About Me

Hello! I’m Candida.

I’m a fiction editor from the UK. Like most editors of fiction, I’m pretty geeky about books. My area of interest and expertise lies in fantasy, science fiction, mystery/thriller, contemporary romance and historical fiction. These are the genres I work on day in and day out, and those that I tend to reach for in my spare time (curled up with a cup of tea, as well as my dog, Winston). A few of my favourite authors include: Brandon Sanderson, Fonda Lee, Joe Abercrombie, Dolly Alderton, Fredrik Backman and Sally Rooney.

My experience

Since starting my own editing business in 2019, I’ve worked on over 100 fiction books, including several bestsellers, self-published books, traditionally published books and manuscripts from authors embarking on the submissions process.

Professional development

Of course, you can only get so far as an editor without continued professional development and the help and support of other experienced editors, so here’s a list of the courses I’ve taken to become a better editor since I started this editing journey.

  • The CIEP Annual Conference - 11th-14th September 2021

    • Editors and copyright: Myth-busting and good practice – Pippa Smart

    • Fiction line-editing essentials: Narrative distance – Louise Harnby

    • Authenticity reading: Helping writers craft accurate and respectful representation – Crystal Shelley

    • Guiding principles for developmental fiction editing – Sophie Playle

  • Getting Started in Fiction Editing - CIEP (2019)

  • P2: Proofreading Headway - CIEP (2019)

  • P1: Introduction to Proofreading - CIEP (2019)

  • English Grammar, Young Learners and Business English - TEFL Org UK (2018)

“Candida very much put me on track and guided me through what I now see was a very rough first attempt.”

“If you’re just starting out as an author, you really do need an independent critical friend. I’d had some great ideas for a novel and having squashed them all together I recklessly began sending out my first manuscript to some agents and publishers. Fortunately, I was lucky that one publisher saw something in my writing and introduced me to Candida who very much put me on track and guided me through what I now see was a very rough first attempt.

        You need someone to believe in and champion your writing; to know your writing as well as you do but who is strong enough to say, ‘No, that really doesn’t work, have you thought about...?’ Candida manages all these roles with real flair, and I very much look forward to working with her well into the future.”

— Martin Kaye, Author of On Badon Field