Kara LaReau is an intuitive, exacting, and truly outstanding editor.

— Kate DiCamillo, author

 

Kara is a dream editor — friendly, funny, and brilliant — who helped me bring out the best in my characters and story.  She knows how to help writers find the heart of a book and make it shine.

— Kate Messner, author

 

Kara LaReau is truly a “writer’s editor.” She is a terrific writer herself, so she knows how to get the best out of her authors and inspire them even further.  She is also quick and responsive and a joy to work with.

— Jennifer Laughran, agent, Andrea Brown Literary

 

After working with Kara LaReau for several years, what impresses me most is her ability to see the whole book, even in the early stages of a project. Whether a manuscript needs small changes or an entire rewrite (or, sometimes, several rewrites), Kara has an innate sense of what it will take to turn a sloppy rough draft into a great book. And more importantly, she possesses the communicative skills to convey this knowledge in an honest, insightful, and constructive way.

— Matt Tavares, author-illustrator

 

I very quickly knew I was in good hands with Kara. She understood what I was trying to accomplish, and she asked questions that made me think, focus, and rework my novel in way that brought out the best in my writing. I completely trust her story-sense.

— Deborah Wiles, author

 

Kara LaReau is as sure-footed an editor as you are going to find. Down to earth, but never earthbound, she is also supremely well-organized. I ought to know because she organized me on a very difficult book and I am ever grateful! Kara is one of this young generation’s editorial stars.

— Rosemary Wells, author-illustrator

 

Kara LaReau is an incredibly smart and thoughtful editor who not only understands the craft of writing and editing, but also realizes how to bring out the best in each author she works with.

— Steven Malk, agent, Writer’s House

 

Kara LaReau’s insight and keen eye, along with editorial suggestions both small and broad, have been invaluable to my revision process. She is one of the sharpest editors I know.

— Alison McGhee, author

 

Kara is a brilliant, insightful, and caring editor. When working with a story, she can see both the big picture and the small details; what the piece is now and what it could be. She gently guides the work toward its greatest potential. And being a writer herself, she knows the type of support writers need as they create and refine their stories.

— Stephanie Watson, author

 

A friend of mine, whose parents were physicians, told me that her mother always used to ask, “What do you call a doctor who graduates at the bottom of his class?”  The answer, sadly: “Doctor.”  I don’t know a corollary for an editor whose experience, skill, intelligence, sensitivity, and instinct place her at the top of her profession.  But I do know her name: Kara LaReau.  She gets it all, from the smallest subtleties of the writer’s craft to the vagaries of the market. She’s one of those rare birds: The Real Thing.

— David Elliott, author