Fran Lebowitz - Editor
Former Agent, Writers House, now Expat; two Newbery & NBA authors. I take a holistic, highly customized approach with a plan
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Overview
I'm an expat living in Asia and New York and former successful literary agent from Writers House in New York having represented many bestsellers and award winning writers including Julia Quinn - BRIDGERTON, two Newbery winners, two National Book Award finalist and - fun fact - Dee Dee Ramone of The Ramones and New Line Cinema for licensing. I worked very closely with the company which is now known as Alloy, the producers of Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, Vampire Diaries. That said, I am equally at home with pop, commercial, literary fiction for adults, middle grade and YA and narrative non-fiction.
When the family moved to Asia, I turned my hand to other endeavors. I wrote a book which Bantam Australia published and I am always asked to speak, write pitch letters and edit manuscripts of all kinds. I am also involved in other areas of entertainment including movies and music. I am listed as an approved editor by the Government of Singapore which gives grants to people who want to use my services. I've been busy simply by word of mouth but I am ready to be busier.
Many of the first time authors I work with move on to find agents and are happily published. I sometimes have a hand in that....
Testimonials:
Fran Lebowitz is an invaluable editor. Her knowledge and experience are beyond compare and any author would benefit from her creative and incisive decisions. On a personal note, she is also a great deal of fun to work with."
-- Alice Clark Platts, Author, Bitter Fruits (Penguin)
A good writer needs a good editor, not just any editor.
Fran is everything a writer needs in an editor – brutally frank
and insightful. The best by far I’ve worked with.
-- David Li - Author of Cherry Days (Ethors)
As a first-time author, the help and experience that Fran provided was invaluable. She was supportive throughout the process and her guidance was integral in navigating the difficulties of sculpting my work into a final professional copy. I would recommend her without hesitation."
-- Julian Kim - Winner National Book Award, YA book of the year Singapore
Fran Lebowitz has an incredibly sharp eye and a knack for getting at the heart of the story. She understands instinctively what makes a story work and not work, particularly with children's books. What's more, she's able to articulate this insight in a way that makes sense to the writer. I find her candid comments on my writing refreshing and valuable. She's the real deal!
-- Kelly Yang, Author of Early, Scholastic Publishing/Arthur Levine Books
Managing Director
The Kelly Yang Project Limited
Columnist, South China Morning Post
I am a first time author who has achieved moderate success querying my first project. Working with Fran is what my project needed to advance to the next level in traditional publishing. She is deeply invested in the author's victories whether it be traditional or self-publishing. Her insights are thoughtful and holistic. She sees the small changes that can be made to make a more clear and consise narrative. Fran's feedback is invaluable and I highly recommend her to authors of any genre.
--Amanda Kin, Reedsy Client
Fran was everything I wanted in an editor. She saw the potential in my manuscript but wasn’t afraid to tell me the hard truths about how to make it better. She gave me permission to let the story breathe and be what it needs to be. Fran has an eagle eye for inconsistencies with plot, character and prose. She’s very understanding of and considerate about the emotional rollercoaster of being edited. Thanks, Fran!
--Tara Mitchell, Educator, writer
I am truly amazed at the great work you put in on my book. Your comments are going to be so helpful. It's daunting because you raised so many things that need to be fixed. Brilliant analysis. But it was also so inspiring when you talked about the stuff that worked. I cant wait to get started.
-- Russell Binch, Journalist, Reedsy Client
You want more than an editor. You want Fran. You want someone to talk to about your book with the truth of a best friend and the eye of a coach. Someone you can bounce ideas off of. Someone to ask questions you were too afraid to ask. Fran is a fan, but you have to earn it.
--Joseph Kelly, Advertising Executive, Author, Reedsy Client
When the family moved to Asia, I turned my hand to other endeavors. I wrote a book which Bantam Australia published and I am always asked to speak, write pitch letters and edit manuscripts of all kinds. I am also involved in other areas of entertainment including movies and music. I am listed as an approved editor by the Government of Singapore which gives grants to people who want to use my services. I've been busy simply by word of mouth but I am ready to be busier.
