“Years ago I submitted an essay to Guernica with an opening sentence 300 words long, a massive run-on, crazy stuff. It was early days for me and I didn’t know any better. Somehow, Katherine Dykstra saw something she could work with, and with some precision punctuation, she made that monster work. At the same time, she prodded me to think harder about what I was really trying to say in this essay. She guided, but stayed true to my vision of things, true to my style. Dykstra’s micro edits tamed the piece. Her macro edits helped make it sing, helped make it resonate, and this essay was eventually Notable’d in the Best American series. I have since worked with dozens of editors, and have edited a book myself, and can safely say that finding an editor like Katherine Dykstra to support you as an emerging writer is basically impossible. Yet here she is. ”

“I worked with Katherine on my memoir and I was impressed with the precision and overall organization of her guidance. Her feedback was constructive and clear and helped me see both the strengths and opportunities for improvement in my work. She took my complicated story about adoption and finding my biological family and explained to me how to enhance the subplot through my insights as a visual artist, mother and teacher. She gave me the encouragement to continue working on this project with new clarity. I am now in the process of sending the manuscript out to agents and film production companies and am greatly appreciative of her support.”

“Katherine Dykstra edited my essay “It Will Look Like a Sunset” after it was accepted for publication at Guernica Magazine. Her suggestions at the line-level were excellent, but perhaps what was most helpful was her suggestions for perfecting the essay structure that best reflected the message I was trying to convey. I found her editorial guidance to be superb at both the macro and micro levels, and more importantly, she helped me improve my essay without superimposing her own voice onto it (not all editors know how to manage that balance). With Dykstra’s help, the essay went on to be anthologized at Best American Essays 2015 and later inspired my memoir, GOODBYE SWEET GIRL: A Story of Domestic Violence and Survival. I can’t recommend Dykstra’s editorial work highly enough. ”

“Working with Katherine launched my writing career—her loving support, keen eye, and deep understanding made sharing my writing (a deeply personal story about abortion) less daunting. What made working with Katie so special was that she lifted up my voice and championed me, rather than making me feel competitive, or that I had something to prove. I will be eternally grateful for her partnership; I consider her a sister.”

“Katherine edited my novel before I began submitting to a second round of agents.  Her strength lies in identifying the primary themes of a story and making sure that all figures, passages, and plot developments work in service of this.  She was able to pinpoint passages and themes in the book which were leading to dead ends, or introducing ideas which were not pursued later on in the book.  Her comments have helped me to make the story sleeker and more focused, and to cull digressions which do not support the book’s primary themes. She was a pleasure to work with and explained her comments very clearly during our conversation.  I am confident that her guidance will help make the book a more compelling, thought-provoking read.”