The Black Cat monthly round-up: May 2021

June 9, 2021 By Hannah McCall in Monthly round-up Tags: CIEP, dogs, editing, fiction, May, proofreading, writing Leave a comment

I am trying not to make a habit of writing and posting my monthly round-ups a bit late, but the end of May and beginning of June has been very busy and that is my excuse. I did manage to squeeze in a Zoom meeting with the West Surrey & North Hampshire CIEP local group, and it was lovely to catch up with them and have a general chat about editing-related matters.

We had a guest at Black Cat HQ for the end of May. Ella’s favourite friend, Mini, came to stay with us for a couple of weeks, and they had a lovely time being naughty little peas in pod. Here they are making sure that the neighbours aren’t doing anything they disapprove of.

What I’ve been working on

My long run of critiques has continued. I finished the report for a psychological thriller novella, and moved on to the critique of what I can only really term as transgressive fiction. Alongside this I proofread some contemporary fiction and a novel that is part coming-of-age story and part romance. Perhaps the most interesting project of this month was the proofread of a supernatural murder-mystery – a combination I would love to work on more.

What I read for fun

Confession time: I have no completed reads for May. I had planned to read Natasha Pulley’s The Kingdoms upon its release, but distribution problems mean that my copy has still not reached me. My disappointment is immeasurable.

Looking ahead

I have my first vaccination appointment booked for early June. I don’t think ‘excited’ is the right description for how I feel about it – I think it is something closer to relief and a little bit of hope.

The Black Cat monthly round-up: May 2020

June 1, 2020 By Hannah McCall in Monthly round-up Tags: books, CIEP, COVID-19, critique, editing, fiction, May, writing, YA, Zoom Leave a comment

Well, May has been (on a personal level) a distinct improvement on April. After more than a few tests, my sister has finally been declared negative for COVID-19. I probably don’t need to tell you that it is a huge relief.

I decided to jump on the Zoom bandwagon and set up a meeting for the West Surrey and North Hampshire Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading local group. We ‘met’ for a couple of hours, and it was lovely. It was great to see so many familiar faces, and I was pleased to hear that our members are generally coping as well as can be expected in the current circumstances.

What I’ve been working on

I spent a good chunk of May on a critique of a YA (young adult) epic fantasy novel. The author was a delight to work with, and I am very pleased that I was able to give her helpful advice on how to elevate what is already a good novel. The rest of the month was spent on the copy-edit of a sci-fi thriller, set on board a Royal Navy warship. It’s one of the most complex fiction edits I have taken on, but the story is compelling and I’m enjoying helping it to shine.

What I’ve been reading

I’ve been taking my mum to radiotherapy appointments every weekday for a couple of weeks now and my Kindle has been my companion while I wait. I’d picked Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth – a book that deftly combines necromancy, spaceships and lots of swearing – because I thought it would be a compelling, funny, wild ride. It is those things, but I didn’t realise it would be quite as devastating as it is.

Looking ahead

I will, hopefully, be getting back into the swing of having a full workload (despite the continuing lack of projects for publishing houses). I’ll organise a July Zoom meeting for the CIEP local group as it’s unlikely in-person gatherings will be allowed any time soon.

The Black Cat monthly round-up: May 2019

June 3, 2019 By Hannah McCall in Monthly round-up Tags: books, copy-editing, dogs, editors, fiction, May, proofreading, SfEP, writing Leave a comment

Mini and Ella having a snooze after a walk.

Welcome to the May round-up. I had another full-on month – I’m starting to think this is the standard now and I should get used to it. I’m getting on well with Toggl, and I have found it has significantly increased my productive time.

We had a good time at Black Cat HQ, with Mini visiting for a week or so mid-May. Her dad had swanned off on holiday, again (this time to Spain). Mins is an absolute sweetheart, and Ella always loves having her here.

One of the other highlights of the month was the SfEP local group lunch meeting. It’s always an enjoyable few hours, but this was a particularly lovely meeting. We had a couple of new faces, but the atmosphere was still warm, friendly and unguarded.

What I’ve been working on

May started with the proofread of the memoir of an economist and former banker, which was straightforward enough. Alongside that, I copy-edited the first part of a varied and thoughtful collection of short stories. My second proofread of the month was a crime novel set in London and dealing with issues of sexuality and gender. And then I got stuck into the edit of an epic (in length as well as content) fantasy-romance novel. I don’t usually work on romance titles but the quality of the writing and the strength of the fantasy elements enticed me to make an exception.

What I read for fun

I mentioned in the April round-up that I would be writing my first review for the SfEP’s Editing Matters magazine. Well, I read the book and I wrote the review. The book I tackled was On Editing by Helen Corner-Bryant and Kathryn Price. I won’t spoil my review but I loved the book and I’d highly recommend it for fiction authors and editors.

The Princess Bride Black Cat Editorial Services_ May round-up(1) by William Goldman was my only fiction read this month – yet another classic I really should have read already (I have recently bought a whole load of classics to try to address this failing of mine). It is, of course, brilliant, and if you love the film you will love the book. Perhaps the most striking thing, for me, is the framing device of Goldman editing the work of the fictional author S. Morgenstern. It took me a while grasp the complexity of the whole thing – Goldman narrates as a fictionalised version of himself, weaving a story within a story. If you are thinking about using a framing device in your work, you should check out Goldman’s stunning, intricate example.

Looking ahead

I have a couple of projects to finish off for the beginning of June. I’m hoping to put aside a few days to start working through the SfEP’s Introduction to Fiction Editing course. I aim to do at least one training course each year to support my continuing professional development. I love working on fiction, I have heard good things about the SfEP’s course, and I had a discount voucher to use up – it seemed the obvious choice.