Many of the first time authors I work with move on to find agents and are happily published. I sometimes have a hand in that....
Testimonials:
Fran Lebowitz is an invaluable editor. Her knowledge and experience are beyond compare and any author would benefit from her creative and incisive decisions. On a personal note, she is also a great deal of fun to work with."
-- Alice Clark Platts, Author, Bitter Fruits (Penguin)
A good writer needs a good editor, not just any editor.
Fran is everything a writer needs in an editor – brutally frank
and insightful. The best by far I’ve worked with.
-- David Li - Author of Cherry Days (Ethors)
As a first-time author, the help and experience that Fran provided was invaluable. She was supportive throughout the process and her guidance was integral in navigating the difficulties of sculpting my work into a final professional copy. I would recommend her without hesitation."
-- Julian Kim - Winner National Book Award, YA book of the year Singapore
Fran Lebowitz has an incredibly sharp eye and a knack for getting at the heart of the story. She understands instinctively what makes a story work and not work, particularly with children's books. What's more, she's able to articulate this insight in a way that makes sense to the writer. I find her candid comments on my writing refreshing and valuable. She's the real deal!
-- Kelly Yang, Author of Early, Scholastic Publishing/Arthur Levine Books
Managing Director
The Kelly Yang Project Limited
Columnist, South China Morning Post
I am a first time author who has achieved moderate success querying my first project. Working with Fran is what my project needed to advance to the next level in traditional publishing. She is deeply invested in the author's victories whether it be traditional or self-publishing. Her insights are thoughtful and holistic. She sees the small changes that can be made to make a more clear and consise narrative. Fran's feedback is invaluable and I highly recommend her to authors of any genre.
--Amanda Kin, Reedsy Client
Fran was everything I wanted in an editor. She saw the potential in my manuscript but wasn’t afraid to tell me the hard truths about how to make it better. She gave me permission to let the story breathe and be what it needs to be. Fran has an eagle eye for inconsistencies with plot, character and prose. She’s very understanding of and considerate about the emotional rollercoaster of being edited. Thanks, Fran!
--Tara Mitchell, Educator, writer
I am truly amazed at the great work you put in on my book. Your comments are going to be so helpful. It's daunting because you raised so many things that need to be fixed. Brilliant analysis. But it was also so inspiring when you talked about the stuff that worked. I cant wait to get started.
-- Russell Binch, Journalist, Reedsy Client
You want more than an editor. You want Fran. You want someone to talk to about your book with the truth of a best friend and the eye of a coach. Someone you can bounce ideas off of. Someone to ask questions you were too afraid to ask. Fran is a fan, but you have to earn it.
--Joseph Kelly, Advertising Executive, Author, Reedsy Client
Languages
English (AUS)
English (CAN)
English (NZ)
English (UK)
English (US)
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Entertainment
Music
Fiction
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Horror
Humor & Comedy
Literary Fiction
Middle Grade
Mystery & Crime
Romance
Science Fiction
Thriller & Suspense
Women's Fiction
Young Adult
Work experience
Manager Marketing and Business Development
youbloom music festival
May, 2015
–
Present
(over 7 years)
youbloom is a festival in Dublin, LA and expanding to other cities in the US and Asia.
Agent
Writers House
January, 1986
–
January, 2001
(about 15 years)
Prior to Writers House, I worked at Macmillan in the subsidiary rights department, Lowenstein Associates as an assistant to agent, Barbara Lowenstein and The William Morris Agency as assistant to Mel Berger.
