Magnolia Studio | Client Testimonials

"Phyllis was always prompt and responsive, following up to answer texts, emails, or voicemails in a timely manner — a rare quality in today’s world. And, for this new author, she was helpful in offering explanations for new technology and the process for getting a book into print. In short, she was a capable and caring midwife for birthing my literary “baby”!"

"I was referred to Phyllis by a mutual friend when I mentioned I needed someone to help put Meet the Greens! into a pleasing form. Taking on image restoration for over 60 messy, colorful images, not including the front and back covers, was a Herculean task which Phyllis met unflinchingly! She was really patient with me and my artwork, counselling this first-time indie book creator with a lot to learn. I know we both finished many days of working on the book in states of exhaustion and pride.

"The fact that Phyllis has experience in just about every aspect of book creation — from concept to design, to copyediting and print specifications — means that she was the perfect person for this enormous job. Meet the Greens! is her creation as much as it is mine. She brought the book to vivid life with high professional standards which rise far above the work of many book designers. Believe me, I’ve looked at a lot of children’s books and most of them don’t come close to the quality of design which she is capable of producing.

"She’ll be hearing from me again as soon as my next project is under way."

"Collaborating and coordinating Imagery's visual branding with Phyllis Peterson for the past eight years has been an absolute joy. The synergy we have developed over time has enabled us to create a seamless flow throughout our marketing, program, and fundraising materials, resulting in meaningful engagement from our audience and donors. Phyllis' knowledge of our aesthetic and branding and her professional approach have proven effective in conveying our message and building lasting connections."

"When I finished the manuscript to my second novel, Wheeler In Motion, without hesitation I went back to Phyllis Peterson and Magnolia Studio to turn my manuscript into a proper book. Phyllis did the copyediting, internal design/layout, cover art and other essential contributions for my first novel, In The Wheelhouse. Because that first collaboration was such a positive experience, it was a no-brainer to rely on Phyllis to do the same thing for the sequel.

"Once again, Phyllis read and digested the manuscript, completed the editing and offered valuable feedback that I readily incorporated into the story. We worked together to find the right cover art to capture the essence of the story as well as several of the overarching themes of the novel. She guided me through the publishing process on Amazon and helped me set up my two books as a series; she even readily agreed to read and edit my draft “series description” when the second book itself was finished.

"Phyllis is dedicated to her craft, respectful of the author’s instincts and preferences, and truly helps to generate a product of which writer, copyeditor and book designer can be proud. She is also extremely responsive and patient with her clients.

"Readers who have ordered or seen Wheeler In Motion have been uniformly impressed with the professional appearance of the book. Whether or not they like what is in between the covers reflects solely on me. But Phyllis and Magnolia Studio have certainly done their part to help me create a high-level product."

"Phyllis came to us when we needed her most! I had so many irons in the fire and the booklet was always being pushed to the side. Phyllis took the reins and pushed me to get it done, which wasn’t always my favorite thing to do, but I appreciate her persistence because we prevailed!

"The effort of the mural project was massive, so of course the booklet followed suit. It’s a complete story that Phyllis learned along the way and because she had not been involved prior, asked all the right questions so that the public would understand the process. We appreciate her hard work and volunteerism in our league."

"I was sooo excited to finally have my manuscript finished! I contacted the “publishing company” I had been following... long expensive story short, I wasn’t given anything I was promised. I was left with an unedited boring looking book that I wasn’t proud of.

"A friend then introduced me to Phyllis Peterson, a local editor and designer. She felt so bad for the awful experience I just had that she wanted to help me. We agreed on a master plan and she started by printing out my entire manuscript and then she sat down to read and copyedit it with a red pen. We changed the cover and the title together, and she formatted the interior of the book beautifully. I was very grateful that it was finally being done properly. Phyllis’ expertise was impressive and I was so grateful that my book was finally in the right hands!

"She then helped me to self-publish my memoir on KDPAmazon. She continues to stay by my side and is helping me figure out book signings and sales outside of Amazon. She designed a professional business card for my studio, and we are also working on producing a business website and finding a screenplay writer with hopes of making my survivor's memoir into a film!

