Michelle Hazen

Michelle Hazen – Editor

9 yrs as a certified book coach, editor, and award-winning author. Expert in romance, fantasy, YA, LGBTQI+. Book planning packages too!

Overview

I'm Michelle, a certified book coach, editor, and critically-acclaimed author. I'm here to help with editorial packages for all budgets, as well as ongoing support, mentorship, and coaching for writers—whether you're penning your first novel or your twentieth. I specialize in encouraging and energizing revisions. Many clients have said I have a talent for articulating feedback in a way that makes it easy to apply.

I specialize in Adult and YA fiction. I do not take MG or picture books, and I don't work with anything that has on-the-page rape. The genres I love most are romance, fantasy, Young Adult and LGBTQI fiction within all those categories.

I've been through an extensive training program as a book coach through Author Accelerator, I've been an editor and writing coach since 2016, and worked as a counselor for a decade before that. I also love helping clients plan out their next novel, to save lots of revision time on the back end and brainstorm you into your next bestseller!

As a contest mentor for PitchWars, FicFest & KissPitch, I've read thousands of query letters and I know exactly what can hold writers back. As of 2023, all my contest mentees have gotten agents and/or book deals! Previous clients have gone on to win Golden Heart Awards, the World Fantasy Award, and be nominated for many others. I'm LGBTQI friendly, and especially love working on queer romances!

In my own career, I have two agents representing me for different genres. I have nine published novels, a collection of starred trade reviews, several awards, and have had my books named Best Romances of the Year multiple times by Amazon and Booklist. I was also the Grand Prize Winner of the Book Pipeline Contest in 2023 for the Mystery/Thriller category. I have indie novels as well as Big-5 published books, so I know both sides of the publishing industry.

Mostly, I want to make sure my clients are writing the best books they possibly can, while enjoying every day of the process. Are you ready to write happier?

Testimonials:

“Michelle’s edit letter was fairy-godmother-with-literary-x-ray-vision-level helpful!” -Lucia Rey (Adult Contemporary Romance)

"Michelle's innate compassion and kindness, always tempered with a solution-focused, practical approach, made her a fantastic writing coach. I left each session feeling empowered and excited to follow through on the plan we’d designed.

The year we worked together was the most productive in my career. Every author should have Michelle on speed-dial!”

-Emily Colin, NYT bestselling author and IPPY Award Winner

“Working with Michelle is a delight. Her efficient, insightful and supportive edits took my book to a new level. She is unquestioningly world class!"

-Sara Connell, USA Today and WSJ Bestselling author

*Note that I am no longer able to take clients from the UK or European Union, for tax reasons. No inquiries from those countries, sorry!*

Services
Fiction
Contemporary Fiction Contemporary Romance Fantasy LGBTQ Fiction Romantic Comedy Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction Young Adult Fantasy
Languages
English (US)
Awards
  • Great Expectations Award
  • Lonestar Award
  • Southern Magic Award of Excellence
  • Book Pipeline Grand Prize Winner
  • Fiction 101 Contest
Certifications
  • Book Coaching Certification - Author Accelerator

Work experience

Self-employed

Jan, 2016 — Present

Happy Writer

Aug, 2021 — Nov, 2022 (over 1 year)
I taught courses through the Happy Writer Community, and consulted with them to design and launch their book coaching program.

Author Accelerator

Dec, 2016 — Jan, 2019 (about 2 years)
I worked as a book coach 1:1 with individuals in Paranormal Romance, Historical Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Suspense, and Contemporary Fiction. I led workshops in Lisa Cron's Story Genius method for multiple years. I worked with co-founder Jennie Nash to create the Pitch Track class, educating writers on how to find agents. I also wrote the masterclass on coaching romance writers for the Book Coach Certification Program.

Portfolio

Celebrity Crush

Swift, Christy

Forever

Editorial Assessment Query Letter Review
Editorial Assessment
Developmental Editing
Acts of Violet: A Novel

Montimore, Margarita

Editorial Assessment
Fate and Fury

Colin, Emily

Black Orchid Books

Editorial Assessment
Editorial Assessment
Made with Reedsy
The Forest Where the Phoenix Sleeps

Jones, Brooke Marley

Developmental Editing
Developmental Editing
Editorial Assessment
Developmental Editing
Editorial Assessment
Developmental Editing
Developmental Editing
Mr. Rebound

Koleber, Taylor

Developmental Editing
Paradisa

Iannantuono, Michelle

Developmental Editing
Editorial Assessment
My Crunchy Life

Kerick, Mia

Developmental Editing
Developmental Editing
Coming into Focus

Daniels, Eagan

Developmental Editing

Michelle has 32 reviews

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Mia B.

Mia B.

Jul, 2024

Pinned
I had calls with experienced editors inside and outside of this platform, and nobody compares to Michelle. Not only is she experienced, has a wealth of knowledge, AND is a published hybrid author, she's also a trained coach, and it shows. She immediately shared resources for me to dig into and as...
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Brooke J.

Brooke J.

Jul, 2023

Pinned
I couldn't be happier I chose Michelle to edit my first manuscript! Michelle is kind, professional and has a great sense of humour (a real must with me!). She offered awesome insight into the publishing world, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her services.
Elizabeth C.

Elizabeth C.

May, 2023

Pinned
It was overwhelming trying to decide on an editor for my debut novel. It's a bit of a leap of faith to choose the right person and to spend a lot of money before even making $0.01 on the story. And, of course, there are a lot of "editors" who charge way less. Since my first correspondence with M...
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Steven S.

Steven S.

Nov, 2025

Third time working with Michelle. Always professional, always insightful, thanks for everything.
Steven S.

Steven S.

Aug, 2025

Another great experience with Michelle! We went over a ton of query material and she provided some great edits and advice. Overall, this was a great experience. I'll be working with her again.

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Most recent contributions

How can writers use stereotypes and tropes to their benefit when creating a character?

Trope = yes Stereotype = no A stereotype is an oversimplified view of a type of person, based on one aspect of their identity, like race or gender or hair color or where they're from. It's important to know stereotypes so you can avoid them in your writing, both so you won't be generic and so ...
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What strategies can authors use to expand a self-published romance novel into a successful book series?

Series are a great tool for self-published authors, because it's easier to get a reader to buy the next book in a series than it is to get them to buy a standalone. Then, you can be more efficient with your marketing time and dollars by only advertising the FIRST book in a series and letting the ...
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How explicit (or "spicy") can and should the romantic or sexual content be in a self-published romance novel?

As much or as little as you're comfortable with! There are all levels of heat in self-published romance novels, from sweet to spicy. Just make sure you hint to your reader which you are--through your cover and the way you describe your book--so you draw in the audience that's looking for your e...
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