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Latoya Smith - Assistant Editor
Tuesday, 07 July 2009 20:31
Interview with Latoya Smith, Editorial Assistant at Grand Central Publishing
How long have you been with Grand Central? About 2 ½ years
How did you get started? It’s crazy how I started out in book publishing. I’ve always had a passion for books. I wrote my first book when I was just a kid. It was about a rabbit trying to find his way in the world. I wrote it for the children in my mom’s daycare center that I went to during the summer when I had nothing else to do. I was an avid Scholastic fan, more excited to get a new book than I was to see the latest movie or watch TGIF on ABC. I never even realized the numerous career opportunities in book publishing until I started working with Ms. Teri Woods. I was away at college when my cousin called me from New York and said that Teri was looking for an assistant. I had just read TRUE TO THE GAME and I was so excited to have the opportunity to work with a legend such as herself. It was amazing how persistence and drive led me to a full-time position with her during the summer of 2002 as I continued through my college career. It was there that I learned the ins and outs of publishing. I did everything from customer service, order fulfillment, editing, publicity, you name it. It was then that I knew I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. When I left Teri in 2005, I got a position working with Karen Thomas at Kensington Publishing. Although I remained in the publishing field, I learned so much working there and saw that a book editor was what I wanted to become.
What projects have you worked on that you're most proud of? Honestly, there are so many. Through Teri and Karen I’ve had the luxury of touching so many projects. I can honestly say my first accomplishment was when Teri put me in the dedication/acknowledgements section of her books. That made me feel really good and special that someone appreciated me enough to acknowledge me in their work. It still moves me to this day, even more so with my own authors.
What are you currently seeking overall? Currently, I just want to continue to excel in my field. I’m constantly learning ways of improvement. Finding my place in this industry and making a name for myself. I want to be known for my work and not for who I know. I want to always be recognized for being me and for working hard. Not just because I know someone in the industry who spoke my praises.
What are you currently seeking specifically for multi-cultural stories or projects? To be honest, I feel like we have excelled. In speaking to industry professionals who have been around for decades, it’s a blessing to see so many bestsellers from authors of color, and not only that but to know that “we” made them bestsellers. We stuck together and supported our own to make them big. Of course I only see that going a step further and finally seeing more multicultural projects getting main stream attention. I feel like Oprah has helped that a lot with her Oprah picks (bringing a larger audience to books they may not have ordinarily picked up). But it has to go beyond that, and I hope I am around to see it happen or even be involved in the process. That would be a blessing.
What do you not want to see any more of? Nothing. I think publishing works in cycles. There is always going to be too much of something at a given time. And it is then that the cream of the crop rise to the top and the others fall out. Every genre has that moment when it’s big and that moment when it’s idle, but then there’s that one writer who brings a new spin and makes it new and wonderful again.
What challenges or opportunities have being a person of color created in your career? It is sometimes difficult getting projects/ideas across when it doesn’t appeal to the masses. That seems to be a big challenge. The majority not understanding the market and being a little closed-minded due to lack of comprehension.
What are you currently doing to open more doors for people of color who want to work behind the scenes and as authors? Making sure they understand what it takes to be successful. Urging them to hone their craft, go to conferences and go to workshops. Do the research. Find an agent. Know the market. It’s too often that people use excuses and want someone to use their “contacts” to help them get somewhere. It’s just about doing the work and making things happen for yourself.
What specific tips do you have for writer's wanting to break in and stand a chance of having you acquire their work? Ultimately it’s about the story. Crafting a great story and making sure that it’s executed the right way is key. Authors don’t realize how much typos, bad grammar, and under developed stories can really take away from their talent. You have to perfect your story and make it as perfect as possible before sending it out. And by this I don’t mean, writing a story and passing it along to your friends and family to read (that’s nice in the beginning stages but not quite what is needed). Authors should be passing their work on to industry professionals. Taking classes, going to seminars, learning your craft. One sure way is participating in contests. Often times conference/chapter members are published authors. There, you get professional opinions about your work and this enables you to make it as perfect as it can be before you go out with it either to an agent or author. If you, the writer, don’t believe in your work 100 percent, how can you expect someone else to?