"Phyllis has definitely changed my writing and publishing experience into something I am now very proud of and I’m so thankful for all her help. "

"When I lost my husband to cancer in 2019, I began journaling as a way to cope with the loss and chronicle the grief journey. After two and a half years, the manuscript presented itself as a memoir, and Phyllis was instrumental in moving it forward from raw manuscript to publishable book. Although we live states apart, we met via Zoom and worked as a team to create a book that not only honored my husband but shared the common emotions with anyone experiencing deep loss. Phyllis has a keen eye and suggested edits and additions that made sense. She was respectfully honest during the editing phase, and I trusted her with my story. Her experience with typesetting and formatting created a book that I am proud to share with others. It was a joy to work with her, and I look forward to collaborating and using her services in future writing and publishing endeavors."

"Phyllis is wonderful, knowledgeable and her guidance takes you to the next step. Taking the worry out of it. Very helpful in more ways than you know possible. Finding options to meet your own needs. Thanks Phyllis for being you!"

"When it comes to creating books of utmost value and integrity, Phyllis Peterson, my book designer, editor, collaborator and innovator, has worked closely with me and my co-authors to produce timeless books that are intelligent and artistic, with highlighted text, charts, tables, photos and other features in both print and interactive Ebook formats."

"After completing the manuscript of my first novel, a friend who had recently published a novel told me this: “You'll soon learn that writing the book was the easy part. Getting it published is the hard part.” After trying to shop my manuscript to several literary agents, I got frustrated and put the manuscript in a drawer. It would have sat there for a long time, possibly forever, had a friend and co-worker not told me about Phyllis Peterson and Magnolia Studio. I checked out the website, liked what I saw, and called Phyllis.

"From our first conversation to the most recent, Phyllis showed appreciation and enthusiasm for my story, and she embraced my vision for turning it into a book. Copyediting, initial layout and design of the book interior, selecting cover art for the front and back cover, uploading the book to Amazon, working through the copyright process, the ordering, review and editing of proof copies — Phyllis patiently guided me through a complicated process I could never have managed on my own. She is ultra-responsive and seems always ready and willing to get on the phone or email to answer questions and move the process forward.

"Importantly, Phyllis has a knack for sharing the writer’s vision, and she provides options at every step to make sure the final product is as close as possible to what you wanted. As a physical object, In The Wheelhouse turned out better than I had ever imagined. One close friend who ordered a copy had this to say: “I have had other friends publish their own books. The company you chose is the highest quality I have ever seen.” Other readers have been more blunt: “Great cover! It’s perfect.”

"In short, Phyllis took the raw manuscript I had produced and turned it into a book — a work of art that I can be proud of. If the readers like my story half as much as they like the cover, layout and design, I’ll be very happy indeed. In short, I couldn’t have published my novel without Phyllis guiding me through the entire process (and putting up with my endless second-guessing of myself, obsessive editing and changes of mind). Phyllis is a pro and the resulting product by itself is a testament to her skill and dedication to her craft. I hope to write a sequel to In The Wheelhouse, possibly two sequels. If I carry through on this plan, I will surely work with Phyllis again to make those books a reality as well."

"Kudos to Phyllis Peterson for her brilliant work on Nutrition Essentials for Everyone Ebook, my most important work to date. Phyllis orchestrated the beautiful design, layout, charts, tables, and full color photography. Her commitment to excellence in thought, work, image and production is reflected in each page of our self-care culinary nutrition, lifestyle handbook."

"When it comes to creating books of utmost value and integrity, Phyllis Peterson, my book designer, editor, collaborator and innovator, has worked closely with me and my co-authors to produce timeless books that are intelligent and artistic, with highlighted text, charts, tables, photos and other features in both print and interacitve Ebook formats.

"Phyllis has been my editor and book designer for nearly two decades. What I love about her is her passionate embrace of the content we are communicating to our audience. Her work on our Bauman College catalogs and textbooks was very professional and appropriate for a college curriculum.

