Below are testimonials from some of the authors who I have had the pleasure of working with in recent years. If you’d like to jump to the words of an author who has written in a particular genre, click one of the following links: activity books, picture books, nonfiction books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels. I also edit the occasional nonfiction book for adults.
All these testimonials include one or more links so that you can read about the authors’ books. I encourage you to check out the books as well—I recommend them all!
Karin is a vital and inspiring ally. My Once upon a Pancake children’s series was a tricky job. Each book contains twenty unfinished stories that children and grown-ups can complete together, which meant Karin had to wrangle sixty distinct story ideas and sets of characters, and juggle topics, tones and tenses. She has a rare knack for shifting from conceptual to clinical and back. She is meticulous, insightful, and fun to work with. And she cares to her bones about literacy, creativity, and children discovering the magic of language and story. I recommend her wholeheartedly.
—Rick Benger, author of the Once upon a Pancake series (activity books)
If you want to be in good hands with your picture book editing, Karin Fisher-Golton has the best hands I know. She researches thoroughly and gets you thinking about your characters’ life and history. She gets to the heart of what you really intend to say. She finds what is missing in your writing and offers it for your choice.
In this teamwork, Karin is a wordsmith Sherlock Holmes.
She helps you find the best words logically and clearly. We worked together on my two picture books A Purrfect Home for Kitters and SuperGoldfish. Karin was my final, final editor. She uses both sides of her brain to help create a good story with perfect structure and grammar.
—Jacqueline Faber, author of
A Purrfect Home for Kitters and SuperGoldfish (picture books)
I am extraordinarily thankful to have worked with Karin on my first children’s book, Mommy, Why Is Your Hair Pink? When I first handed her my draft she was very honest with me—she loved what I had written, but it was not a book, it was a concept for a book. At first, I was upset—that was my “big idea,” how could we possibly improve upon it? She turned out to be 100% correct and guided me to dig deep, take chances, and look through a new lens to turn my “big idea” into a story I am extremely proud of! I couldn’t have reached my potential without her in-depth questions, ideas, suggestions, and expertise. I can’t wait for my next “big idea” and once again, have Karin help me turn it into another incredible story that I only dreamed about!!
—Shannon Bahrke Happe, two-time Olympic medalist and author of
Mommy, Why Is Your Hair Pink? (picture book)
As a first time author, I relied heavily on Karin’s involvement in bringing my story, Will You Believe in Me? A Story about Skiing and Friendship, to life. She took her time and asked me a lot about the “Why?” and from there, we edited the message to speak in greater depth of my experience, my intentions, and the takeaway we anticipated our future readers would leave with. In the end, we made a 5-star children’s book that has sold hundreds of copies in the short period it’s been to print. I most certainly will call on Karin for help with my next book.
—Matt Sterbenz, author of
Will You Believe in Me? A Story about Skiing and Friendship (picture book)
Being introduced to Karin gave me greater confidence in the language of my story! As a first time author, I wanted the language in Sunflower Circle to be age appropriate and create an experience with young readers. Karin immediately connected to the intention of my story and could envision my garden and the desired experience. Her suggestions prompt children’s imaginations and help deliver the educational aspects of the story that are important to me. I know we were successful when parents share with me phrases from the story that their young children are drawn to with curiosity and wonder. Thank you, Karin for your wisdom and love for storytelling!
—Scott Wright, author of Sunflower Circle (picture book)
Karin helped to smooth out, clarify, and shape my writing. With her knowledgeable input I was able to create a story that is fun to read.
—Valery Larson, author of
Tony’s Happy Heart (picture book)
I was a 72-year-old woman when I got the inspiration and drive to write my first book, a graphical biography. Finding an excellent editor was essential. The road forward took me to surprising places and amazing people. Karin is one of them. In my view, she is a world class editor. I’m thrilled to work with her on my second book. Karin’s keen insight keeps me, as well as my story, grounded.
–Mary Kaye Godde Stamet, author of
Desert Almond Farmer (illustrated nonfiction book)
My dream became her dream too. She immersed herself in my book and brought it alive. She’s truly amazing. I love the way she thinks. I know I was a challenge to work with because I really didn’t know what I didn’t know. Because of her, I’ve come a long way in my writing, and I am very grateful. Let me just say, she knows her stuff. I have five more books in my children’s book series to do, and I can’t imagine doing them without her. Whatever it is you’re writing, Karin will help you make it pop!
—Tamara Shiloh, author of
Jaxon’s Magical Adventure with Black Inventors and Scientists and
Jaxon and Kevin’s Black History Trip Downtown (chapter books)
Karin Fisher-Golton recently put my middle grade novel through an intensive structural editing process. I was most impressed with her grasp of my vision for the book, and how thorough she was in her critique. It was immensely helpful, reinforcing what was good as well as offering creative solutions to problems and suggesting areas for improvement. I found Karin a pleasure to work with, and very responsive and timely in her review of my manuscript. It is obvious that she knows kids’ books and has much to offer aspiring authors.
—Carol Angel, author of Gone Dog (middle grade novel)
I’ve worked with Karin on two collections of my children’s stories, as well as my children’s novel, and have found her input invaluable. Knowledgeable, thoughtful, and astute, she has challenged me to make my language clearer, my characters deeper, and my stories more cohesive. Being a teacher and mom, she’s finely attuned to the sensibilities of children; being a writer, she’s full of creative suggestions. What’s more, she has a passionate sense of vocation about editing and is as meticulous as a perfectionist like me could possibly want, not to mention supportive, enthusiastic, and generous with her time.
—Callie Raab, author of
The Poof! Academy, volumes I and II (original fairy tale collections) and
The Improbable Voyage of the Poof! Academy (middle grade novel)
One of the most powerful tools a writer can find is a good editor. The ideal editor listens to what the author wants to say and can help the author give the characters their true voice, while cleaning up POV splits, typos, unauthentic dialog that doesn’t fit the character, to say nothing of punctuation, tone, and consistency of setting and timelines.
When you find one of these chimeric creatures grab them and keep them your deepest, most valuable secret. Unfortunately, I like Karin too much to lock her in a dungeon as she completes my desires of spinning my straw into gold. So I’ll let you in on my secret—Karin Fisher-Golton is going to be one of the most highly sought Indie editors on the market. Reserve a place on her calendar now!
—Marik Berghs, author of Grace Notes (young adult novel)
Karin worked with me on the editing of my book, How Did They Play? How Did They Teach?: A History of Keyboard Technique. It is an extensive volume with many quotations from historical sources. Karin did the copyediting on the book and also checked the accuracy of the extensive footnotes. She also made recommendations as to layout, which was quite complex because each page was different, with text, illustrations, musical examples, and footnotes.
Karin was absolutely meticulous about every aspect of the project, not only making sure that the spelling and syntax were correct, but that the text was readable, even to someone not a musician. She double-checked every footnote to see that it pointed to the most recent version of the source cited.
Karin was pleasant to work with, keeping a positive attitude and a sense of humor. I heartily recommend her to any author, not only of children’s books, but of major works of nonfiction.
—Sandra Soderlund, D.M.A. and author of
How Did They Play? How Did They Teach? (nonfiction book for adults)
Karin Fisher-Golton 