To say working on a substantial new draft of my novel with Anna Golden was edifying is an understatement…

“Anna worked with me to take my fledgling novel from publisher interest to publisher offer, and the year I spent working with her page by page, sentence by sentence, word by word,  was an exhilarating intellectual process that increased my knowledge of everything from syntax to symbolism. (For her part, Anna now knows that starfish have arms not tentacles and jellyfish have tentacles not arms.) She’s good (read pedantic) with the minutiae.

She’s also good with the large-scale stuff, with a canny understanding of character motivation and the structural architecture needed for this story to flourish (and as a consequence, be utterly believable to your reader). She challenged but also encouraged, she tore things to shreds, (dammit Anna, but you did it with such wit and conviction that I kept coming back for more). Most importantly, she was utterly enthusiastic about the work’s long-term potential (whew, because there’s quite a bit of self-doubt that pops up during this whole process).

She made me tweak and polish, and retweak. The novel was like a plant (forgive the crummy simile, Anna) — it sprouted out everywhere (me), then got pruned (by Anna), sprouted again (me), pruned again (Anna), before defiantly flinging out a few random seeds into a neighbouring pot (compromise!), and finally calming down to become what it wanted itself to be: a comic fantasy novel for 8—12 year olds.

It was a true collaborative relationship and not only that, Doctor Anna nursed me through the occasional hysterical stages of mental exhaustion: Am I ever going to finish this? and Will anyone even want to read it if I do? and (although I didn’t say it out loud) Does she seriously know what she’s on about?

Yes. She does actually. One hundred percent. We also had a lot of fun. Can’t wait to start working with her again … on the sequel.”

Felicity Williams
author of Ringlet and the Day the Oceans Stopped
(published by The Cuba Press, June 2019)

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Working with Anna Golden was a tremendous experience…

“Anna Golden edited my first book, Glam Italia! How To Travel Italy. Initially, I was ambivalent about having my book edited because I was sure an editor would take my voice out of the book and give it the same corporate voice that most travel guides have. I could not have been more wrong.

Anna took the time to understand me and where I was coming from. She was incredibly patient and kind. Instead of saying, “This doesn’t make sense” she would ask, “What are you trying to convey here?”

Anna explained everything to me very clearly and made the editing process fun. Working with her was empowering and I feel that she both heard and strengthened my voice, which in turn has made my book more compelling. Her work was exemplary.

I learned so much from Anna with my first book and I am seeing the benefits of this now that I have started writing my second. Anna’s insight has changed how I approach writing by streamlining my work and making it more efficient. I’m looking forward to putting my second book in her hands and letting her work her magic on it. I cannot imagine going through the editing process with my next books without Anna.”

Corinna Cooke
author of Glam Italia! How to Travel Italy
(Glam World Publishing, 2018)

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Academic copy-editor

“I contacted Anna to ask for her copy-editing skills for our collection of academic essays, prior to submitting to an international academic publisher. Anna’s work was excellent. Prompt in responding to emails, accurate and detailed in her copy-editing, and in accordance with the format we requested. And her work came in under budget! My co-editors and I were very happy with the quality of the editing and I would recommend Anna Golden to academics preparing manuscripts.”

Ruth McManus (Associate Professor, University of Canterbury, NZ)

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More testimonials coming soon …