Well, some of it. The bits you're interested in, hopefully!

I'm a production editor at Our Media, working on Simply Crochet magazine. I coordinate page workflow, politely chase people so we can meet deadlines, and write, proofread and subedit copy. During my time here, I've also written articles and had some of my crochet designs published. Neither of these were in the job description, but they couldn't stop me.

To bolster my skills and learn more about the publishing industry, I embarked on a proofreading course with the CIEP (Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading). I passed the course on my first attempt and gained 3 points towards my continuing professional development. I also learnt about runts, widows and orphans. Now I know how to waffle to avoid those UGLY SHORT LINES you sometimes get in a paragraph of text. Nobody likes ugly short lines. Least of all me.

Working at the university as an Information Assistant, I signposted students to resources to help them with their career planning, and used my research skills to ensure they were up-to-date. I also subedited resources to make them more accessible, compelling and easy to navigate. Two years in, I secured a second role within the same department. I split my time between the Information and Adviser team, the latter providing advice and feedback on CVs and cover letters. Between writing blogs, updating resources and casting a careful eye over job applications, I demonstrated a passion for the written word that has only grown stronger since.

I'd love to tell you I leapt right into a paid role at Penguin after getting my degrees, but unfortunately this little thing called Life happened. Family emergencies, mental health crises, undiagnosed ADHD - that kind of thing. I'm kind to myself about this, and I hope you will be too.

• In 2016 I did a few months as a Business Support Officer at a domestic abuse refuge.
• In 2017 I worked in a coffee shop in Wales, attempting to communicate with customers in Welsh. Needless to say, the Duolingo phrase "Bore da, draig dw i" was never needed. ("Good morning, I am a dragon.")
• By 2018 I'd secured a new role at a charity shop, but my Welsh still left a lot to be desired. I decided to leave Wales to look for jobs in the South West of England. Yeah yeah yeah, writer moves to Bristol, what a cliché. It worked though!
• In 2019 I was working at the Roman Baths Museum. I got well fit carrying bags of audio guides around, and my most repeated phrase was probably, "Please don't touch the water. It is green. Green water gives you meningitis."

In 2015 I moved to Newcastle, a city I wanted to experience partly for its accent but mostly for its Creative Writing programme. I took modules taught by William Fiennes and wrote a dissertation which would go on to be a novel. I haven't published that novel yet but shush. My tutor wanted me to make my protagonist gay, claiming nobody would understand a bisexual character in the archaic time that was the mid-2010s. I stood by my guns, single-handedly inventing bisexuality. And I got a Distinction.

Before taking on my Master's, I took a year out to save some money. (This was before you could get a Master's loan with Student Finance. Showing my age here.) I worked at home as a self-employed transcriptionist, listening to audio files of interviews and focus groups, and typing everything up word for word - including all the ums and ahs at the client's request! These transcripts required both accuracy and a fast turnaround, so I learnt to work efficiently and utilise keyboard shortcuts to pause and play the audio. These days people use AI for this kind of thing, but AI is going to overthrow the world and I will probably never get round to that, so joke's on them.

I'd been to a few university open days but I just KNEW Aberystwyth was the one for me. I met a bunch of cool weirdos here, took modules in Contemporary Literature and Writing Place, and had the spiritual experience of hearing "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz in a sweaty club at 2am. Highly recommend. I was a member of the English and Creative Writing Society, I read angry poetry about my ex in a bookshop, and a now-famous YouTuber came to my house party! Oh, and I got a 2:1.