More to Crow About

By Leonard Bernard, Jr., PMP, CSM

“​Karen is an exceptional fantasy writer. I am working with her in a few projects and I could not be more happy with her attention to details, delivery times, and professionalism.”

Kyle Galindez, Author

“I hired Karen Smith to review my unpublished, high fantasy manuscript. I asked Karen to provide a general critique and answer some specific questions I had. Karen was extremely helpful, identifying several problems that needed to be corrected. These included problems related to character development, world-building, and the quality of writing. I appreciated Karen’s attention to detail and her breadth of knowledge, especially regarding topics I knew little about.”It was gratifying to know Karen enjoyed my story, but I was more thankful for her honest and thoughtful criticisms. I am also grateful for Karen’s advice in improving my story and for answering follow-up questions I had upon receiving the critique. I highly recommend writers of any genre to consider enlisting Karen Smith as a critic or editor, especially new or inexperienced writers.”

Cindy Draughon, Freelance Editor

“​I’ve edited more than 60 manuscripts in the last several months, as well as prodigious amounts of documents written by senior-level executives over the course of five years. Rarely have I found someone who writes as well as Karen. Her thoughts are lucid and well-organized and, in my opinion, her skills really shine when it comes to fiction flavored with paranormal nuances. She masterfully draws 3-D or even 4-D characters and weaves stories the reader does not want to put down, even to grab a bite to eat. Karen is a prolific writer, and when I asked how she manages that…she said if she didn’t write, her mind would explode. Now that’s the sign of a true writer!”

Greg Laux, Marketing Committee​Wallcovering Installers Association

“I just wanted to say thanks and congratulations for making us appear far more polished than we really are!”That was a pleasure to read and the wordcraft involved made [the newsletter] an easy–and enticing—flow. I am betting our members will find similarly. Thank you for both your skills and the time you have devoted to upholding our professionalism.”

Charles Leveilee

“Wonderful experience to work with Karen, effortless to communicate with her. She’s super knowledgeable how to write an excellent article. Hope to work again with you.”

John Guagliardo, Ph.D., Executive Director​World Library Foundation

“I have had the distinct pleasure of being able to work with Karen for the past several years. During that time, she has done a wonderful job as the World Library Foundation’s monthly newsletter’s senior editor. Karen created the page layouts, wrote articles, and edited the articles of the other four staff writers. We could not have done it without her. She never was late or under preformed. Karen was always a pleasure to work with.”​I wanted to post this recommendation, to express my sincere appreciation for all she had done to help our Foundation.”

Mary Hoy

“Highly recommended writer. High quality work!”

Dominic Brogsdale, Author

“And a very special thank-you to my consultant and editor, Karen M. Smith (Hen House Publishing). She’s extremely professional. She edits your work quickly and gets it back to you fast. She fixed grammar and punctuation, gives top-notch advice, and wants nothing but the best for you and from you. Anything else you can think of in terms of writing she does and she does it well.”I produce 7,000- to 15,000-word stories and Karen gets it back to me within one to three days! If she’s late or working on it because she’s assisting another, she has the courtesy to get back to you and let you know she’s a bit behind: you can’t beat that type of professionalism. Karen also helped me with a public reading of my story, ‘Evil On Top of Evil: Part 2.’ I needed it within 24 hours; she got it back to me with in a couple of hours and sent me three different formats. Again, you can’t beat that type of professionalism. She’s been wonderful.”

Brett Kade, Author

“​It’s always nerve-racking having your work critiqued, especially by a professional. Karen made the process simple and easy. She was able to knock out my manuscript in no time and gave me valuable feedback to make it better. When I get the next one done, I’m definitely heading her way again.”

Dee Owens, CEO​Personalized Marketing Inc.​

“As a marketing manager, it is always nice to have clients where you not only enjoy working with them but also enjoy their material as well. I have had the pleasure of working with her when it comes to writing content for blogs. Not only is Karen efficient when it comes to getting her work done, but she is also thorough on the topics she writes about.​”As a reader, I have had the great pleasure of reading books written by Holly Bargo (aka Karen). Her stories are well told, they provide just enough pace to keep you hooked for more while not rushing ahead leaving you wondering where the story got lost. Her editing skills definitely come into play when you go to read her work, you can tell that she took the time to look over her work before sending it out to the public.”

Bradley Caro Cook, Ed.D., Co-founding Director, Career-Up Now

“I’ve been searching for years to find the right person to work with in publishing my books. Karen came to the rescue … not only is she meticulous in her work, she also has excellent communication skills and gets things done quickly. She’s allowed me to focus on the parts I love to do, and she’s taken care of the rest. If you are exploring someone to work with, look no further than Karen and Hen House Publishing.”

Shaka Bello, MA, Communication Strategist & Social Entrepreneur

“As a first time author, having Karen as my editor was what I needed to successfully publish my memoir. First of all, she knows her stuff. Her editing, proofreading, and formatting expertise is unquestionably top notch. Karen is very reliable as she gets the job done ahead of schedule. More importantly, she goes above and beyond to make her customers satisfied. Oh, did I mention that her rates are budget friendly? I highly recommend her services.”

Leslie Popham, Managing Director​Regis Publishing Ltd.

“Karen and I share a love of good writing and an enthusiasm forcorrect English. Karen is a top-notch author of both fiction andnon-fiction, and I thoroughly recommend her services to anyonewho needs help with content editing.”

Arla Jones, Author

Hen House Publishing is a superb editing company. From the very beginning, my editor was professional, straightforward, and encouraging. She was exactly the editor I was looking for. I wanted to get clear guidance and feedback for my latest YA manuscript. I am beyond satisifed with the results so far.

Donna Johnson, Author

“I highly recommend Karen. She did a remarkable job editing myfirst book manuscript. I look forward to working with her in thefuture.”

Fred Yeager, Author

Karen Smith, Hen House Publishing, edited and proofed my manuscript of 89,000 words. I was very satisfied with her editing and proofing. She worked quickly and returned the edited and proofed manuscripts in a short time. It is apparent that she has a firm grasp of grammar and punctuation, as well as the elements of fiction such as character development, plot development, and pace, to mention only a few, that assures the client that she will do a professional job. Karen is reliable and very easy to work with. She is a true professional, and in my opinion, she went the extra mile to return to me a manuscript that completely satisfied me and will be readily accepted by agents and publishers as a well-crafted, error-free manuscript. I can without reservation recommend Karen Smith, Hen House Publishing, for your copy editing and proofing.