Hi, I'm Karen.
My goal in working with you is to serve as both editor and guide as you navigate this quickly changing world that is publishing. The weather is fickle, the tides rising and receding, and the landscape shifting—a strong, solid ship is necessary to make the journey. Together we will dig into your ship: your characters, your plot, your narrative, your pacing…all the things that make each story unique and engaging.
So why am I qualified to help you?
I’ve spent the last thirty-six years in the publishing industry, first working in the design department of St. Martin’s Press, then in the production departments of Hearst Magazines and Academic Press, and finally (beginning in 1985) in the Children’s Editorial department of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, where I acquired and edited young adult (YA) fiction for twenty-four years.
From 2008 to 2018, I worked as an acquiring consulting editor for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and from 2012 to 2018 as a senior editor and editorial director for Entangled Publishing, where I focused on romance and new adult (NA) fiction.
My experiences over the last three decades have given me a solid foundation in what makes a book sell and how to expand upon a story’s strengths and eliminate its weaknesses.
I love my job. I love working with a writer to bring a story to its full potential. I love discovering the gems in the proverbial slush pile. I love encouraging a new writer to take chances, dig a little deeper, and step out with confidence. I love when the pieces of a problematic story issue finally click into place…usually while I’m sleeping or in the shower, of all places. Most of all, I love my authors. They challenge me, inspire me, excite me, and sometimes make me laugh. They take me on incredible journeys, heartbreaks, and courageous quests.
What job could be better than that?
Today I work as a freelance editor for authors, agents, and publishers of Teen, New Adult, and Romance fiction. Among the award-winning authors I call both clients and friends are Rebecca Yarros, Molly E. Lee, Sherilee Gray, A.J. Pine, Han Nolan, L.A. Meyer, Ann Rinaldi, Gary Paulsen, Mary Pearson, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and many, many others.
Outside of books, my interests include scrapbooking, crafting, wine (and beer and food) tasting, dog training, roller and ice hockey, and spending time with my family and friends.
Some Things You May Not Know About Me
• I love teen fiction—always have. The kind with eccentric characters, compelling voices, and settings so strong that they become characters themselves. I tend to gravitate toward edgy topics, the supernatural, suspense/mystery, apocalyptic fiction, and, above all, characters with strong voice, humor, and heart.
• I’ve championed New Adult fiction for a long time (before it was a thing) and lamented when it had to be turned away because there was no category for it. Today it’s become more acceptable with readers, bookstores, and publishers, and I had the opportunity to assist in developing Entangled Publishing’s Embrace (New Adult) line as its founding Editorial Director.
• I grew up in New York and lived there for my first twenty-three years, then moved to California, where I spent another twenty-seven years, with a short stint in Virginia. At this point I’m not sure if I should be classified as a New Yorker or a Californian, though it’s probably moot because I’m now in Arizona.
• I’m an avid crafter—scrapbooking and rubber stamping, mainly—and this creative outlet has saved me thousands of dollars in therapy bills.
• My husband and I owned and published a popular monthly business newspaper for eleven years.
• I spent my youth showing horses and raising racehorses, but I haven’t so much as touched a horse in the last thirty years.
• I have an unexplainable fear of balloons. Go figure.