Portfolio (39 selected works)
Front Desk
Kelly Yang
Three starred reviews!* "Many readers will recognize themselves or their neighbors in these pages." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred reviewMia Tang has a lot of secrets.Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests.Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. An... read more
S.A.I.N.T.S. Song of Winds
Julian Kim
Meet the SAINTS (Syndicated Alliance of Irregular and Talented Specialists): Song, the master of the mystic Tao of Twelve Winds; Diego, a clairvoyant who can see past events and past lives; Ronny, a man of unparalleled intuition; Audrey, the ultimate exponent of the healing arts of the Ayurveda; and Zengo, the enigmatic founder of SAINTS. Using sheer intellect and mastering their subtle supern... read more
Shadow Boxer
Chris Lynch
I was nine years old the first time I hit my father and made him bleed. He was proud.It's now five years after his father's death, and fourteen-year-old George is the man of the family. He knows all too well how brutal the life of a fighter can be. Didn't it kill his father?But Monty, George's younger brother, has a completely different attitude. Boxing comes naturally to him. It's in his bloo... read more
Hoop Dreams
Paul Robert Walker
TRADE PB
Bootleg! The Rise And Fall Of The Secret Recording Industry
Clinton Heylin
An absorbing account of the record industry's worst nightmare. In the summer of 1969, Great White Wonder, a collection of unreleased Bob Dylan recordings appeared in Los Angeles. It was the first rock bootleg and it spawned an entire industry dedicated to making unofficial recordings available to true fans. Bootleg! tells the whole fascinating saga, from its underground infancy through the CD ... read more
Olivia & Sophia
Rosie Milne
When Raffles sets sail from the cold, damp confines of Georgian London to make his name and fortune in the tropics, he takes with him his new wife, Olivia, a raffish beauty with a scandalous past. She infatuates both his closest friend, a poet, and one of his bitterest rivals, a soldier. Raffles sees what is going on, but he turns a blind eye – or so hopes Olivia. After Olivia’s death, and bac... read more
The Invasion (Animorphs Book 1)
K.A. Applegate
The wildly popular series by K.A. Applegate is back! The first six books of Animorphs return, with striking new lenticular covers that morph.The Earth is being invaded, but no one knows about it. When Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, and Marco stumble upon a downed alien spaceship and its dying pilot, they're given an incredible power -- they can transform into any animal they touch. With it, the... read more
Animorphs #2: The Visitor
K.A. Applegate
The wildly popular series by K.A. Applegate is back! The first six books of Animorphs return, with striking new lenticular covers that morph.Rachel is still reeling from the news that the Earth is secretly under attack by parasitic aliens known as the Yeerks. And that she and her friends -- five kids who, purely by chance, stumbled onto a downed spacecraft and were given the power to morph int... read more
Animorphs #3: The Encounter
K.A. Applegate
The wildly popular series by K.A. Applegate is back! The first six books of Animorphs return, with striking new lenticular covers that morph.When Tobias and his friends were given the power to morph, they were also given an important warning: Never stay in a morph for more than two hours. But Tobias broke the time limit, and now he's trapped in the body of a hawk -- forever. When he discovers ... read more
Animorphs #4: The Message
K.A. Applegate
The wildly popular series by K.A. Applegate is back! The first six books of Animorphs return, with striking new lenticular covers that morph.It all started with the dreams. But Cassie didn't pay much attention to them. She and her friends have been having nightmares ever since they acquired the power to morph. But when Cassie discovers that Tobias has been having dreams too -- the exact same d... read more