"Her design philosophy is inspired and creative as well as meticulously attentive to detail and not limited to her personal preferences. Her interactive approach with writers and editors results in engaging graphics and design layouts that are completely appropriate to the subject matter rather than mere "cookie cutter" repetitions or "one-size-fits-all" solutions.

"She is a professional of the highest order, extremely organized, efficient in her work process, thoughtful, creative, and tech-savvy. She is holistic, integrative and radical in bringing technical information to life and is a delight to work with.

"Titles she has designed for us include:

• Nutrition Essentials for Everyone E-Book
• Spice for Life: Self-Healing Recipes, Remedies and Research
• Affordable Nutrition (2010 & 2019)
• KIDZ Culinary Academy Cookbook
• KIDZ Culinary Academy Training Manual
• Nutrition Educator Handbook
• Nutrition Consultant Handbook
• Natural Chef Handbook

"I will most certainly work with her on future Bauman Wellness projects to enable us to live well during this time of cataclysmic transformation."

"Without Phyllis, my books would remain in written, but not published, limbo. Phyllis is the absolute best at editing and putting my writing into a book format, and following through until the actual books are delivered to my front door.

"Not only is she an expert at what she does, but she is also a great, trustworthy human being, that has become a close friend."

"What a joy it has been working with my neighbor Phyllis! I found myself needing to make a big business change overnight. She was there to quickly and efficiently get my business back on track. "When I started my book, I really had no idea of what it would look like or how to even begin to decide. Phyllis was patient, offered great suggestions, was extremely flexible and most impressively had extremely quick turn-around time."

"For the past five years Phyllis has designed programs and marketing materials for our annual ballet performances to great satisfaction. Phyllis is a pleasure to work with and her sense for design and composition is very intuitive. The programs she designed for us fit perfectly with our company’s aesthetic and imagery and I feel that her design work perfectly reflects what happens on stage. I would recommend her design skills to anyone."

"Phyllis Peterson is an incredibly knowledgeable book designer. She is very professional, easy to communicate with, responsive to author needs, quick to implement changes, and talented at book design.

"I worked side-by-side with her for fifteen years, submitting photographs, graphic creations and text for Bauman College and Bauman Wellness books: Nutrition Consultant textbooks, Affordable Nutrition, KIDZ Culinary Academy Cookbook and KIDZ Culinary Academy Training Manual, and my recent favorite, the 2020 Spice for Life book.

"We worked very closely on Spice for Life, with many editorial, layout, photo placement, and recipe decisions that needed to be made quickly to meet the publishing deadline. She integrated two author's texts, tables and recipes, as well as my photos, into multiple page layouts guided by her exquisite editorial and text placement skills, her adherence to global typographic standards, and her unique artistic sensibilities. The final files were delivered to the printer, along with the online version, ahead of the scheduling deadline. I was very impressed.

"I love working with her and hope to do more books with her."

"Since 2015, Phyllis has worked with me on various projects. Not only is she assisting me with my first book manuscript but she also helped me with the branding of my company. She doesn’t believe in constricting what you envision as an entrepreneur. She understands the importance of getting an idea out of your head and onto paper. She understands the importance of allowing you to expand and constrict a visual idea in your mind, before confirming the final book cover or a website design or a company logo. She understands that it may take you a week to present a final template design for a business card.

"As a business owner herself Phyllis understands the frustrations entrepreneurs face. Whether you’re a solopreneur rebuilding a business or a local rock band, if you need to rethink a business idea or concept she will listen and offer suggestions to ensure your goals expand in a positive direction. Phyllis is patient and takes the time to listen to you because she is aware that everyone works at a different pace. She takes the time to know how you think in order to know how you work. If, you are looking for someone that will always be honest and not sugarcoat anything, Phyllis is a good fit your business goals. But she will offer suggestions to ensure you’re not making important decisions on a whim that may result in wasteful spending."

"Phyllis was a pleasure to work with. This was my first book, and she confidently guided me through every step of the process, from initial layout through the final proofs with the printing house. She did an amazing job of bringing my vision for this book to life. In the two years it’s been in print, I have gotten nothing but excellent reviews on the beautiful feel of the book. I wholeheartedly recommend Phyllis to anyone wanting to bring their own book to life."

