This week, TheLatinoAuthor.com is featuring author Edna Campos Gravenhorst. Edna began her career in sales, merchandising, and marketing; however, since the age of twelve always knew she wanted to be a writer. She grew up in a small town in South Texas called Freer, but currently resides in San Antonio, Texas, and St. Louis, Missouri. Read our interview with Ms. Campos Gravenhorst to see what compelled her to pursue her career as a historical research author.
Can you begin by telling us a little bit about yourself; where you grew up, where you currently reside, family upbringing, or anything that you would like our readers to know about you?
I grew up in Freer, a small town in South Texas sixty miles from the Mexican border. I currently reside in San Antonio, Texas, and St. Louis, Missouri. I have four siblings; my father was born in Mexico and my mother was born in Texas. We have a very interesting family history, our roots in South Texas run deep. My mother’s family dates back to a 1768 Spanish Land Grant in Hidalgo County and on my father’s side we had a culandero. My mother’s ancestors joined the Confederates during the Civil War. On my father’s side, whose ancestors went back and forth from Texas to Mexico, some joined the Confederates while others joined up with the Union Army.
I had a twenty-five year career in sales, merchandising, and marketing. I graduated from a business college where I studied bookkeeping in a one-year program. Later I went back to college while working full-time; I wanted to be an anthropologist. The universe intervened and I was not able to obtain my university degree because of finances. At the time I thought it was a tragedy, but now I see things were just lining up so that my second career would be writing.
You have a special niche that you write about. How did you get started in this? Did you always know that your career would be strongly centered on writing books with historical backgrounds? Or will this change in the future?
I have a special niche I write about, which had its birth when I came up with a business idea that would align with my interest in writing. In 2002 I founded a house history research business where historic home owners, Realtors, architects, developers and renovators could hire me to do their research. While researching historic homes, I found that while most of our American neighborhoods were built by working-class people, it was difficult to find information about them. Since I come from the working class, I decided I wanted to write as a way to preserve the stories of everyday people as our stories have worth too!
I knew I was going to be a writer since I was twelve years old and the only writers I knew about at that time were book authors, so I knew one day I would write books. It wasn’t until after I was forty years old and started doing historical research that I decided to write books with historical backgrounds. I am a story teller; people’s lives have always fascinated me. I will continue to tell the stories of people whose lives have a message for us. Some of these characters might be plucked from history, and others are walking among us today.
You have attained success in writing and have had many of your literary articles and books published as well as winning several awards throughout the United States. How has this changed or impacted your life journey? If so, please elaborate.
In my writing, I set out to tell stories. I write because there are stories that need to be told. I write the stories first, and then I look for a way to get them published – some in article form, others in books. The important thing is to get the story out there and if it makes a difference in just one person‘s life then I have accomplished my goal.
The turning point from earning a living in the fashion industry to finding a way to support my writing habit was a five year process. In 1997, I ran across Latina Magazine and found a venue for a story I had written in 1993. I had not submitted my story for, “One Last Fling Con Un Cabron,” for publication because I had not found the right audience for it. I said a prayer and sent off the story to New York, and then I waited for months. One day I got a message from an editor at Latina. When I talked to him he told me a contract to publish my story was on its way. This was the first piece I had ever tried to publish and I sold it! It sold because it was a story that needs to be told over and over again. This is when I accepted the fact that my purpose in life was to help other people by telling stories. I had to find a way to earn a living and tell stories. I wasn’t able to do this until I founded by own business.
When writing for newspapers, magazines, or writing a historical novel, which is the most engaging, most difficult, and what writing techniques are used for each?
Since I am a story teller, my writing technique is the same for articles as it is in books. I sit down and I start writing. In every story I tell there is a message. So I write the first draft and just write what comes to mind. Then I start editing. I want to make sure I have not gotten off course. Usually I ramble too much, that’s what editing is about and I start deleting and reconstructing confusing sentences. When I edit I read the material out loud.
This process helps me decide what I what to keep, what I want to delete and what I want to restructure. In today’s short staffed newspaper and magazine industries I know to send in a ready print story which will require very little editing. I also do my market research to see who’s looking for what and I only submit to publications targeted at my reading audience. Doing the research saves time and frustration. The bottom line for me is getting the message out to someone who needs this message at this time.
What is a typical working day for you and how do you juggle the writing aspect of your career?