So you want to be a rock 'n' roll star? Maybe you should listen to what Dee Dee Ramone has to say first. In Legend of a Rock Star the myth of the rock 'n' roll good life is destroyed once and for all. Touring is hell, and Dee Dee should know, after fifteen plus years with the legendary Ramones, he's back on the road with a new band and a new set of nightmares. Riddled with acerbic hilarity, Le... read more
Linda McCartney: A Portrait
Danny Fields
Featuring never before published interviews with Linda and Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney: A Portrait is an insiders look at one of rock music's most enduring marriages, and an intimate portrait of Linda herself and of her over thirty-year friendship with Danny Fields. When Linda married Paul she instantly found herself the focus of the intense scorn and envy of millions of women around the w... read more
Linda McCartney
Danny Fields
Linda McCartney died of breast cancer in April 1998. This biography by a friend of over 30 years offers to bring the whole Linda McCartney into view. In 1969, when Linda Eastman married the world's most eligible bachelor, The Beatles' Paul McCartney people said it wouldn't last. Yet it lasted nearly 30 years. How did they do it? What was the nature of their commitment, and what made it so stro... read more
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
Jack Gantos
"They say I'm wired bad, or wired sad, but there's no doubt about it―I'm wired."Joey Pigza's got heart, he's got a mom who loves him, and he's got "dud meds," which is what he calls the Ritalin pills that are supposed to even out his wild mood swings. Sometimes Joey makes bad choices. He learns the hard way that he shouldn't stick his finger in the pencil sharpener, or swallow his house key, o... read more
Love You to Bits and Pieces: Life with David Helfgott
Gillian Helfgott, Alissa Tanskaya
The biography of David Helfott, a gifted young Australian pianist who suffered a severe mental breakdown and was institutionalized. Although brilliant and charismatic, he was insecure and reliant on anti-psychotic medication, but eventually overcame his illness to achieve artistic greatness. This story was written by his wife Gillian, who tells of the powerful bond between them and of sharing ... read more
Zip Six: A Novel
Jack Gantos
An "exhilarating prison novel" (says the Boston Globe) by a 1999 National Book Award Nominee
Summer Will End: An Elizabeth Will Mystery
Dorian Yeager
During the prime tourist season in the seaside village of Dovekey Beach, visitors to the beach are slowly disappearing,and it is up to Elizabeth Will to solve the mystery and find the killer out to destroy the town's tourist industry by eliminating its tourists.
Eviction By Death: A Victoria Bowering Mystery
Dorian Yeager
Struggling with a stale career and a jerk of a landlord, Victoria Bowering is ecstatic when she lands a leading role in a major stage production, a break that is threatened when her landlord is killed and she is named the chief suspect. Reprint. AB.
Life is A B***...and Then You Get Your Period
Dorian Yeager
Humor. Everything you might as well know about being a woman. So true and so funny it's frightening. Full color cover. Includes "The High Cost of Being Cute As A Button," the "Three Great Female Lies," among sixteen chapters; 22 illustrations and a certificate of womanly achievement. The perfect stocking stuffer.
Fruit Flies, FIsh & Fortune Cookies
Anne; Anne LeMieux (Author) LeMieux
![By Randi Reisfeld Who's Your Fave Rave? [Paperback]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/512ZcQ4ne7L._SL160_.jpg)
In excellent condition!
An American Betty in Paris (Clueless)
Randi Reisfeld
Cher's got her Gold Card and she's going to supervise Josh in Paris. Cher's also got cousins in Paris, and they've got love trouble - she'll fix their problems in a snap. Now if only she can fix her own when she spots Josh with a French girl on his arm.
