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ESTIMONIALS
“Karmen's enthusiasm for the books we publish and her passionate championship for our authors was inspiring. Her good humour and keen interest were greatly appreciated, and her intuition and well-rounded perspective of the publishing landscape make her a tremendous asset as an editor.” - Iris Tupholme, SVP and Publisher of HarperCollins Canada
“It was a great pleasure to have Karmen Wells, the first co-editor at HarperCollins, to work on my novel. Her insights are eagle sharp. Her suggestions are masterful. Karmen is an incisive intellect who holds your words in the palm of her hand before sending them off in the right direction.”
- Beatrice MacNeil, author
“I'd trust Karmen with editorial projects of all kinds—she's thorough, reliable, energetic. Crucially, she's an excellent reader and editor with rare insight.”
- Kelly Joseph, Publishing Manager at McClelland & Stewart
TESTIMONIALS
“Karmen is a tremendously gifted editor. I would recommend her without hesitation.”
- Samantha Kolesnik, Owner and Publisher of
Off Limits Press
“Karmen’s editorial assessment proved that her narrative insight and comprehension of character development is indisputable. Her comments, both thoughtful and substantive, demonstrated that she was not only committed to providing constructive criticism, but innately understood what my manuscript required to take it to the next level. ”
- Alex Cruz, author
“I've used SMC a few times and in each instance I've received notes that have actively made my script and overall writing better. Karmen always has a great eye for corrections, and the insight she provides on the story end ALWAYS led my scripts to a better place. If you're on the fence about hiring someone to push your work forward, I'd say Karmen is 100% worth it.”
- F.B. Peña, screenwriter, 2020 ScreenCraft Drama Contest Semifinalist
“Karmen has been a key figure in the Burial Day Books anthologies and helping me re-release my older works that definitely needed the love and care of a good editor. Her close eye and suggestions for my recent poetry collection made me take pause because she saw things in such a valuable light that I was not able to see. Karmen's skills are wide-ranging, from poetry to prose, short story and full anthologies. I am so thankful for all of Karmen's hard work and dedication, and I hope to continue working with her for a long time to come”
- Cynthia Pelayo, Bram Stoker-nominated poet and author of the Chicago Saga, Loteria, Crime Scene, and Publisher of Burial Day Books
“I can't say enough about how easy she made the process—her notes were concise, perceptive, and organized so well, it made the revisions fast and painless. Karmen is also a pro at recognizing and protecting the author's voice, one of the most vital aspects of editing. She undoubtedly made Crossroads a better book and made my life easier in the process. I highly recommend her editing services.”
- Laurel Hightower, Bram Stoker-nominated author of Below, Crossroads, and Whispers in the Dark
“I am still inspired by Karmen's balance of creativity, professionalism, care, and curiosity in providing me with invaluable notes on both a manuscript and a screenplay. In each consult, she not only offered me the feedback I needed but an amazing sounding board to further hone my craft.”
- Scott March, screenwriter
“Working with Karmen has been a pleasure. Her keen eye is matched by rare insightfulness and a genuine love of storytelling. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone kinder or more professional in the business—don’t think twice about reaching out to her.”
- Daniel Barnett, author of The Nightmareland Chronicles
“Karmen has a sharp eye for detail, and her fastidious research, laid out in clear comments on each page, not only helped the work shine brighter but taught me a couple of language complexities that I carry still.”
- Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker-winner author of Queen of Teeth, The Worm and His Kings
“Karmen absolutely nailed this editorial assessment. She's incredibly direct and her instincts are spot on. I handed her a dense, bloated novel and she returned a highly specific, razor-sharp critique that essentially serves as a blueprint to streamline and strengthen the narrative. It's obvious how passionate she is about storytelling and how much she cares about every project. She books out quite far in advance, but trust me, it's well worth the wait. Oh, and don't f**k with sharks in your writing. Just don't.”
- Kyle Kramer, author & screenwriter
“Karmen is an exceptionally passionate and meticulous editor—working with her was a joy! I was amazed at the clarity and depth of her feedback. She was able to weave individual details into a greater picture that guided and helped me understand how best to improve my novel. . . . and she was refreshingly candid throughout the whole collaboration. Her insights into the development of my story's characters were invaluable. I learned so much about the craft of writing from her, and I look forward to working with her in the future.”
- Jeremy Wintersteen, horror author
“Karmen Wells is brilliant and worth every penny! Her thoughtful edits went far beyond an average, superficial analysis. . . .Her personal passion to elevate story (especially stories of a darker tonality) is what makes her a tour-de-force editor. She digs deep, finding thematic details and symbolism that even I didn't notice and helps bring them to light while still keeping my poetic writing style in mind. . . . Karmen was flexible, kind, poised and went out of her way to do more than what was in our initial agreement—10/10 would recommend! She will improve your novel tenfold!”
