“Karmen is an excellent book coach. I had been struggling with my first novel for five years and was close to abandoning it as a ‘practice novel.’ Karmen deployed just the right blend of insightful critical analysis and encouragement to show me I had a story worth telling and how to fix it.

Receiving any kind of editor’s report is always daunting, but Karmen broke down the next steps I needed to take into manageable chunks and renewed my confidence in not only my story but my writing ability.”

“Meeting Karmen was the best thing that could have happened to my writing at a critical moment. I had finished a manuscript and didn’t know what to do next. Karmen assessed it, highlighted its strengths, pinpointed the exact weaknesses, offered concrete solutions, all the while expanding my writer’s toolbox.

What I really loved was that her feedback was based on a genuinely invested and highly nuanced understanding of the themes that my writing explores. With her help, I feel like I’ve dramatically improved my manuscript and I’ve taken the next step in my goal to become a published writer. For anyone who takes fiction writing seriously and needs help developing their writing, I highly and warmly recommend working with Karmen.”

“I had the perfect idea for a crime novel—or so I thought. Working with my book coach, Karmen, showed me the strengths and weaknesses of my story idea. With her guidance, I developed a much stronger foundation for writing forward. I’ve never done so much work before actually starting to write a story, but I’m glad I did.

Being coached by Karmen has significantly enhanced my understanding of this particular story (made it deeper and fuller) and improved my writing skills, if I may say so myself. She has boosted both me and my story. If you’re working on a new story or revising a manuscript, sign up for her services—her insights are invaluable.”

“I wasn’t sure what to expect from a book coach and, having had professional feedback on my pitch documents before, I found Karmen’s feedback much more usable. Her feedback was very detailed with examples and actionable suggestion, without taking any decisions on my behalf. For once it was fun to work on the covering letter and synopsis!

I found Karmen’s style to be supportive and motivational but also realistic, preparing both me and the manuscript for the reality of book-business and the expectation of the agent.

I also found her further tips, tools and links useful to ensure that my manuscript is in its best shape before submitting. Karmen also found a surprising number of well-fitting agents that I hadn’t thought about based on her knowledge of the market including comparable titles – which I was able to use in my query letter. Her research notes on each agent helped me to make a preferred agent list but and to customise my query letters.

Last but not least, Karmen’s notes on my synopsis and my revision inspired me to re-edit elements of the book to bring out its central message and ensure that the character arc is clear.

I was really impressed with the experience overall and I finally understand the heart of my story and am able to connect it with the novel, the synopsis and query letter.”