Name:
Liza Treviño
Book
Title: All That Glitters: A Tale of Sex, Drugs and Hollywood Dreams
Genre:
Women’s Fiction / Romance
Publisher:
Koehler Books
Website:
lizatrevino.com
Thank
you for your time in answering our questions about getting published.
Let’s begin by having you explain to us why you decided to become an author and
pen this book?
Liza:
I’ve always been a reader and a writer, since I was a kid. I loved – love – all
kinds of genres: horror, suspense, romance, but Jackie Collins, in particular, always
held a special place in my heart. I adore her work and all Hollywood
fiction. I gobbled it up when I was a
teenager. Eventually, I was re-reading
one of my favourites of hers while I was in grad school in Los Angeles, and it
hit me. Where is a Latina Lucky
Santangelo? I wanted to read about a badass character like Lucky Santangelo, but
I wanted her to be Latina. And that’s how it started for me. I began thinking
about the popular stories I liked to read and decided I was going to create those
kinds of stories but put a Latina at the center of the action. That’s definitely something I wanted to read.
I couldn’t find it, so I started writing
Is
this your first book?
Liza:
Yes, this is my first published book. I have second one currently being shopped
by my agent. That one is a romantic comedy set at Christmas in San Antonio.
With
this particular book, how did you publish – traditional, small press, Indie,
etc. – and why did you choose this method?
Liza:
All That Glitters is a co-publishing
deal with Koehler Books. I went this route because they offered a supportive
and collaborative environment for developing my book at every stage of publication. As a new author, it was important for me to
work with seasoned professionals who loved the book and were invested in seeing
my novel reach its full potential.
Can
you tell us a little about your publishing journey? The pros and cons?
Liza:
After I decided to seek publication for All That Glitters, I read all the
articles in Writer’s Digest and on blogs about landing an agent. So, I set to doing that. Which took some
time. Queries, sample pages, follow-ups and rejections. Eventually, it did happen.
Which was a great day! And, then the submission process began. And that was
another lengthy process of queries, samples and waiting for responses. So, the con of my journey is time. There just isn’t any way around the fact that
trying to get published takes a lot of time…and then, it may never occur.
As
for the editing process that I had with Koehler, the pros were many. Working
with a great editor who gets the story is invaluable. It’s an amazing
experience to collaborate on your work with someone who sees it with new, fresh
eyes. Of course, the con aligns closely
with this, too. It can be hard to hear
that words, passages or scenes you slaved over just need to go. But, it’s part
of the process and, ultimately, it does make the work stronger, and it helped
me become a better writer.
What
lessons do you feel you learned about your particular publishing journey and
about the publishing industry as a whole?
Liza:
That it’s very important to have a clear idea of what you want your message to
be. Whether it’s literary fiction,
horror or Latina-driven stories, know why you write and who you’re writing for.
If you know who you are as a writer, then all the challenges, rejections and
comments from would be agents, editors or critics can’t sway your ultimate
goal. There’s going to be a lot of rejection – that’s the nature of the
business - but it doesn’t matter if you know why you’re writing.
Would
you recommend this method of publishing to other authors?
Liza:
Certainly. It’s a great way to have the infrastructure of a traditional
publishing house and its expertise behind you, but you also get to participate
in all the levels of publication, from editing, cover design and marketing. In
this way, it’s like a crash course in the industry, from start to end. Some writers don’t necessarily want to be
involved in marketing process or selling, and I get that. For me, however, participating in the
marketing stage of the process is great because I like to think about things like
branding and how best to promote the book. And, as I’m going after a new
audience of readers who want to read a darker-edged Hollywood story set in the
1980s that features an ambitious, but sometimes self-destructive Latina who
wants to be a film director, the outlets aren’t necessarily that obvious. Nevertheless, I know that audience
exists. Who better than me to go
searching and excavating that audience?
What’s
the best advice you can give to aspiring authors?
Liza:
Don’t give up. If you have a story you believe in and are passionate about, keep
writing and finish that project. It will find its audience.
//////////////
About the
book:
All That Glitters is a women's fiction Jackie Collins-type saga that introduces a strong, driven Latina heroine at the center of a rags-to-riches story spanning a decade of action. Along the way, Alexandria walks the fine line separating ambition and self-destruction, and discovers that some sacrifices will cost her everything.
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