to how easy they are to work in. As well as providing (hopefully!) useful information for other office-less workers in London, this will give me a little variety in my work environment and ensure I leave my house once in a while. Plus, I get to make lists. I love lists.

Other favourite topics of mine include young adult literature, social commentary in science fiction, intelligent and nuanced writings on sexuality, and colourful spreadsheets, so watch this space!