Asher
Editorial
EditorialEditorialWelcome to Asher Editorial. I’m Lara Asher, and after nearly 20 years in the publishing industry, I decided to start my own company so that I could continue to provide the kind of hands-on attention my authors have come to expect from me. I work with publishers, literary agents, authors, and ghostwriters, offering editorial expertise and advice on everything from manuscripts to cover copy.
I can jump in at the last minute or I can work with you from start to finish, helping you to craft the right message for your proposal and then fine-tuning your manuscript. I can do one round of edits or review multiple versions until you feel your book is “just right.” I have edited three New York Times bestsellers and a National Book Award Finalist.
I believe that writing can be a form of healing/therapy and a meaningful way to reach out to others who may have had similar experiences. That’s why I especially enjoy working with writers on their memoirs. I also enjoy working with first-time authors, helping them to navigate the book publishing process and reach a wider audience with their message. I believe the editor/author relationship is sacred, and I’m here to provide guidance and reassurance throughout the process. If you not only want a skilled editor but also someone who is genuinely invested in your book, please contact me to discuss your project.
Lara Asher has worked in book publishing for nearly 20 years as both an Editor and a Senior Account Executive in an advertising agency that catered to book publishers. She has acquired and edited books in a wide range of categories, including: memoir/narrative non-fiction, health, self-help/psychology, cooking, parenting, and design.
She has edited three New York Times bestsellers and the national bestseller and Anthropologie favorite The Gospel According to Coco Chanel. One of the highlights of her career was acquiring and editing The Boy Kings of Texas, which became a National Book Award Finalist in 2012 and New York Times bestseller—and will soon be an original series on HBO.
She has worked on design books with Libby Langdon and Carter Oosterhouse of HGTV, cookbooks with Food Network/Cooking Channel stars Brian Boitano and Jason Roberts, and memoirs with actor Stacy Keach and Latina supermodel and actress Patricia Velásquez. Asher graduated from Princeton University and received her MA in English Literature from Boston College. She lives in Connecticut with her husband.
A New York Times bestseller and National Book Award Finalist. A lyrical and authentic book that recounts the story of a border-town family in Brownsville, Texas in the 1980s. Martinez delves into the complicated relationships between extended family and the inner conflicts that result when the desire to Americanize clashes with the inherent need to defend one’s manhood in an aggressive, archaic patriarchal farming culture. Charming, painful, and enlightening, it examines the traumas and pleasures of growing up in South Texas, and the often terrible consequences when two very different cultures collide on the banks of a dying river.
Now a New York Times bestseller! Just weeks before her wedding, one of Rachelle Friedman’s friends playfully pushed her into the pool . . . two feet too far from the deep end. That chilling moment changed their lives forever. Rachelle broke her neck and was paralyzed from the chest down. On the night of the accident, the five girls made an unspoken pact to never reveal the name of the friend who had pushed Rachelle into the pool—and their bond has remained unbroken. As Rachelle undergoes a physical battle for her life, her friend struggles emotionally to prevent one moment in time from defining her forever.
Stacy Keach is known for movie roles like Fat City and American History X and the television series Titus, and of course Mike Hammer, but he’s also revered in the industry as a serious actor who’s passionate about his craft. In his long, impressive career, he has been hailed as America’s finest classical stage actor, earning acclaim for his portrayals of Hamlet, Macbeth, Richard III, and King Lear. He has worked alongside and become friends with the giants of American culture, from Joseph Papp to George C. Scott, from James Earl Jones to Oliver Stone. All in All is full of priceless behind the scenes Hollywood moments and friendships—from his late-night pool and backgammon showdowns with John Huston to his passionate relationship with Judy Collins.
A national bestseller, this is a kick-ass, contemporary reassessment of one of the last century’s great self-made women from an award-winning author. Filled with practical life lessons for women of all ages, Chanel’s wisdom and bon mots are refracted through current mores and Karen Karbo’s contemporary sensibility. Delving into the long, singular life of self-made French fashion designer Coco Chanel, Karen Karbo explores Chanel’s philosophy on the universal themes of style, self-invention, fearlessness, passion, embracing the moment, success, cultivating arch rivals, money, femininity, time, and living life on your own terms.