Right now I am researching house histories and working on Te de Canela II. After ten years of being in business for myself and writing, I have finally mastered the discipline of working on the projects which bring in an income first. I either work on research or writing. I am not able to do both on the same day. I keep a working calendar where I plan my research and writing days by month. The time allotment is based on deadlines. I handle my writing as a business. Not only do I assign time for research and writing, but I also allocate time for marketing. I have a schedule planned, but I am flexible. Sometimes life gets in the way or I run into a snag where a project takes longer to complete. Unless I have signed a contract which I cannot afford to break, I find that most people are willing to work with you if you approach missing a deadline as soon as you see a problem rather than waiting until the deadline is missed.
Can you share one of the toughest criticisms you received on any of your literary works? How did you handle it and how did it impact you?
Te de Canela/Cinnamon Tea was with an editor in New York who worked for one of the big publishing houses for almost a year. It even went through their editorial board only to be turned down as, “too regional,” without national market appeal. At the time I felt the criticism as saying, “Your stories don’t have worth.”
I went with my gut feelings and self-published Te de Canela/Cinnamon Tea, which went on to become required reading at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in Dr. Kathleen Butterly Nigro’s, Women and Gender Studies Class for four semesters. Te de Canela has brought me several paid speaking jobs where books have been bought for everyone in the audience at other universities and schools.
Be honest about your writing, some of my writing is just to get to the stuff I want to write about, not all of it is fit for publication. Listen to criticism, be true to yourself and take responsibility for your own destiny.
What is one of the best compliments you have received regarding your work?
A few years ago I went to a middle school in Texas where I was to address a group of seventh and eighth graders who were in a program designed to keep students from becoming, “at risk students.” My presentation was about the engineers featured in my books, Ay, Mija! and Ay, Mijo! Why do you want to be an engineer? Before I got on stage I was warned, “This will be your toughest audience; these kids will not pay attention and don’t be offended if they don’t want you to sign their books.”
I got on stage, the students were attentive during my presentation, and at the end they asked great questions. When it was time for them to line up so I could sign their books, I wasn’t given a chance to step down from the stage and sit at the table where I was supposed to sign. In a very orderly manner all the students lined up next to the podium and as I signed, they thanked me and shared their dreams with me. The one I remember most often is, “Miss I am Cuban-American, one day I am going to be a writer.”
What do you hope to accomplish with your writing career? What do you want to be best remembered for as an artist and an author?
I hope to encourage people to find their self-worth by telling stories. I want to be remembered as a writer who helped preserve a certain time in history, the lingo used during that time and a writer who found worth in the stories of the working class people in America.
What challenges have you faced in marketing or publishing your books? What advice can you give to emerging writers coming into the field?
As a Latino author the biggest challenge is in publishing, the biggest obstacle is educating publishers, “Latinos do read, they purchase books, and our audience is not just Latinos.” My advice to emerging writers is to take charge of your own destiny by marketing your work and your events yourself. Most publishers and organizations are short staffed and do limited marketing unless you are already a big name. No one is as passionate about your work as you are. Put in the time to prepare for presentations, events and interviews; these are great marketing tools.
If you had to do one thing over, regarding your writing career, what would that be? Please elaborate.
I would not give away so much of my work and time for free. Writing is my passion, but I also need to earn a living. When I first started out I felt as if I had to say “yes” to everything that was asked of me, which left me stressed out and broke. Learn to say, “No or how much do you have in your budget for a speaker.” There will always be things we are going to do for free and we will always give away some books for free, just make sure you are not giving yourself away too often. When something is FREE, it doesn’t have the same value as the something where money is exchanged.
Can you tell us about any upcoming books or projects that are on the horizon?
I will be teaching a workshop in November: San Antonio, Texas Gemini Ink/Fall 2012 The Story Behind the Spice Instructor: Edna Campos Gravenhorst
“Our most important, evocative, and heartwarming memories often center around the table. Food is more than sustenance. Food encompasses the shared experiences and history that unite us. In this two-session class, we’ll work on excavating the rich stories behind our special family recipes, and preserve that history for generations to come. Bring two of your favorite recipes along with a couple of family photos for inspiration. We’ll combine the recipe, its story and a photo to create a print that you can frame. You’ll also have an opportunity to read your recipe story at a Gemini Ink reading on December 7th.”
Dates: Saturday, Nov. 3 and 10, 9am-12pm Limit: 15 Participants Registration Deadline: Wednesday, Oct. 31 CPE Credits: 6 Language Arts Discounted Fee: $90 To register: www.geminiink.org About the instructor: www.ednacamposgravenhorst.com
Contact: www.EdnaCamposGravenhorst.com
