Editor & Copywriter

Editor of forensic reports and police procedurals, true crime, crime thrillers, and dystopian and science fiction

Ghostwriter of police procedurals, true crime, crime thrillers, and dystopian and science fiction.

As a former prosecutor who is trained to listen to how people tell their stories, I learned to play close attention to how they say things as well as what they say. I can help with dialogue, characterization, and storytelling. A jury trial is essentially a way to tell a group of people from different backgrounds about a thing that happened. It might be a simple event that took moments and caused ripples of grief and harm or a complicated event that involved months or years of planning and many people to execute. I combine the skills gleaned from my 13 years as a prosecutor and 4 years as a child welfare attorney and my training and experience as an editor to help you tell your story to your audience accurately and effectively.

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As an experienced book editor, I bring my skills as a trial lawyer to bear when I help your book be the best that it can be. If your novel has fight scenes or involves police procedures, law, forensic psychology, or serious mental illness, I can help make sure to add realism to your writing and make sure that there aren’t serious factual errors or plot holes in your book. This is especially true if you are writing violence.

I also edit psychological forensic reports, medicolegal reports, journal articles in selected disciplines, and memoir and autobiography.

Or perhaps you have a story in mind or a dynamite concept, but the idea of writing the book yourself is an overwhelming idea. I can ghostwrite the book for you. The book will be your book with your ideas in your voice.

In order to be effective, your book has to grab the reader from the very first sentence and flow seamlessly until the last page. In between, the reader needs to stay engaged. I can help flag those parts of your book that involve loose ends, tangents, or inconsistencies.

Even nonfiction—from forensic psychological reports to journal articles—has to be readable, clear, and organized, with no significant mechanical errors.

I have accompanied police on search warrants, observed autopsies, accompanied police on search warrants, observed autopsies, and been to countless crime scenes. I’ve prosecuted homicides, robberies, animal cruelty, drug offenses, and many others. I also specialized in insanity defense cases.

I can help your book be as realistic and professional as possible.

Latest Blog Posts

The Singular They: A Prescriptivist’s Dream

by Karin Cather | Oct 20, 2020

When someone goes to the store, they should wear a mask so they don't spread COVID-19. They? Yes, they. Because it's the correct singular pronoun to use when you don't know the gender of the person you're talking about or when you could be talking about any of them....

Preventing Conflict: The Ins and Outs of an Editing Contract

by Karin Cather | Aug 23, 2020

Disclaimer First of all, nothing I’m about to tell you is legal advice. You should always consult an attorney because rules vary by jurisdiction. I’m speaking here as an editor about my own practice and about the kinds of pitfalls that arise when there isn’t a service...

How to Write a Fight ScenePart 2—Hand-to-Hand Combat

by Karin Cather | Aug 13, 2020

There are several ways to write a fight scene badly. I’ll show you how to write a fight scene well.

How to Write a Fight Scene – Part 1: Gunfights and Knife Fights

by Karin Cather | May 16, 2019

Today we’re going to talk about how to write a fight scene, specifically gunfight and knife-fight scenes. Written well, fight scenes grip the reader; contribute to atmosphere and mood; and show the reader the strength and conscience of the protagonist, victim, or...

How to Pick an Editor and Avoid Bad Reviews

by Karin Cather | Apr 13, 2019

You have worked hard on your manuscript and you have made more revisions than you can count. You may have had friends and family read it. You may even be a talented writer who has just written what will be a best seller. Given all of that, it's hard for you to imagine...

Act Your Age: Writing Child Characters

by Karin Cather | Sep 23, 2018

Have you gotten some negative feedback about your characterization? Even the most minor character who is behaving, thinking, or speaking at a level that is inconsistent with their age, education, occupation, and level of experience will hurt your story and cost you...