“Kate has perfected the balance of being hugely encouraging while also pushing me to be a stronger writer. Her feedback focuses on clear, actionable ways to make the manuscript sharper and bolder – she gets right at the heart of what I’m attempting. Just as importantly, Kate’s compassionate, enthusiastic approach gives me a shot in the arm, reminding me that the project is worth any challenges of the revision process.”
– SARA FLANNERY MURPHY, AUTHOR OF THE WONDER STATE
“Kate was so helpful and comprehensive in her feedback that I went from an ineffective query to almost always getting page requests. She offers informed, decisive input and explains the reason behind it, so that working with her even once will make you a better, smarter writer.”
– JENNY LEROY, ENGLISH PHD (UPMARKET FICTION)
“Kate has so graciously read and offered developmental feedback on three of my manuscripts and a handful of short stories. She has a true talent for seeing both overarching and sentence-level issues while posing questions about the heart of the story, resulting in a much better book in the end. I sincerely hope she’ll continue reading everything I write in the future.”
– LYZ MANCINI, NOVELIST AND SHORT STORY AUTHOR (SUSPENSE, MYSTERY, AND HORROR)
* agented and now on submission
“Kate’s feedback on my fiction has been invaluable. Do you ever have doubts about passages you wrote and end up convincing yourself that they’re fine? Kate will spot them. Her comments aren’t prescriptive, but she’ll nudge you in the right direction. I highly recommend her editorial services.”
– STEVE D., AUTHOR AND BOOK REVIEWER (LITERARY FICTION)
“Kate has been instrumental in helping me refine my personal essay work. Whenever I’m pitching an essay or op-ed, I send it to Kate first, even before it goes to the publication editor. Her feedback and comments are always thoughtful, concise, and make me sound way better than I ever thought possible.”
– TIFFANY L., FOOD WRITER AND ESSAYIST (JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION MEDIA AWARD NOMINEE*)
* for Tiffany’s first personal essay, nominated after our work together!
“Kate has been an invaluable source of support in my writing career for years. From brainstorming assistance in early stages of plotting to detailed feedback on full drafts to meticulous trouble-shooting in the revision process to query letter and synopsis critiques, she has helped me make my work better at every stage. Beyond the technical aspects of writing, her wisdom and insight into the ups, downs, and sideways of this career has helped keep me sane.”
– COLLEEN KELLY, NOVELIST (HISTORICAL ROMANCE)*
* agented and now on submission
“Kate gave me hope. As a new writer having just finished my first novel, I was really struggling with the next steps. I had rewritten my query at least a dozen times but it still fell flat. And my synopsis. . .well it was just rambling drivel. I feared my novel would never see the light of day. After just the first conversation with Kate, her guidance made it clear she knew her way around the process. I feel like she listened. . .I mean really listened. . .and helped come up with a plan that would be just right to get me going in the right direction. Kate helped me figure out where I was going wrong with my query and synopsis, and gave me some excellent and very detailed editing notes on my first few chapters. All this while providing the encouragement I needed to keep going. Thanks to Kate’s brilliant guidance, I feel like I might actually stand a chance to land an agent and get published. Stay tuned!”
– C.J. LEIGHTON, NOVELIST (LITERARY FICTION, LGBTQ+ FICTION)
“Kate was speedy and thorough with two queries I sent her. She had great points and helpful suggestions, leaving me with much better letters than we had started with. I would highly recommend her and I will absolutely be reaching out to her with future work!”
– L.K. CARTER, NOVELIST (YA FANTASY)*
* now with multiple full requests from agents
“Kate was a lifesaver! After several years of work, I had a final manuscript and (with a new baby) absolutely no time to spend getting it published. I was only able to carve out a few hours a week to work on it, and was finding it demoralizing to lose that time to trying to understand the publishing industry that I’m an outsider to. Kate swooped in and, using only the first chapter of my book, my synopsis and query letter, identified multiple comp titles that I could include and a list of 25 agents that seemed like good fits. The agents were all excellent fits, and I was able to listen to the audiobooks of the comps that she put together, and I found them all to be on point and good matches. It also allowed me to better tailor my query letter to show how my novel was in conversation with the existing literary market. I highly recommend Kate to anyone feeling overwhelmed by the publishing industry, as an excellent guide into next steps for aspiring authors.”
