By Heather Harreld - Word Smitten Correspondent

In Word Smitten's exclusive interview with Marcela Landres, you'll read about publishing's search for voices to be discovered.

This Simon and Schuster editor comments on one of our favorite and universal human emotions. Discovering a resemblance to people you know.

Her journey as an editor takes her through a unique Feng Shui publication
to a Spanish edition of "Shelters of Stone"
crossing bridges from editor to virtual agent - and back.

Marcela Landres is on a mission. A mission that propels her outside of the normal milieu of a book editor. Landres, an associate editor in the Trade Paperbacks division of Simon & Schuster, plays both agent and editor as she scours publishing conferences and workshops seeking the "Hispanic Terry McMillan."

Looking for talent

From the beginning of her career at Simon & Schuster, where she has worked for six years, Landres has actively searched for writers that represent the lives of Latinos who have grown up in the United States.

Despite the recent popularity of Hispanic writers like Isabella Allende, Laura Esquivel and Jorge Luis Borges, Landres is targeting another market. As opposed to works written about daily life in Latin America or those depicting stereotypical Hispanics, she wants to acquire books describing the modern lives of U. S. Latinos.

Landres compares the market for contemporary Latino writers today to the African American literary market seven years ago.

While Maya Angelou and Alice Walker had achieved success, most works in this market featured illiterate former slaves and life on Southern plantations. It was not until McMillan's "Waiting to Exhale" rocketed to success in 1995 that books depicting modern-day blacks gained popularity.

"Before that happened everybody said black people don't read books," she says.

The Latino market is in the "pre-McMillan" stage, with most works describing Latinos who run with gangs and don't fit into their high school because of an accent.

"This whole ghetto story or gang story ...doesn't apply to a lot of Latinos," she says.

"The rest of us ...you don't see that reflected anywhere. I am looking to discover and publish voices that up to this point really have not been heard. It will make me laugh. Every page I'll say, 'Oh my god, that's me or...oh my god that's my mother.'"

Because the mainstream publishing business has not undergone the epiphany related to the market for Latino writers that McMillan generated for African Americans, there is not an established infrastructure - writer conferences and associations - to help bring to the surface undiscovered Hispanic writers.

Uncovering new voices

To uncover these new voices, Landres appears frequently as a panelist or presenter for organizations such as the San Diego Writers Conference, The Latino Book & Family Festival, The Association of Hispanic Arts and The Columbia Publishing Course.

By venturing beyond her desk, Landres has found success acquiring books from first-time authors without an agent.

For example, Landres discovered Iranian-American author Dora Levy Mossanen at the San Diego Writers Conference and subsequently purchased two of Mossanen's novels. The first is a debut novel called "Harem" set in the Jewish Quarter of ancient Persia depicting enslaved women. One reviewer recently described "Harem" as the "voice of an Isabel Allende of Persia."

Mossanen deeply appreciated Landres' respect for her style, insulating the book from changes that would cause it to waver from its original form.

"The style was not changed, but she made it a better novel," Mossanen says.

"It has a very exotic and sensual tone to it, and Marcela understood that. She respected that. Marcela is very interested in strong women characters - women characters who triumph despite all odds. She likes that there is sense of place and a strong sensual tone to it."

In addition to overseeing the Spanish language imprint Libros en Espanol, Marcela is seeking mysteries for the Manolo Blahnik crowd, commercial fiction, gay/lesbian relationships, inspirational, pop culture, motive tie-ins, self help and New Age titles.

"Whatever is already published isn't necessarily new and innovative. Sometimes it's good to look at the shelves ...and really look at what's missing."

Landres' fondness for New Age subjects is what initially attracted her to Hazel Dixon-Cooper's book proposal on astrology spoofs called "Born on a Rotten Day." Landres met Dixon-Cooper at the San Diego conference. She suggested the author meet with an agent also attending the event. Simon & Schuster has purchased two books from Cooper, who describes Landres as a hands-on editor.

"Marcela is a true editor," Dixon-Cooper says. "She line edits the manuscripts. She puts in commas. She put in notes in the margins."

Despite Landres' busy schedule working on more than 30 books a year, Dixon-Cooper said Landres is very accessible to her and willing to answer even the "kindergarten questions" from the first-time author. Landres does like being close to the writing process and has even suggested ideas of her own to authors themselves.

"I am much more inspired and sustained by my choices for I have a vision of what I do," she says. "I don't take an agent out to lunch and say, 'This is my idea. Go out and find someone to do it.' If I am closer to the process of putting it together it works better."

Take for example the national bestseller "Feng Shui Chic: Change Your Life With Spirit and Style." Landres came up with the idea herself, tracked down a writer and guided her on the content.

"It's the first and only Feng Shui written by and for Americans that is useful," Landres says. "The others are much more theoretical. Writers write what they read. Whatever is already published isn't necessarily new and innovative. Sometimes it's good to look at the shelves ...and really look at what's missing."

In addition to treading carefully when opting on a topic, Landres advises authors to prepare themselves for the teamwork critical to publishing a book. Connecting with a good agent is key for authors to learn about what is going on behind closed doors at the publishing house after relinquishing a manuscript.

"Writing a book is a solitary endeavor. You are God. You make up all the rules. Publishing a book is a group effort. When you sign that contract ... you are no longer God. You are a member of the team, and sometimes you are not the most important person on the team. From the cover designer to the production manager, from the marketing supervisor to the publicist, members from every department contribute to the process of publishing a book. We are all working towards the same goal. Usually, the one person who does slow down the process is the author-by missing deadlines!"

Editor Marcela Landres projects (recent and upcoming)
include these trade book selections:

"Josh Hartnett: American Idol"
"The Gift of Shyness: Embrace Your Shy Side
and Find Your Soulmate"
and the U.S. Spanish edition of "Shelters of Stone" by Jean Auel.

To visit Simon and Schuster's web site,
click here: www.simonsays.com 

Reserve a Copy | Conferences | Critique City | 1010-FAB Fiction | FAQ's
Writing Tips | Feedback Form | About WS | News, Review, & Interviews | Impish Distractions
The Cove | Book Fairs/Festivals