Aïcha Martine Thiam
Writer / Editor / Artist, Musician / Founder of Virago Editing & Creative Services
Chicago, IL
Q What do you do?
“I’m a multi-hyphenate artist: among many other avenues, I write, I edit, I make art in various mediums, I create music, and I breathe and talk film like it’s a second language.”
Although I can get fixed on a given form or medium (see: my obsessive output of poetry in recent years), in the end, it’s the core message that unites all of my work: come as you are, and I’ll meet you where you’re at.
As the founder of Virago Editing & Creative Services, my aim is to uplift creative voices that haven’t been uplifted, and to offer guidance to those who are trying to navigate a non-linear creative life. Having fingers in every pie, and having felt pulled in every artistic direction all my life, I center those who feel stuck and lost in between different identities and Selves, and who have stories to tell that don’t seemingly fit into neat boxes. If I can help a fellow creative — whether they are a Renaissance person, or singularly focused on a path — feel like their voice is valid, then I’ve done my job.
On the editing side, I offer developmental editing, line editing, proofreading and manuscript assessments. I also offer regular calls that include coaching, sample feedback, and Q&As on the creative industries for those who want to dive in but are not sure where to start.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
As a person deeply afflicted by Impostor Syndrome, my first instinct is to answer: by accident! But that would be doing me a bit of disservice.
In addition to pursuing degrees that highlighted my interests (Communications, Cinema, Creative Writing, Music), I’ve found myself where I am today through a combination of volunteering, freelancing, professional experiences, and winging it.
All while honing my craft, and collecting publications for my work, I have taken chances on everything that sounded remotely interesting, while doing my best to not listen to the pesky voice telling me I have nothing to bring to the table.
I’ve worked at lit mags, small presses, online media, art organizations, and publishers. A few hats I’ve worn include First Reader, Poetry Editor, Art Columnist, Managing Editor, Creative Director, Cultural Critic, and Contributing Writer; currently I work in publishing as an Acquisitions Editor.
Most importantly, I have along the way forged beautiful friendships with fellow artists, and those friendships have sometimes opened doors when I least expected them.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
What used to be my biggest source of insecurity, namely being “multi” — multi-hyphenated, multi-cultural, multi-identity — is, I believe, my greatest strength, and that adaptability has allowed me to collaborate with various artists working in many disciplines.
I love working with those who are either juggling many projects and/or have multimedia experience, or else are deeply invested in one artistic field or work.
Additionally as a Francophone who has also studied many other languages, I love being the go-to person for anyone working in English as their second language, or with translated works.
The chameleonic nature of my background (as well as the versatility of my interests) means that I can, in short, work with anyone, no matter how complex or straightforward their needs.
Q What are you working on right now?
I am currently putting the finishing touches on a solo musical album, editing drafts of two novels, pulling together disparate essays and poems into a tentative fourth collection, and drafting and designing a potential oracle deck.
Q What’s your style?
Collaboration is always the goal: I believe that you know your work and your vision best, and I am only here to help refine it, while staying true to your voice. I have been told that my working style is kind, that my rejections and critiques are gentle, and that my clarifying questions are perceptive and compassionate. I believe in marrying together my expertise and background with yours, in service of your life’s work.
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
Art was my first love, and the majority of my childhood, when not reading, was spent drawing and painting: I would love to make more time for that. I have intentionally carved more space in recent years for the visual side of my work, such as photography and digital art, but I would love to dedicate more of myself to that unbridled, intuitive, childlike joy.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
My current frustrations are twofold:
1- I wish that I could spend less time on the practical side of things (scheduling, setting up tasks, networking, promoting my work, etc.), and more time on the work itself. I would like to spend more time actually writing, editing, and creating. I know from many conversations that I am not alone in feeling this way.
2- speaking of the literary industry specifically, I wish it weren’t so broken. Too many variables stand between talented people, and the people who will read their work (Do they have a social media presence? Does their work have "mass appeal"? Do they have an agent who can facilitate? Do they have an MFA? Should the publisher invest in an advance? etc.). I am sad and frustrated that those variables can determine whether someone gets read or not, whether they even get the opportunity to begin with, and that more attention isn’t brought on the calibre of their work. There is too much gatekeeping, and too many roadblocks, in creative industries, and many internalize that they are not good enough, when that is simply not true.
3- actually I lied, I have a third one: AI. So much AI.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
As a hyper-independent person who struggles to ask for and accept help, I wouldn’t even know where to start! But probably, it would be for them to keep me afloat and nudge me when I am working too much and about to burn out. A regular reminder to rest, to sleep, to eat, and to stretch would be very very (very) nice.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
Phew. At pretty much every formative stage of my life (childhood, teenagehood, early twenties), I would have urged self-kindness. I would also have told myself to me a bit more proud of my introversion and shyness, and of what I later understood to be neurodivergence — there was nothing wrong with me, I was simply wired different.
I also wish I’d realized what Toni Morrison so eloquently said: “You are not the work you do; you are the person you are.” I think I would have offered myself more compassion. I think I would have relaxed about things a lot more — while still taking myself seriously! — and been less frightened of the ups and downs any artistic process involves. It does not determine my self-worth.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
I would love to talk to others who have successfully navigated creative life as introverts. As someone who has struggled with the balance between putting myself out there, but also deeply valuing the solitary parts of the creative process, it’s still a big question mark. Where is the line between being true to oneself, and also sharing yourself with the world, in a way that feels authentic to you? It can be done, and in many ways I am doing that, but I would love to pick someone’s else’s brain.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
I’m looking to work with all kinds of artists: writers (and this is a wide umbrella, it can be anything from essayist, poet, novelist, pop culture reporter, and more), as well as anyone who has a visual project or multimedia work in progress. I offer various editing services like developmental editing, line editing, and manuscript assessments, but also less rigid ones, like project coaching, where we have an ongoing exchange on different projects and ideas you may be juggling.
Whatever the form the project takes, chances are I have experience with it, so please reach out!
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
I approach each collaboration with empathy, patience, and flexibility. I want our work together to be a judgment-free place of safety, trust, and as much vulnerability as you are comfortable having. Sometimes life happens, health stuff happens, and schedules go to the wayside. It is okay. I will always accommodate, and want to establish that communication from the start, whether ours is a short relationship, or an ongoing one.
Q: What is your rate?
I am a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association, and all my rates are within, and in some cases below, their guidelines. Here is an overview:
- Manuscript assessments: $0.01/word
- Developmental editing: $0.04/word
- Line editing: $0.05/word
- Proofreading: $0.015/word
- Exploratory call: free
- Creative career Q&A call: $125 (1h-1h30), follow-up calls are $100
- Sample feedback call: $175 (1h-1h30), follow-up calls are $150
- Project coaching: $450/month, ongoing
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
You can reach out either through my website, or directly by email viragocreativeservices@gmail.com.
If you have an idea of what service you’d be interested in, feel free to add that to the body of the email, as well as a description of your work or projects. Feel free to reach out even if you don’t have something full-fledged and concrete, and are still in the ideation phase, I will gladly meet you halfway. And tell me about yourself! I'm always happy to meet a fellow artist.
Q Who is a creative you admire?
My dear friend Imola Zsitva is an absolutely breathtaking human and artist. She is one of the bravest and most passionate people I know; she writes about the creative life in the most incisive of ways, and I wish everyone could read her. Here is her Substack, The Art of Lite Living.
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
Music! Lots of it. Listening to it (Chopin is my happy place), but also working through a particularly difficult piece of sheet music are great antidotes to overwhelm. Also, 1000-piece jigsaws are the way.
This member profile was originally published in March 2025.