- Laurel Elizabeth Hasara, author & screenwriter
“Karmen is absolutely fantastic. She brought a personal approach to her critique—one that incorporated a really insightful persepective on the genre at large without compromising her focused dissection of the specific themes, language, and character-building in my piece. I will be working with her again in the future and would highly recommend her services to fellow authors.”
- Nick Hickman, horror author
“Karmen offered insightful analysis and took the time to consider the conceptual framing of the text. Her suggestions helped develop the storyline as well as the characters, and she breathed new life into the prose. I can't recommend Karmen highly enough. She is a true professional, and I look forward to working with her again in the future.”
- Christopher Leunig, author
“Karmen’s insight into the horror genre is immense. She helped me mine untapped wells of suspense that had been effectively sitting under my nose in my script. Working with the rules and situations that had already been established in the screenplay, she was able to find ways to significantly elevate the tension, and further improve the story as a whole.”
- Skye Braband, screenwriter, 2020 ScreenCraft Horror Contest Semifinalist
“Karmen gives thoughtful, thorough, and personal feedback. She helped me dig deeper and was generous with her time and attention throughout the process. I absolutely hope to work with Karmen again in the future.”
- James Morosini, actor, filmmaker, writer of I Love My Dad, the 2020 ScreenCraft Comedy Contest Winner
“For any writer who’s ever been attached to their work for way, way too long—in other words, when all objectivity has flown out the window—to find someone who not only understands what the hell you’re doing but how the hell to actually improve upon it, is the sort of person that makes you go, 'Man, where have YOU been!?' That’s Karmen. Her feedback was not only helpful, logical, and nuanced, but is derived from a fundamental understanding of my plot, characters, and overall vision, and honestly, that sort of critique is utterly invaluable. AND she did it all in a super concise and personable manner. So, yeah—she’s infuriatingly talented.”
- Mike Weir, author
“Karmen has helped me transition from novelist to screenwriter. She also provided effective, practical career advice, shining a light on my path forward. . . . However, for me, her real value is in being a hitwoman for bad content and bad ideas. She will stab a knife through your darlings and bury them in a deep hole. And that's what every writer needs in an editor.”
- Daniel Sullivan, screenwriter & author of Black Collar
“Karmen Wells has a unique perspective to offer screenwriters because of her background in publishing.
I felt like she was genuinely advocating from a mainstream audience’s perspective, rather than from a specialized (and jaded) Hollywood production company gatekeeper. . . . And the added line-level commentary is not only a testimony to the level of attention to detail she provided but also a very useful gauge to me as a writer.”
- Manfred Lopez Grem, WGA screenwriter
“Karmen’s insightful and encouraging editorial input on my novel Worry, both as an assistant to my literary agent and then as an editor at HarperCollins Canada, was invaluable. Her suggestions vastly improved the story I was trying to tell, and her excitement about my work and faith in my abilities buoyed me up during the entire process. Any writer would be lucky to have her in their corner.”
- Jessica Westhead, author of Worry
“While reading Karmen’s in-depth analysis of my manuscript, I felt like she had somehow gotten her hands on my personal writing notes. There were paragraphs, chapters, and even a character I still had doubts about (and secretly hoped no one would notice) and yet she managed to ferret each one out. In addition to finding the weak areas, she offered constructive suggestions that improved the manuscript. I look forward to working with Karmen Wells on my next project.”
- Patricia Fulton, horror author
“Although I’ve written numerous screenplays, I finally tried my hand at writing a horror novel. Fortunately, I came across Karmen Wells. . . . I found her notes concise, helpful and positive in tone, even when suggesting things I honestly hadn’t thought of or when flagging mistakes. I got the impression she is in it FOR the author—she’s not there to pass judgement, just to help. . . . . She had well-thought-out and concrete suggestions on making scenes better and improving the narrative flow. I totally endorse her and Shelf Made Creative for any editorial needs and hope to work with her again in the future.”
- Mark Cerulli, horror author & screenwriter
“Most feedback services and people do the same thing:
tell you what’s wrong, assign a number to it and maybe give you some pointers on how to make it better. Karmen starts with what’s right and gives you tips to bring everything else up to it. She’s more concerned about the best possible script and not just getting it off her desk like many coverage services have the tendency to do. I’d recommend her in a heartbeat.”
- Scott Sawitz, screenwriter
“Karmen's enthusiasm for the books we publish and her passionate championship for our authors was inspiring. Her good humour and keen interest were greatly appreciated, and her intuition and well-rounded perspective of the publishing landscape make her a tremendous asset as an editor.”
- Iris Tupholme, SVP and Publisher of HarperCollins Canada
“It was a great pleasure to have Karmen Wells, the first co-editor at HarperCollins, to work on my novel. Her insights are eagle sharp. Her suggestions are masterful. Karmen is an incisive intellect who holds your words in the palm of her hand before sending them off in the right direction.”
- Beatrice MacNeil, author of The Girl He Left Behind