Heather Lazare

About Heather Lazare

My experience in corporate publishing (Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster) has helped me understand what agents and editors are looking for—and I help my clients get their books to where they need to be in this ever-competitive business. With more than fifteen years of experience, I edit adult fiction, with particular emphasis on historical fiction, women’s fiction, literary fiction, contemporary romance, mysteries, and thrillers. I’m always looking for bold new voices to tell stories that feel fresh and unfamiliar. I help writers develop and strengthen their voices, tighten (or elaborate!), clarify, and keep the plot moving in order to create a memorable and saleable story.I teach courses on Publishing for Stanford Continuing Studies and Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute.I am also the founder and director of the juried Northern California Writers\' Retreat, five days of fiction writing and workshops in Carmel Valley, CA. 18 fiction writers will enjoy workshops led by Guest Literary Agents and myself, insights from a published Author-in-Residence, dedicated writing time, yoga, delicious food and wine, and conversations with publishing professionals.

Experience

1. Teacher

   Stanford Continuing Studies

   Aug 2022 — Present

   Landing An Agent: To maximize your chances of landing a great agent, it’s crucial to prepare a complete and compelling submission packet that stands out. At the start of this course, we will hear from a top literary agent about the best approaches to queries and what agents wish writers would stop doing (or do more of!). We’ll look at pitches that work before doing exercises designed to help you create your own. Perfecting your pitch will enable you to talk about your book in a succinct way—an important skill when approaching prospective agents. We’ll also discuss how to find the perfect “comp” titles for your book and how to incorporate those into your query letter.For fiction writers, we’ll go over synopses: how to write them, what is expected, what works, and what doesn’t. For nonfiction writers, we’ll talk about proposals and what an agent and publisher hope for, from building a social media platform to what belongs in sample chapters. We’ll also determine how to create a list of agents best suited to representing a book like yours, how to track your submissions, and when it’s appropriate to follow up. By the end of the course, you will have a submission packet to be proud of, ready to send to your list of dream agents.

Education

• UC San Diego

  B.A., Literatures in English

  2000 — 2002

Skills

• Ghostwriting
• Editorial Project Management
• Manuscript
• Book Clubs
• Magazines
• Storytelling
• Line Editing
• Publicity
• Editorial Consulting
• Historical Fiction
• Freelance Writing
• Non-Fiction
• Memoir
• Creative Writing
• Magazine Articles
• Academic Publishing
• Content Creation
• Pop Culture
• Writing
• Content Management
• Book Reviews
• Publishing
• Content Development
• Text Editing
• Short Stories
• Editing
• Books
• Web Content
• Textbooks
• Copywriting
• Creative Non-Fiction
• Literary Fiction
• Press Releases
• Literary
• Manuscripts
• Fiction
• Proofreading
• Content Strategy
• Public Speaking
• Manuscript Development