– DOC R., NOVELIST (SPECULATIVE FICTION)
“I recently participated in coaching with Kate to strengthen my pitch package for my middle grade mystery. Her compassionate listening, insightful perspectives, and editorial skills gave me a package I feel confident sending out. I loved the back and forth of the coaching session because it helped me understand what was confusing, while offering a writing partner to make it stronger. I highly recommend Kate’s services!”
– JULIE SHIER, NOVELIST (MIDDLE GRADE ADVENTURE)
“Kate is the Mary Poppins of editors; practically perfect in every way. I was so nervous in providing my messy manuscript to Kate, but she handled it with the gentleness of a friend and the precision of a surgeon. Kate encouraged me, telling me what was working in my manuscript, and I really felt like she was on my side and excited to work with me. But she also gave me hugely valuable feedback about how to pull my story together so that it made sense, had a clear plot, and had fleshed out characters who really sing. I knew some things weren’t working, but I didn’t know why. Kate was able to highlight the issues, and helped me to brainstorm ideas for how to make it work. Working with an editor was something I dreaded, but with Kate I feel excited. I know it will be a lot of work, but my manuscript, and myself as a writer, will be so much better for it. Thank you Kate!”
– ROSIE EVYLIN, NOVELIST (F/F PARANORMAL ROMANCE, SELF-PUBLISHED)
“I wrote in a question to Kate’s Substack about multi-genre author marketing not knowing if I’d get a response. She’s busy! But not only did she answer it quick as lightning, her response was so much more detailed and helpful than I’d hoped for — as well as feeling like it came from a kind friend. I was not expecting to be given that much generous consideration from a person with so much valuable insider knowledge. But this is who Kate is: a person as genuine as she is professional who’s deeply invested in helping other writers. Now, after muddling through this murky situation for ages, I have a way forward.”
– K.S. PALAKOVIC, NOVELIST (SCI-FI AND LITERARY FICTION)*
*now with an offer of publication for her debut novel!
“I met with Kate to brainstorm which idea to choose for my next book. I’ve written six unpublished novels and did not want to start a new project without some feedback. I was at a standstill. Kate helped me figure out which direction I wanted to go in and guided me to the next steps. I plan to meet with her again to get feedback on my outline (which I know can and will change as the story evolves, but I need a solid starting point), and to edit my manuscript. I appreciate the fact that Kate is a published author and has years of editing experience. She asked the right questions and had a very intuitive process. She is truly a book therapist.”
– MIA W. AUBREY, NOVELIST
“I had a wonderful and productive experience working with Kate. She helped me improve my query submission package and ensure my materials were polished. Her insights went a long way in refining my materials and now I am querying with newfound confidence. In addition, and most importantly, it’s obvious that she genuinely cares about my success and sincerely wants to see authors succeed.”
– KATIE EVANS, AUTHOR OF AUNT CLAIRE’S SECRET AND THE AUNT CLAIRE’S PET CARE SERIES
“I started working with Kate when I was working on my first book and needed to finish it in time for tenure. I was beyond stressed and beginning to realize my old methods for white-knuckling my way through it weren’t working anymore. Kate worked with me chapter by chapter to help me finish my book, never losing patience with me even when I thought I couldn’t do it. Her insights and feedback made my argument so much stronger, but she gave me far more than that. She helped me better understand my own habits (procrastination, I’m looking at you!) and get a handle on my workload so that I could develop new and better approaches to getting things done. Even if you don’t work with Kate on your whole book, a session with her, or her eyes on a few chapters, will give you ideas and approaches you’ll return to again and again.”
– DR. B, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR* (ENGLISH)
* now Associate Professor, tenured, and with a book under contract!
“Hiring Kate was like giving myself a one-on-one masterclass in writing. Her comments on my manuscript, and her incredible edit letter, went well beyond things like grammar or basic plot stuff. Kate really dug in to every aspect of writing, helping me see what was working in my story and where I needed to give my attention in revisions. She got me thinking differently about what a scene does and how to keep the tension alive from chapter to chapter. She doesn’t just tell you what she thinks you should do, but explains the why behind it, so that you understand what choices you’re making as an author and how they serve your story. I thought I was in a good place because my beta readers loved my work, but having the support of friends and family isn’t the same as getting a true professional to teach you. I don’t know if this will be the book that gets me an agent, but I do know that it was worth investing in myself and my writing. I’m excited to work on these revisions! I also know that my next book will be so much stronger from the beginning because of what I learned from Kate.”
– ANONYMOUS, NOVELIST (SPECULATIVE FICTION)