From the Olympic Gold Medal-winning figure skater comes the companion cookbook to the highly rated Food Network and Cooking Channel show, What Would Brian Boitano Make? The book contains more than 100 recipes accessible to the home cook, including mouthwatering dishes, such as Crab-and-Avocado Crostini, Butternut Squash Soup with Goat Cheese Toasts, and Linguini with Shrimp, Scallops, and Chorizo.
Food is fuel for the body and mind. Chef Roberts knows that eating well doesn’t have to be boring, tasteless, or time-consuming. With a little imagination, creativity, and advance planning, your life can truly open up to the world of gloriously rewarding foods. Good Food Fast! includes 100 tasty and accessible recipes. Roberts is an internationally known celebrity chef, cookbook author, and cast member of the hit daytime talk show The Chew on ABC. He is also the co-host of Junk Food Flip on the Cooking Channel.
HGTV’s host of Million Dollar Rooms, Carter Can and Red, Hot, & Green finally has a book for homeowners so that they can tackle their own home design challenges—with practicality, style, and environmental responsibility. Each chapter covers a different area of the house, acknowledging the diversity of layouts in today’s homes.
An intelligent and prescriptive book that shows how our attitude toward food often reflects our attitude toward other areas in our lives—and how we can let go of trying to please others all the time and instead satisfy our own true appetites in all areas of life. Dr. Ramani was the co-host on My Shopping Addiction and was the onscreen therapist in Bravo’s THINtervention. She regularly appears on TV, in print, and online.
Most women who are dieting do not realize that PMS and weight gain are connected—and that to really lose weight, increase energy, and feel better they need to consider their monthly cycle. This book teaches women how to embrace their monthly cycle and follow its guidance so that they know when to push themselves, when to treat themselves to some well-earned rest, and how to keep their hormones in balance. It explains what to do during every week of the month to shed excess weight, ease PMS, and do it by working with your body instead of beating it into submission.
The Tribute Center opened in September 2006 across the street from the World Trade Center site as a central place for information about the events of September 11th. In Tribute Center’s final gallery, visitors have an opportunity to tell their own September 11th stories on handwritten cards, which are posted on the wall of this gallery and rotated several times a year. To date they have collected more than 200,000 cards written in 47 languages by people from 120 countries. This book is a collection of these meaningful cards, which emphasize hope and love.
“Having now wearily worked with editors of every stripe and medium, I find myself consistently comparing each experience of 'editing' to my first encounter with Lara Asher, my first bona fide editor. Lara has an instinct and an innate capacity to zero in on your intention, as a writer, and then, if you're losing your focus, help nudge you back into your narrative frame. Very few editors can do that, and even fewer can do it with the grace and encouragement that Lara possesses naturally. I am bewildered at this industry that Lara did not get the same acknowledgment and attention that I received after my first, raw manuscript hit her desk and would eventually become a Finalist for the National Book Awards in 2012—and is now in development with HBO as a series. It was Lara who had the foresight and instinct to see how far my unrefined story could go, and I stand now in full appreciation of her craft as an editor, but even more so: her passion as a reader. You need to listen to her.”
“Lara Asher is a gifted editor. Keenly focused on excavating the heart of any story, her sharp, insightful edits are delivered with care and kindness. Her passion for her work is evident, and her enthusiasm contagious. I highly recommend Lara for any project.”
“Since 1990 I've worked with dozens of editors on essays, articles, short stories, novels, creative nonfiction, and a memoir. Lara Asher is the best of the best. She's not only whip smart, well-read, and empathetic, her sensitivity toward language and voice is unparalleled. But what makes Lara a cut above is her personal investment in her writers, and her gift for nurturing their visions.
“Working with Lara was the single best editorial experience of my life! Well, I should say experiences—I loved working with her so much, I sought her out for my second book too.”
“From our very first introduction via e-mail, I knew Lara Asher would be the kind of editor who could help transform my words and stories into a masterpiece. Her editing skills are second to none, her attention to detail—mindful and meticulous. She guides, challenges, and supports. Best of all, she’s an editor who’s right there, by your side, each step of the writing journey.”