Hello!

 

My name is Léa Hachem. I'm a French-American-Lebanese fiction editor based Southwest England, and I have a bit of a book obsession!  Whether it's to escape into a new world or to sit with what it means to be human, I live to fall into books. I wrote my first "novel" when I was five (it was called "Mommy and the Tree" and was more gruesome than it should have been), and went on to write fiction through my teens. As I read and grew, I learned to recognise patterns in writing -- the kind of prose that sings on the page, the story beats that make me stay up until sunrise to see what happens next, the characters that bring me to tears...

I also developed an eye for detail that resulted in me being the kid who edited everyone's essays in school. It was only natural for me to hone those skills in higher education and beyond.

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I have an undergraduate degree in English Literature from the University of St Andrews and an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University, where I was taught and mentored by Booker Prize winner Samantha Harvey for two terms. 

 

During my MA, I discovered that, while I do love writing and will never stop, I am drawn to the editorial process. I ended up becoming the Editor-in-Chief for our university's annual anthology and began taking courses with the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP). I worked as a writer, editor, and translator for an art gallery for six years before deciding to pivot to follow my passion of working with fiction. Now, I spend my days reading published and unpublished books, so it's safe to say that I'm living the dream! 

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My goal is to balance thorough edits with positive feedback. I will comb through your work and find every little thing to fix that I can, but I'll also freak out with you when a character does something insane, and I'll squeal over your beautiful lines and phrases! It's important to remember that, as stressful as edits can be, the editor isn't trying to say, 'Look at all these things you've done wrong.' We see the book as it is, and we see what you want it to be. Our job is to bridge that gap. When I'm reading a manuscript, I get excited about what works, and I get excited about how we can fix what doesn't. I know how much work goes into taking a story from an idea to a complete novel. I want to build you up, not tear you down. Editing is based on trust, after all.

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I'm still in the early days of my professional editing career, so I can give each one of my clients my full attention. I can take the time to fall into your world, and I will share your enthusiasm for your work (try to stop me!) 

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I work with literary fiction, historical fiction, adult fantasy, magical realism, and a few other genres. Unfortunately, I don't work with thrillers, contemporary romance, children's literature (including YA), sci-fi, horror, religious literature, or non-fiction. I also won't work with zionist books or books written with generative AI.

If you're not sure if I work with your genre, feel free to send me an email, and I'll let you know. 

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A few of my favourite books of all time:

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My Friends by Fredrik Backman

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Circe by Madeline Miller

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab