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!

LINDA HOWARD AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: DEADLINES, EDITORS, INTERVIEWS OH MY

The 2013 LINDA HOWARD AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

OPEN for Contest Entries.

No Synopsis? No Problem! 

Enter first 25 manuscript pages in the Linda Howard Award of Excellence Contest

No Synopsis required in first round of judging. Finalists given a week to revise entries and add synopsis before sending to final judges.

First Round Judges are PRO, published, unpublished & trained.

SIGN UP TO JUDGE IN ANOTHER CATEGORY AND SAVE $5!!!!

FIND OUT WHAT THE FINAL JUDGES ARE LOOKING FOR IN ROMANCE MAGICIANS BLOG STARTING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, February 12: Alethea Spiridon Hopson, Editor, ENTANGLED for Contemporary Series.

Thursday, February 14: Chelsey Emmelhainz, Editor, HarperCollins/AVON IMPULSE for Historical Romance.

Tuesday, February 19: Beth Miller, Agent, Writers House for THE WRITE MAGIC/Southern Magic Category

Thursday, February 21: Latoya Smith, Editor, Grand Central Publishing for Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Category.

Teasers on this blog from the interviews on February 11/13/18/20 along with a special link to an interview with Christine Glover, 2012 Linda Howard Award of Excellence Triple Finalist and Winner in Contemporary Series category. 

DEADLINE FOR ENTRY: February 22, 2013 

Finalists Announced: Friday, May 3, 2013

Deadline for entry and synopsis to be returned to coordinators: Friday, May 10, 2013

FINALISTS Announced at a restaurant TBD on July 16, 2013 a day before the RWA National Conference. Pitch with confidence all who make it to the finalist's circles.

Categories:

HISTORICAL

Final Judge: Chelsey Emmelhainz, Editor, Harper Collins/AVON IMPULSE

PARANORMAL/URBAN FANTASY

Final Judge: Latoya Smith, Editor, Grand Central Publishing

CONTEMPORARY SERIES ROMANCE

Final Judge: Alethea Spiridon Hopson, Editor, ENTANGLED Publishing

SINGLE TITLE

Final Judge: Eleni Caminis, Editor, MONTLAKE Publishing

And for Southern Magic Members who Final and/or receive an average score of 90 out of 100 in their respective categories:

THE WRITE MAGIC

Final Judge: Beth Miller, Agent, WRITERS HOUSE

DON'T DELAY. THERE WILL BE NO EXTENSION OF DEADLINES. ENTER TODAY!!!!

For score sheet, registration information, and more information visit the Southern Magic Website at http://www.southernmagic.org/