Testimonial by Harrys Stratigakis (2023)

Communication-wise, I was really satisfied with you. You didn't hesitate to either communicate here or on other channels (e.g. Instagram) to provide me with some details about how the work is going and what your schedule is, and you even tried to listen to my side (on what I was looking for) and strove to do just that. It was the first time I was doing something like giving my entire work to someone else, and everything went so smoothly. I sat back and thought how many things could have gone wrong, and there were a lot! And honestly, with you, it felt really easy and not stressful. I don't know if that's a given in your industry (editing services), but it doesn't matter. I was happy with how you communicated, so that was enough for me.

Regarding my expectations on the received report, you also more than fulfilled them. Again, not something that I'm familiar with, but to read my whole book and return with comments on small details to even grander things and provide examples of how a different approach could work better was really helpful.

Speaking about the report itself, everything was concise, well-structured, and easy to read. Including links to go through correlated stages was also quite helpful, because it created "threads" in my mind to easily connect what a single thing can, for example, help me solve two cases at once, or which problems could be tackled together with a new approach. Moreover, it was also packed with content! That might be a good thing and a bad thing for me, but still, you've informed me about its length and how it was mostly original text pastes, but I didn't see it like that at all. It was full of your comments and rewrites as well.

A last note on the report: I could maybe use a few more examples of what I did 'right', let's say when it came to your feedback. For example, if I had an issue with POV, giving me more examples of passages that I handled correctly could help me understand how my style of writing fits your type of feedback. And I say that because I agreed with every single thing in your evaluation. I was reading through it and was like "How couldn't I see that?" So, since you were to the point in everything (and gave me more than enough to think through), maybe a few more examples could drive that point (and maybe pat me on the back).

Still, I understand that you provide a service. So, that's something for you to think about whether it fits the style of what you provide to others and, of course, whether it's something that pairs well with what expectations you instill in others about your work, prices, etc. It's not a comment, by all means, that impacted my satisfaction at all. Just something for you to think about if you wish.

Overall, I would 100% suggest you to people who had similar struggles with me or want to have honest, concise, and helpful feedback on their pieces.

I hope we can cross paths someday and work again together. And when I will finally be published someday with my work, one of the top names I'll be thankful for in that little thank you section is going to be you.

Keep up the good work!

Amy’s response

First of all, I would like to thank this client for their honesty. I value honest feedback, and this particular instance gave me a lot to think about. I strive to put as much into the reports I create as possible, and as a rule I try to avoid including detail that will not help the client push their skill forward. While I pride myself on a light and friendly manner of discourse within the report and correspondence, as it is imperative to me that while discussing weaknesses I show all clients that when their work is with me it is in safe and friendly hands, I also push to disregard the fluff, so to speak, not wanting to step too much out of my professional teaching role. At the heart of this approach, I aim to give all clients everything I have to offer with advice, using my time on the work as efficiently and fully as possible. This is a balance one learns only with experience, and this feedback has allowed me to see that the balance may need shifting slightly. I want all my clients to feel uplifted by my reports, and as a result of this feedback, I will always be sure to include a more significant, designated section to author strengths.

Thank you!