"After reading the letters my father wrote home from Vietnam, I knew we had to preserve this bit of history and his story. It took me almost 8 years to pull all the pieces together starting with scanning the letters, the photos from his old photo albums, and recording conversations with my father as he told Vietnam stories. I met Phyllis during this span of time as well, and everything came together — I knew she was the one that could help me pull all the pieces together and actualize my father’s Vietnam story.

"Phyllis was amazing to work with from start to finish of this project. She was patient, professional, helped me stay on track, was empathetic and cared about this project as much as we did. Her design ideas, placement of stories and pictures and proofing helped with the overall flow of the book. Phyllis took the time to send me resources, answer my questions and walk us through the process of self-publishing and copyrighting. We could not have asked for a better experience putting this vision to paper and Phyllis facilitated that beautifully."

"I had little to do with the writing of this book other than living the story. Phyllis did a wonderful job in working with us to put it all together and I could not be happier with the results."

"Phyllis and Muiz Brinkerhoff helped me not only publish my books, but design my web page and make it functional. They are a great team.

"Without Phyllis, my books would remain unpublished. She is the absolute best at editing and putting my writing into a book format, as well as following through until the actual books are delivered to my front door.

"Phyllis has become a trusted advisor and friend."

"As a newbie, learning about writing and publishing my first book, Parenting a Positive Reaction: A parent's guide to help promote safe care at school for your food allergy child Phyllis Peterson of Magnolia Studio, helped me with the last part of the process (page layouts) which I had no idea needed to be done prior to publishing. She saved me time and money by working with me on the interior of the book, back cover and highlighting the essence of the book. She has a wealth of knowledge and knows her craft beyond standard.

"I highly recommend working with Phyllis, whether you are seasoned or just learning, as she is also an excellent teacher. Her guidance for improvements to make my book the best it can be were spot on!

"Thank you Phyllis for all of your helpful tips and suggestions that will benefit many people."

"Phyllis is a great editor, but not only that, during the time we were working together she took a personal approach that was understanding of the busy schedules that we all have... she found times that would work for me. She also was able to capture the concepts I was writing about in a way that allowed me to expand on my work, rather than ever feeling led. As an editor, she has a very special gift of connecting with her clients and pulling the best out of them. In that way she is a muse and not just the editor and designer of one's work.

"Thank you again Phyllis, for helping my dream come true."

"Phyllis Peterson did an outstanding job for me while accomplishing the impossible. She simultaneously formatted two very different books: Grill Power: Second Edition™ and Holly’s Ukulele Method™ both as hard-copy and interactive E-books. This was no small feat.

"Her first challenge was to create Grill Power: Second Edition™ out of incomplete, outdated QuarkXPress files. The first edition that sold 50,000 copies was originally published by QVC Publishing, who gave me the files over ten years ago. Since I never owned the Quark program, I didn’t know that the publisher failed to give me a copy of the cover! Not only did Phyllis do an excellent job reconstructing the cover, she also recreated the interior content and made both cover and interior formatting light-years better than the original.

"Phyllis also created an interactive full-color E-book version of Grill Power that will get any E-cookbook user inspired to heat up their grill and try my recipes!"

"Holly’s Ukulele Method™ was 10 years in the making. My wonderful music editor, Charylu Robert (selfpublishmusicbooks.com) started the publishing process by formatting and editing the music and did the initial content formatting. Phyllis then took over and turned the book into magic.

"She created a cover that is so engaging, people who have never played the ukulele are inspired to purchase an instrument and start playing. She enhanced the interior of the hard-copy book and then created a full-color E-book that simply rocks the house. She embedded all 86 instructional MP3s with each musical exercise and song, making the E-book extremely user-friendly.

"Through our 2-year business relationship, Phyllis was a dream to work with. She always had a positive, can-do attitude, an infinite well of patience, had great ideas to improve both books, a discerning eye for detail, did great editing of the material and always delivered on time or before. I would highly recommend Phyllis to anyone considering self-publishing."

