Each week get to know one of our amazing staff members as they talk about their writing heroes, advice to writers, and what book is currently sitting on their nightstand.
This week, meet Laura Zats!
Wise Ink: Describe your role at Wise Ink in two sentences or less.
Laura Zats: I meet with prospective authors and then move new authors through the process of turning a manuscript or idea into a physical book.
WI: What is your day at Wise Ink normally look like?
LZ: Oh boy! There’s no such thing. The bulk of it is balanced between monitoring my email to push books along the publication process (sending a book to editing, checking on a cover from a designer, etc.) and meetings. My two favorite types of meetings are the first one, where we lay the groundwork for the entire process, and the final meeting there we choose paper and other print options for a book.
WI: What types of books are your favorites to publish, and why?
LZ: All books! But I have a really special place in my heart for YA. There’s something about the teenager that makes them the perfect reader. YA books, more so than any other type, have the ability to change the lives of their audience. I love seeing these books shape future generations.
WI: Who are some of your writing heroes?
LZ: Honestly, I’m constantly in awe of James Patterson. He’s figured out a way to build what is essentially a self-publishing empire within the traditional system, and he is a constant idea-generator he makes his own rules, which is why he’s been so successful.
WI: If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring author, what would you say?
LZ: Always keep writing. There are a lot of parts to being and author and publishing a book that take you out of the creative process, and it’s easy to lose sight of why you’re doing what you’re doing. But if you’re always writing, you can always feel like you’re moving ahead in your career.
WI: What are you currently reading?
LZ: The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis
