Fran Lebowitz - Editor
New York, United States
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 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.
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
Children's - Middle Grade
Comics & Graphic Novels
Crime & Mystery
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Horror
Humor & Comedy
Literature
Plays & Screenplays
Romance
Science Fiction
Thriller
Women's Fiction
Young Adult & Teen
Work experience
Manager Marketing and Business Development
youbloom music festival
May, 2015
–
Present
(over 3 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 (25 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
Fran has 64 reviews
Professionalism
Quality
Value
Communication
Excellent attention, great appreciation for story and character. A very keen eye that is also sensitive to differing aspects of story and what it is needed to get the best version of the story possible. Highly recommended.
Read moreSeptimus buzzard, October 2018
Thanks "Septimus" -- I know I'll see five star reviews for your published novel which really made a huge impression on me. I had a lot of fun working with you and hope we stay in touch.
Reply from Fran Lebowitz
Fran is a thoughtful editor that takes a personalized approach to your work. Her method allows for the writer to get a real-time feel of the reader experience, while also providing you with the page by page editor's notes from the sharp eye of a professional. In addition to the attention paid to each individual page of your work, Fran also shares amazing insights with her editor's letter and fo...
Read moreKristin Wilson, October 2018
Thank you Kristin. I look forward to continuing our relationship. It's been fun and rewarding for me not only to work on the manuscript but to meet you and learn about you. You bring a lot of yourself to the story and that's why Millie is so cool!
Reply from Fran Lebowitz
From the start, working with Fran has been an open and honest, and encouraging, experience. The beauty of working with Fran is her ability to see through the bad and tease out the areas of a manuscript that could turn it into the best it can be. That is an admirable skill. Too often experiences in writing involve the negative and working with Fran has been a breath of fresh air. It's been an ...
Read moreRachel Capps, October 2018
Thank you Rachel. I really look forward to our communication tomorrow. You’re ‘this’ close!
Reply from Fran Lebowitz
Fran has been wonderful. Very thorough and thoughtful feedback. I would strongly recommend Fran. Plan to use her again for future works.
Read moreLeisa Maxwell, September 2018
I'm very much looking forward to our conference call and brainstorming next steps...really outstanding writing.
Reply from Fran Lebowitz
I worked with Fran on my first book: Orc Road Trip. This is my first experience with an editor, so please take everything I say with a grain of salt. I really like Fran. She's smart, insightful, experienced, and pretty darn nice to boot. So I dreaded writing this not-five-star review and put it off for a while. But for the sake of other authors trying to find the right editor for their book I ...
Read moreRobbie Mahair, September 2018
I thought you and your work were delightful and I am sorry for your assessment.
My process is delineated in our initial contact. I don't prefer to use a tracker for developmental editing. However, as you explain, I had fundamental problems with plotting, pacing and character development so a complete rewrite would have been recommended by me and all benefits of tracker, lost.
Most of all, when we spent time on our conference call, more important to me than meeting your family, would be to hear that you were unhappy with the work and for you to ask for clarification. I had said we could talk as many times as you'd like and I would have made all attempts to correct the course. It matters very much to me how my authors walk away for their rewrite.
In the end, humor is subjective and a difficult aspiration. I wish you the best of luck in finding your audience.
Reply from Fran Lebowitz
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