"Phyllis designed and produced a great music lesson assignment book that had taken me years to complete. Her patience and follow-up with me was outstanding throughout the entire process. She was always helpful with each aspect of the project, such as purchasing and setting up the ISBN/barcode and understanding printing options. Phyllis is perfect for first-time authors and publishers. I will definitely be working with her again on upcoming books and future editions of Learn Today, Play Tomorrow®."

"Phyllis has done the layout and shepherded the printing of our Occidental Fools Day Parade poster for all of the five years that I have produced this event for the Occidental Center for the Arts. She was recommended to us by the parade's founder, Kate Price, and I see no reason to change. Phyllis is smart, responsive, efficient and reasonable."

"I’ve worked with many graphic designers over the years and I have to say Phyllis was a breath of fresh air. While we changed directions many times for our flyer, postcard and web collateral, and working with a design committee — all amateurs — cannot be easy, Phyllis was patient, understanding and completely flexible. She took all our ideas with aplomb and incorporated everything into the final product beautifully. I wouldn’t hesitate to work with her again and again."

"Phyllis has designed several lovely, hardcover books for us. They are beautiful, modern and elegant and we’re really delighted with them. She has a wonderful sense of space and economy, and her creative graphical touches have added a special, personal feel. She has been a pleasure to work with — professional, punctual, precise, honest and generous — and has responded very sensitively to our brief and to the nature of the material that we are presenting. She’s now our go-to person for all our publications, and we look forward to working with her again and again in the future."

"I am a designer myself, and so particular that I have even been guilty of replacing periods with different ones. So imagine how pleased I was when Phyllis created my column reprints looking better than I had hoped! She did what it took to get them right, and blended suggestions of her own to my thoughts. I never have to be ashamed of showing them to anyone: they're professional."

"I have worked with Phyllis Peterson of Magnolia Studio for the past few years on several graphic arts projects. She has assisted me in the conceptual and graphic design of brochures for my own business, Dragonfly Virtual Associates, and I have also hired her as an independent contractor to work with my clients. Phyllis has consistently produced stellar graphic arts pieces, finely attuned to the vision and needs of my clients. She is also very responsive and timely with the production of work, always on time, thorough, and has a precise attention to detail. I highly recommend Phyllis and Magnolia Studio for your graphic arts needs."

"What a pleasure it has been to work with Phyllis Peterson of Magnolia Studio on the creation of a website. It was a challenge to elegantly present forty years of Artworks representing my husband’s life-long career. Phyllis took on the task with enthusiasm, while being forthright that creating a website with slide shows in multiple galleries, and to organize the images into multiple galleries for Sculpture, Works on Paper, and Public Works would be a first for her. The website went up in six months and throughout this project I saw that it was in capable hands. I enjoyed our pleasant, collaborative weekly meetings and appreciated her dedication, organization skills and the efficient use of time. With attention to detail, she proofread, checked and tested each entry, solving problems with determination. I appreciate that she allowed me to play a part in organizing and preparing digital images to save on her time and thus lower the cost for me. I recommend Magnolia Studio highly and plan to continue to work with Phyllis and the studio."

"I am delighted to have chosen Magnolia Studio to help me with my High Tide album release. Phyllis poured her enthusiasm and creativity into every aspect of the project. Services included album cover and booklet design, web site design and construction, and electronic transmission of the artwork to the CD manufacturer. The process of working with Magnolia Studio was collaborative with quick turn around and excellent results every step of the way."

"I wrote the books... That was the easy part. Without Phyllis Peterson of Magnolia Studio, I would not have been able to publish them. Phyllis is knowledgeable, passionate and talented. I love her forever!"

"I first worked with Phyllis in 1999 on my 18th book, "MP3s and the Digital Music Revolution: Turn Your PC into a CD-Quality Digital Jukebox!" which won an award for design. Her work was so good and her book design so innovative, I had her work with me again on another book a year later. Last year, when I was setting up a publishing company, I hired Phyllis again. She created a comprehensive book layout for the entire series of books I was working on. Phyllis provides incredibly good value for the money. I will be hiring her again whenever I need solid book design and page layout."

