Hone Your Creative Writing With Jodi’s First Editor
A guest post from Catriona Camacho in the Creative Writing Masterclasses series
Every editor has them: the manuscript they clear their schedule for, the one that transports them out of the office and takes them somewhere far, far away. Jodi’s books were the first to do that for me. I started working for Jodi’s original publisher, Accent Press, in 2013 at the age of 22. I was freshly graduated from university and determined to become an excellent editor with an impressive list, and my professional wardrobe consisted of my least greyed pair of black jeans and some blouses I’d borrowed from my housemate.
Back then, Hazel Cushion sent me the Chronicles of St Mary’s series to work on, and I’ve never felt a first line applied to me more than ‘There have been two moments in my life when everything changed.’ For Madeleine Maxwell, it was when Mrs De Winter gave her a history assignment instead of expelling her, and when she invited her to interview at St Mary’s Institute of Historical Research. For me, it was when I saw a friend online share an editor’s position at Accent Press, and when I opened Just One Damned Thing After Another for the first time. I’ve always been a history nut, and spend my free time in a medieval re-enactment society – which is the achievable version of ‘Investigating major historical events in contemporary time’. I never stood a chance.
New editors are always terrified by the idea that they’ll read a manuscript and won’t be able to offer any improvements to this real-life professional author who’s expecting you to turn their manuscript into the literary equivalent of gold dust. With Jodi’s writing, I never once felt like that. The Chronicles of St Mary’s were the start of her writing career too, and off the bat it was the magical collaboration every editor dreams of. The feedback ideas came thick and fast: I’d devour her manuscripts in a daze and then force myself to come back to Earth to circle any continuity errors, punctuation or grammar mistakes, and then we’d chat about how we could improve the structure of her book. We’d argue about the Black Death, with her insisting it was a terrible time for society and me agreeing – but pointing out the positive changes it brought, like higher wages for the workers and huge changes to the feudal system – until I was blue in the face.
My publishing career has taken me a long way since 2013. After Accent, I spent a few years specialising in publishing fantasy, horror and crime at Titan Books, and then HarperCollins’ HQ imprint, where I worked across a variety of genres with a huge number of authors, and I still remember the early days at the start of my career and Jodi’s with extreme fondness.
I’m a freelance editor now, and next year, I’m actually teaching creative writing at Hawkwood Centre For Future Thinking. The first course, ‘From Inspiration To First Chapter’, runs from 13-17 January 2025 in an old manor house that reminds me of St Mary’s. The series of courses is perfect for anyone at any stage of their writing career, whether you’re just starting out like Jodi was, or you’re an experienced professional with reams of pages under your belt. All you need is an idea for a novel, and we’ll get you everything required to make a start. Even better – each retreat is fully catered, and Hawkwood’s gorgeous setting will provide the perfect inspiration for your book.
On the January course you’ll create the first chapter of your novel, guided by your tutors: I’m now an editor with over 10 years’ industry experience, and I’ll be joined by award-nominated novelist Ally Wilkes, whose novel All the White Spaces hit me in the same way Jodi’s books did when I worked at Titan Books. You’ll learn specific writing techniques to craft the perfect opening, including in-depth guidance on plotting, point of view, and voice amongst others, and have exclusive one-to-one sessions with the course tutors, along with targeted writing exercises on which you will receive feedback from your fellow course writers. You’ll even get a chance to hear from the bestselling author of Weyward Emilia Hart, who will be guest speaker during the course.
If you’d like to start the new year with a bang, take a look at these links: