Laura Cifelli - Editor

I spent many years working in New York as an acquiring editor specializing in commercial women's fiction. My main focus was always Romance in all its varied forms.

I came to publishing as an ardent fan of romance novels and was absolutely the luckiest person alive when I was hired as an editor. I earned a Masters degree in publishing studies from NYU and got my first job with Richard Curtis Associates, a literary agency that specialized in commercial fiction and where I worked with authors of fantasy and romance. Then I moved to Dell Books where I edited romances by such wonderful authors as Joan Johnston, Marsha Canham, and Stephanie Mittman and I established a debut romance program (Dell Diamond Debuts) that launched the careers of Pamela Britton and Elizabeth Boyle. I went to HarperCollins' paperback division where I published books from Kinley MacGregor, Pamela Morsi and Kathleen Gilles Seidel (to name just a few!). And then I joined NAL/Penguin where I spent 10 years editing every kind of romance novel. I ran the Signet Regency program for several year (with authors such as Sophia Nash and Barbara Metzger) and I published 2 to 3 other romances a month including books from Katie MacAlister, JoAnn Ross, Karen Rose, Carla Cassidy, Virginia Henley and Bertrice Small.

For the past 10 years I've been freelancing and have enjoyed the real luxury of being able to do just the most fun part of an editor's job: working with authors on their novels. Editing final manuscripts, collaborating with an author to help map out a new series, or helping an author who is struggling with a story that seems to have taken a wrong turn, freelancing editing is the most rewarding work I've done as an editor.

Here's what some authors have said about working with me:

"An astonishingly gifted editor, I loved every minute I worked with her." -- Sherrilyn Kenyon, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Laura Cifelli is a wonderful editor who tackles projects with insight, knowledge of the genre, wit, and an unerring eye. She has been instrumental in making me a better writer, and I consider her work on my books not a luxury, but a necessity. She is, hands down, the best editor I've ever had, and I am always thrilled to work with her." -- Katie MacAlister, New York Times bestselling author

"I’ve had quite a few editors in my writing career, both with publishing houses and freelance, and Laura is unquestionably the best of them. I can’t recommend her highly enough. She has a keen editorial eye, her reports are thorough, and her suggestions are spot on. I don’t ever want to publish a book without her! She’s outstanding." -- Emily Larkin, author of the Baleful Godmother series