"Phyllis composed text and created page layouts as well as graphic design for The Petaluma Post Newspaper for nearly 3 years. She did excellent work for the paper at reasonable pricing, was consistent with her work and always met the deadlines. I can recommend Phyllis Peterson to other future employers with utmost confidence."

"If you want a designer who provides great service, is thorough, detail- and deadline-oriented, fast and reasonable (in more ways than one), then I highly suggest working with Phyllis Peterson of Magnolia Studio. Phyllis has done work for me from simple business and thank you cards to producing my new cookbook, The New Fast Food: The Veggie Queen Pressure Cooks Whole Food Meals in Less Than 30 Minutes with charts and photos. She also made it into a wonderful interactive PDF with bookmarks and hyperlinks to videos and other cool stuff. Phyllis has been a pleasure to work with. I am sure that my book would not be as aesthetically pleasing if Phyllis had not put her graphic design magic to work."

"Magnolia Studio used the best of today's most current applications in bringing my first cookbook, Love Italian Style, to publication. My book, filled with stories, photos and most importantly, my Italian heritage recipes, was both a challenge and a joy to create, but it would not have blossomed into the book it now is without the guidance of Magnolia Studio."

"Phyllis was an absolute delight to work with. She sensitively received my vision for the project and was a model of patience and professionalism as we collaborated to realize the final design. I was thrilled with the outcome! Phyllis was a joy to work with from start to finish."
— Executive Editor

"Anyway, are you serious about the Book? Let me tell you how it is viewed in these circles. I don't know if you're aware of this, but there is a plan to publish all the talks from January 2008 onwards. It's a mammoth amount of material. We pour over Book of Enlightenment on a regular basis to see how you structured sentences, how you implemented grammar rules, the style, the punctuation, hyphens... We had a meeting the other day about design. Michal said it was the most beautiful book she had ever seen on every level: content, design, layout etc. For the students it is our bible. People have post-it notes and bookmarks and pencil marks. So that's just on a very practical level, not to mention the actual content and the profound effect it has on our souls and our evolution."
— Anadi's Student and Future Editors

"Take a look at the creative work Phyllis does. Her professionalism speaks through her lovely designs. You can't go wrong working with Phyllis...highly recommended!!!"

"I needed help and Phyllis was the first person I called. My job was to build a high quality production group quickly so I called the best publishing person I knew. Phyllis not only came to help, she left her home and flew across the country to help. This is the type of dedicated professional and friend she is.

"The reason I thought of her was her range of skills and experience. She is an artist, a designer, a book production savant and really fun to work with. The first time I met Phyllis she had a can of SprayMount in one hand, a bunch of typeset copy in the other and was having a heated conversation with a designer. That picture is clear in my mind because it encapsulates her skill, experience and passion for publishing.

"That passion and skill has carried over into the digital realm. Working with Phyllis at Ligature and IDG Books Worldwide I saw how she embraced technology as a way to improve publishing. Phyllis learned how technology impacted the process from authoring to publication. This not only improved her skills, but she was able to teach others about technology and how it can improve publishing.

"I value depth of experience and willingness to embrace change. Phyllis has these unique and rare qualities. She also honors the craft of publishing and its heritage of bringing quality content to all people. These are the skills and values that make a true Publishing Professional."

"Phyllis is an outstanding graphic and book designer. She is thoughtful, resourceful, delightful and collaborative. She has taken my work and improved it visually and at times, conceptually. She exhibits excellence with her high integrity, great results and personable service. I give her my whole-hearted recommendation."

"...Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank the woman behind this beautiful layout and book design, Phyllis Peterson. I have never worked with anyone who is more organized, more dedicated and yet, utterly a pleasure to work with. She has turned my simple words into a beautiful book. As both my co-worker and certainly my friend, thank you for putting this together. I've enjoyed it immensely."

(From the Acknowledgments in "Affordable Nutrition" published by Bauman Press, ©2010)

"I worked with Phyllis last semester on editing the Natural Chef Handbook for Bauman College. I was impressed by her expertise and her ability to work quickly without making mistakes. She is passionate about her work and amazingly detail-oriented. I learned a great deal about editing curriculum books from working with Phyllis and look forward to working on more projects with her."