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Lucia Macro
VP/Executive Editor at HarperCollins Publishers
Professional Background
Lucia Macro currently serves as the Executive Editor for Wm Morrow/Avon Books, a prestigious division of HarperCollins Publishers. In this role, she dedicates her career to acquiring high-end commercial novels that captivate readers and keep them engaged until the early hours of the morning. With a profound passion for literary storytelling, Lucia has been instrumental in shaping the careers of new authors, taking calculated risks on their potential and fostering their growth in the industry. Throughout her tenure at Morrow/Avon, she has cultivated a collaborative work ethic, taking careful consideration of each author's vision and working tirelessly to ensure that those visions become a reality.
Lucia's commitment to the publishing industry extends beyond her editorial duties; she is also devoted to promoting it to newcomers and aspiring professionals. In 2014, she embraced the opportunity to serve as an "editor in residence" at SUNY Geneseo, where she collaborated with renowned New York Times bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub. Her experience in academia has further allowed her to speak at various esteemed institutions, including Duke University and NYU's Publishing Course. Here, she shares invaluable insights into careers in publishing, encouraging students to find their own paths in this vibrant industry.
In the realm of public speaking, Lucia is a dynamic and engaging presence, having participated in numerous writers conferences across the country. Her most recent appearance was at the Williamette Writers Conference in Portland, Oregon, where she continued to inspire and motivate budding writers and industry professionals alike.
Additionally, Lucia hosts the weekly podcast "Avon on the Air," where she engages in lively and thought-provoking conversations with best-selling authors in romance and women's fiction. The podcast serves not only as a platform for discussion but also as a means to bridge the gap between writers and readers, bringing fresh perspectives and insights from the literary world.
Lucia's journey in publishing began with a focus on romance novels—a genre she has loved and edited for many years. In recognition of her significant contributions to the genre, she was honored with a lifetime achievement award from the Romance Writers of America in 2006.
As the publishing landscape evolves, Lucia remains at the forefront of industry changes. She continuously embraces innovative strategies for discovering and connecting with authors and readers alike. Her unwavering dedication to bringing exceptional stories to the public has established her as a pivotal figure in the world of publishing.
Education and Achievements
Lucia Macro's educational background is impressive and reflects her commitment to both literature and the information sciences. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Fordham University, a program known for its rigorous curriculum and exceptional faculty. This foundational education provided her with the critical thinking skills and literary appreciation that have propelled her successful career in publishing.
Additionally, Lucia pursued a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science at Pratt Institute, where she achieved an outstanding 4.0 GPA. This academic achievement not only underscores her dedication to learning and expertise in literary resources but also highlights her intention to bridge the gap between books, authors, and readers through information management.
Her time in academia also complements her professional experience, allowing her to impart knowledge and passion for publishing to students and aspiring authors. By maintaining an active role in the educational sphere, she contributes to the nurturing of new talent in the industry.
Achievements
Throughout her esteemed career in the publishing industry, Lucia Macro has made significant contributions that merit recognition. Some notable achievements include:
- Serving as Executive Editor at HarperCollins Publishers, where she has fostered the growth of high-end commercial novels that resonate with readers.
- Leading initiatives to promote new authors, emphasizing her belief in the potential of emerging talent.
- Being awarded the lifetime achievement award from the Romance Writers of America in 2006, highlighting her profound influence on the romance genre and her dedication to the craft of writing.
- Taking on the role of "editor in residence" at SUNY Geneseo, where she collaborated with a bestselling author, sharing her expertise and passion for storytelling with students.
- Engaging with aspiring writers and publishing professionals through speaking engagements at renowned institutions such as Duke University, SUNY Fredonia, and the NYU Publishing Course.
- Hosting the successful podcast "Avon on the Air," which fosters conversations between bestselling authors and explores themes of romance and women's fiction, while also promoting a deeper understanding of the publishing industry.
In summary, Lucia Macro is a distinguished figure in the publishing industry, recognized for her unwavering dedication to authors, her innovative approach to literary publishing, and her commitment to shaping the future of literature. Her extensive background, both academically and professionally, offers a wealth of experience, making her an invaluable resource for budding writers and those interested in the world of publishing.
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Clay is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Clay centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Clay's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Clay makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Clay isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Clay instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Clay is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Clay can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.