Serena Burdick, author of Girl in the Afternoon

“I owe the debut of my novel, Girl in the Afternoon, to Laura Chasen's confidence in a first-time novelist, along with her skillful, spot-on, meticulous edits. Ms. Chasen offered me guidance and support liberally sprinkled with kindness. I couldn’t have asked for a better editor. As far as I’m concerned, she is unrivaled.”

Stephanie Delman, literary agent, Sanford J. Greenburger

“Laura is a natural communicator, a visionary creative, and one of the warmest, most empathetic editors you’ll ever meet. Whereas many editors only focus on one genre, Laura has a knack for understanding all kinds of stories—historical fiction, YA, thrillers, literary novels, and many more—and can see far past the categorization of a book, to the heart of what it has the potential to become. When I sold Serena Burdick’s debut Girl in the Afternoon to Laura in February of 2015, it felt like the right fit immediately—and after an incredibly insightful 14-page editorial letter and hours of thoughtful feedback, the book was elevated to a whole new level. I feel lucky to have worked with Laura and I would encourage any writer, new or experienced, to seek out her services.” ​

Liz McDaniel, former Director of Brand Communications at Diane Von Furstenburg and contributor to Vogue and New York Times

“I came to Laura with the manuscript of a memoir I had been working on for five years. Laura was timely, thoughtful, intuitive, and compassionate, without skimping on the tough love my manuscript required.  She deftly and sensitively maneuvered the intensely personal landscape of memoir, while also applying an editor’s technical and objective eye. After what felt like an eternity spent alone in a room, Laura walked in and renewed my faith in what my book could be. She provided an editorial letter that was insightful, comprehensive, detailed and, what is more, actionable. She also went out of her way to meet in person and talk through her feedback. I am beyond grateful and would highly recommend Laura to anyone looking to take their manuscript to the next level.

Jeffrey E. Stern, author of The Last Thousand

"It’s not an exaggeration to say I owe my career as an author to Laura. She was indispensable during every single step when I was writing my first book, from helping envision it, to offering critical insight and encouragement when I was stuck, and even into production and marketing. She’s a rare talent, able to focus in on what’s not working at any aperture. From comma placement to chapter order, from fixing the not-quite-right mood a single word engenders to finding just the thing to make a book’s whole superstructure finally hold together. And her facility with writing is surpassed only by her facility with writers. There isn’t a kinder, more compassionate, more intelligent person to work with. I only worry about recommending her too highly because I’d like to keep her for myself.”

Dan Cluchey, author of The Life of the World to Come

“Imagine you're the proverbial stranger in a strange land, navigating quite suddenly the forbidding streets of a large, complex, terrifying city, without any bearings, completely mapless, while everyone around you is speaking Dutch or something and you only speak an especially obscure dialect of ancient Cappadocian. Just as you're about to give up and go fetal in an alley, somebody finds you, and, wouldn't you know it, she speaks that same dialect of ancient Cappadocian, too!

"And that would be an absurd coincidence, except that it isn't at all, because it turns out that she speaks every language fluently; she helps you up, teaches you the bit of Dutch or something that you need to get around, and guides you exactly to the place you needed to go. That's the best I can do to describe what it's like to have Laura Chasen as your editor. When Laura found my manuscript, she spoke its precise language right away, and her instant command over the essential architecture of its voice made it so seemingly effortless every time she found an avenue to improve it, which was extremely often. Her ideas on plot, character, pacing, atmosphere, and everything else were so good -- and so harmonious with how I wanted to tell my story -- that she could have been the world's most insensitive jerk and I still would have been thrilled to work with her.  As luck would have it, she is the exact opposite.  In addition to being an Olympic-level literary polyglot, Laura is a kind and considerate person, as thoughtful a human as she is a collaborator.  I consider myself endlessly fortunate that she was there to guide my first book through the editorial and publishing process, because the whole thing would've been wandering around lost without her expertise, insight, and support.”

Joel Freiburger, author of The Mapmaker’s Daughter

“One of the most important moments in the development of a manuscript occurs when an editor objectively immerses herself in a manuscript. When the editor is brilliant, this moment becomes a game-changer for the story and the author. Laura brings a wealth of experience and an extraordinary eye to her own process of immersion; her insights regarding characterization, setting, tone, diction, plot arcs, chronology, solipsisms, clarity—to name some of the major areas—aim to bring out the very best qualities of the author’s writing. It’s particularly impressive that Laura also helps enhance the meaning and impact of a given sentence through the subtraction of a word or a phrase, trimming the obvious to magnify the reading experience. Her method of suggesting, proposing, and offering reactions gives new light to the text in question. At a higher level, the themes of her editorial letters are incredibly refreshing, in that she unfailingly grasps the overall and latent intent of the story. In summary, there’s nothing quite like pairing up with a brilliant editor. Laura brings all of these qualities to her work, along with an outstanding track record of publishing experience and knowledge of what an agent—or an acquisitions editor—is seeking.” ​

Spencer Baum, author of The Tetradome Run

“I came to Laura Chasen with a polished manuscript that had already been through many stages of revision and still the editing work she did for me was extraordinary. She read my manuscript with a depth of focus that unearthed the true strengths of the story. I can say without reservation that the quality of my novel is improved after working with her, that it was worth the expense, and that when primary writing on my next manuscript is done I’ll be calling her again.”

A.K. Small, author of Bright Burning Stars, forthcoming from Algonquin Young Readers

“There is no better editor than Laura Chasen. I brought her, Bright Burning Stars, my debut novel after years of crafting it and she immediately understood what the book meant at its core. Together, we tackled big-ticket items such as point of view but also fine-tuned my intermingling of French and English on each line, a delicate process. Her keen insight, passion for the craft, and kindness were sprinkled on every page. Without her, I’d still be writing in the dark today.”