Power Of Two (T*witches)
R. Reisfeld, H.B. Gilmour
Identical twins. Separated at birth. For one very good reason . . . Camryn Barnes Smart, upbeat and popular, Cam is all about friends, family, school, and soccer. She¹s best of breed all around. Except for one bone-chilling secret. Cam sees things happening before they happen. Very bad things. Alexandra Fielding Spunky, punky, and sarcastic, Alex is all about making it from day to day. It¹s ju... read more
Building A Mystery (Twitches #2)
H. B. Gilmour, Randi Reisfeld
Thanks to a smash hit Disney Channel movie, we are reissuing the first two books in this popular series with fabulous new covers!The twins are back in this second magical adventure!Twin witches Cam and Alexa couldn't be more different (Cam is a pretty and cheerful Ms. Popular, Alex is a sullen punk girl), but what they've got in common are their witchy powers! And when a cute, mysterious new b... read more
Oceanworlds
J.P. Landau
If you were in awe of books like The Martian and 2001: A Space Odyssey or movies like Interstellar and Apollo 13, get ready for a story destined to become a Sci-Fi classic – one with the potential to leap from fiction into reality and become the greatest adventure on which humankind has ever embarked.September 7 2030. Mission Day 1179. Late at night inside the two-person Dragon spacecraft rest... read more
Hollywood Joyride (Nick and Celine Book 1)
Anton Rolor
Hollywood, 1962… Raised by an alcoholic, Vegas show-girl, fifteen year old Celine, endowed with her mother’s beauty, struggles to find stability. Determined to take any path away from glamour worship, she seeks genuine love. When the strapping Nick Cody appears with wit, a subversive capacity, and theatrics, she finds it hard to resist his ability to turn Hollywood on itself.Teenage Nick has t... read more
Deprivation
Roy Freirich
After a mysterious, silent child is found abandoned on the beach clutching a handheld video game, residents and tourists alike find themselves utterly unable to sleep. Exhaustion impairs judgment, delusions become hysteria, and mob rule explodes into shocking violence. Told from three perspectives: Chief of Police Mays tries to keep order, teenaged tourist Cort and her friends compete in a dan... read more
An extraordinary and inspiring chronicle of one woman’s harrowing journey to become the first female to kayak the entire Amazon River.Part memoir, part feminist manifesto, Amazon Woman shows what incredible feats we are capable of and will encourage people, especially women, across all backgrounds and ages to find the courage and strength to live the life they’ve imagined.This 148-day journey ... read more
Bridgerton: The Duke and I (Bridgertons Book 1)
Quinn, Julia
Splendid (Blydon Book 1)
Quinn, Julia
To Catch an Heiress (Agents of the Crown Book 1)
Quinn, Julia
Everything and the Moon (Lyndon Sisters Book 1)
Quinn, Julia
Brighter Than the Sun (Lyndon Sisters Book 2)
Quinn, Julia
Dancing at Midnight (Blydon Book 2)
Quinn, Julia
Minx (Avon Historical Romance)
Quinn, Julia
How to Marry a Marquis (Agents of the Crown Book 2)
Quinn, Julia
Fran has 136 reviews
Professionalism
Professionalism
Quality
Quality
Value
Value
Communication & Punctuality
Communication & Punctuality
Fran is awesome.
End of story.
Working with her is a lot like sitting on one end of a couch trying very, very hard to ignore the horribly menacing, saliva dripping monster of a plot hole making that cool/terrifying predator sound on the other side. What Fran does is clamp her hands on the side of your face and turn your head really quick and yell, ‘See it! See it!’.
When that happens, fa...
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Aaron S, September 2022
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Reply from Fran Lebowitz
Fran and I bonded immediately. We both share having lived experiences in Baltimore and New York which I think made her a great fit to help guide the voice and plot of my WIP.
Like other reviewers here, I will second that she is tough, but fair. She doesn't flinch with pointing out what isn't working, but is also very quick with lauding the writer on what does. She has a knack of quilting tho...
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Brian Kuebler, September 2022
Reply from Fran Lebowitz
If you want honest, straightforward feedback about your manuscript, Fran will be there for you. She's willing and able to have difficult discussions for the good of the book. While giving you great feedback, she also realizes you have the final decision and respects your desires. I'm glad I decided to work with her.
Michael Hertzog, September 2022
Reply from Fran Lebowitz
Fran made it clear my story was not working. "I'm at page 60 and still don't know what the story is about." She caught logic and continuity errors. She also caught what I did right. Previous readers and editors were too nice. I need the facts. Fran gave them to me. And she was nice about it.
Highly recommended.
Richard Hibbits, August 2022
Reply from Fran Lebowitz
Fran will tear you a new one (in the best possible way), making you question why you needed the original in the first place. While she's no soft and gentle surgeon, what she is is honest, precise, to the point – getting to the heart of the matter rather than dancing around the issue(s). Yes, you will feel pain. Yes, you will question some of your choices, but once Fran is done performing surger...
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Mark T. Rasmussen, July 2022
Reply from Fran Lebowitz
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