Writing Life & Tidbits & Sneak Peek Interview: Latoya Smith, Editor, Grand Central Publishing

I've been working on a new story that's challenging me as a writer. I want to write it fast, but the characters and the emotional journeys they are on toward deserving each other are taking a long time to unravel. In addition to the characters's journeys being very crucial to the development of my WIP,  I've had to deal with making the core emotional development occur in a very short amount of time.

Time is compressed. That means I have to figure out how to compress time in more pages without being BORING. I want to engage the readers's senses and emotions and raise the stakes at the deeper level during the compressed time. It's not easy. But I'm having fun figuring it out. And that just brings a smile to my face even now.

Another thing that brings a smile to my face is the interview I had with Latoya Smith, editor at Grand Central Publishing. She's the final judge for the Linda Howard Award of Excellence's  Paranormal/Urban Fantasy. I'm very excited about what she had to say about her life as an editor. As part of her interview, I asked her the following question:

If you were to give an aspiring author one piece of advice, what would it be? 

Promote, promote, promote and remember to stay humble.

  

Remember to stay humble. No matter who you are or where you are in your writing journey, that is a most excellent thing to carry forth into your publishing career. To find out more about what Latoya Smith thinks about the "slush pile" and read the rest of her interview, go to www.romancemagicians.blogspot.com tomorrow, February 21st. Polish your entries now. The 2013 Linda Howard Award of Excellence is still open for your diamond waiting to be discovered. Check out www.southernmagic.org for details.

Happy Writing!