Cynthia Leitich Smith is the award-winning author of JINGLE DANCER (Morrow, 2000)(ages 4-up), RAIN IS NOT MY INDIAN NAME (HarperCollins, 2001)(Listening Library, 2001)(ages 10-up), and INDIAN SHOES (HarperCollins, 2002)(ages 7-up). She looks forward to the publication of her first young adult novel, TANTALIZE (Candlewick, fall 2007), and a holiday picture book, SANTA KNOWS (Dutton, 2006). Her web site at www.cynthialeitichsmith.com was named one of the top 10 writer sites on the Internet by Writer's Digest. She lives in Austin, Texas; and is married to author Greg Leitich Smith.

Since Cynthia Leitich-Smith is one of those authors who continues to create more and more award-winning books and short stories, I wanted to find out the secret to her success. As I suspected, there really is no secret, other than a lot of hard work. Still, getting a glimpse of how someone like Cynthia works can be helpful to all writers. Plus, she offered some tips for anyone who might have trouble staying on track with their work. Here's what I found out:

Q: I know that most of your books and stories have evolved from your own personal experience. But do you set yearly goals for yourself as far as making your writing "a business" that financially supports you, or do you just write and see what happens?

A: My early stories and characters have been inspired in part by personal experience--my heritage, my mid-to-southwestern settings, but lately I've branched out quite a bit more. As a disclaimer, I've never sassed a certain jolly old elf like Alfie from SANTA KNOWS, and I've never sucked blood like the vampires of TANTALIZE (the fact that I'm a law school graduate is just a coincidence. Really. I promise.).

My husband and I do both write, but he also has a patent law practice and I'm on the faculty of the M.F.A. program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College.

I do try to place at least a couple of articles with the various children's/YA literature journals over the course of the year, but I don't try to finish a certain number of fiction pieces on any given schedule. My goal isn't to publish a certain number of manuscripts, but rather enjoy the process and publish those I feel strongly about. Teaching and speaking augment my income, freeing me from pressure that might lead to work too hastily executed. That said, I do write quite regularly. In my ten years in the business, I've sold five books and five short stories. I've just sent off a picture book revision to one of my editors, and I have a new novel in progress. This to me feels like a great pace.

Q: What do you find to be the most difficult part of the writing process, and why?

A: I'm tempted to say "whatever part I'm working on right now," but that's not entirely true. I used to struggle with rough drafts, but now I just write them and throw them away. It's extra-ordinarily freeing. The blank page is there, yes, but not the pressure. By the time I'm done I have enough of a feel of the character/story/setting that I can write another first draft with more confidence, and if for whatever reason that doesn't work, I'll throw it away too. Usually, I do this at least a couple of times with a novel.

Right now I'm in a challenging place. I've written my second rough draft, taken time to build the world, research, and brainstorm characters, and now I have to integrate all of that into a whole. I'm taking it piece by piece, though. Fortunately, my medium is paper, not stone. I remind myself that the revision process is always there, waiting to bail me out.

Q: Could you describe your writing, speaking, touring schedule just a bit, so readers can get an idea of how you have to carefully manage your time?

A: It's a sort of fluid structure. I tend to speak quite a lot in October and November, April and May. I love to go to the various national conferences--ALA, NCTE, IRA, etc. I also block out time for both the January and July residencies at Vermont College. In addition to that, one week of the month is spent grading my students' work. I have a critique group of five members that meets once a month, and of course I also read for them.

Right now, I'm cocooning, staying home in Austin and working on a new novel manuscript. I've found I can revise or work on shorter projects on the road. But for early drafts of novels, I need to stay put. I need the input of my husband, my kitties, and the resident ghost--basically all the help I can get. Once I've got something workable down, the process becomes more portable.

Here's an average day in my "down" (non-touring) season: My nineteen- pound alpha tabby cat wakes me up at 8 a.m. by screaming in my ear, pretending Greg has not already fed him an hour earlier. I spend the next four hours on correspondence, my blog, catching up on publishing news, and running errands. (Every third day or so I seem to go to lunch with publishing pals--today with Dianna Hutts Aston, Esme Raji Codell and her family, and Greg at Green Pastures in south Austin). Then I check email again. I write for two-to-three hours in the afternoon, have dinner, write for another couple of hours, and then Greg and I either watch a movie or read. Most nights I read at least one novel, plus three or four picture books. Next up is: MY CHILDHOOD UNDER FIRE: A SARAJEVO DIARY by Nadja Halilbegovich (Kids Can Press, 2006).

Q: What is your favorite part of the writing life?

A: I have so many. I love the ah-ha moments when the universe speaks, and suddenly, I have it--the spin/twist/perspective that will make the story sing. I love really living in my fictional worlds, and I'm very proactive about pre/side-writing. For my forthcoming gothic YA, TANTALIZE, I went to open houses to scope out where my characters lived, went shopping to pick out wardrobes for them, poured through magazines to cast "actors" in the roles, and so forth. (Note: I did confess to the real estate agents and shop clerks what I was doing, and in all cases, they couldn't help enough). I also love when one of my writing pals finds success. YA author Brian Yansky just sold his second novel, one I'd had the honor of reading in manuscript, to Llewellyn, and I couldn't be happier for him. The writing life is a journey; it's good to root for your companions along the way.

Q: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to quit her day job and write full time for a living?

A: Don't!

Okay, if that doesn't persuade you, buckle up. First, you're a person. You need food, shelter, health insurance, and in my case to pay the cable bill so I can watch "Desperate Housewives." Be honest with yourself. Will you be okay? What can you cut? When I quit my law job to write full- time, Greg and I relocated from Chicago to Austin, Texas because of its (at the time) lower cost of living. That's a major commitment. Beyond that, consider making the shift more incremental. When I started, I took a part-time teaching job at St. Edward's University. Now I have a quarter- time faculty position. Along the way, I also knew...hoped...I could count on a certain amount of income from speaking. Basically, be smart. Be practical.

And then--go for it! What? You quit your day job and you don't feel like writing? Forget that. Be devoted, courageous. You want to live your dream? Then live it! Have fun. What do you really want to write? Decide and get to work--now!

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I'm working on a new YA gothic fantasy manuscript. It's too new to talk about, but let's just say I'm trying to juxtapose a couple of wildly opposite fantasy traditions. I'm going crazy, pulling out my hair, and having the time of my life.

Q: Could you share your best writing tip?

A: Don't try to be safe. There is no safe. It's your heart and guts on the line, and as long as that's true, you should do the work you feel most passionate about. You. Not the market or your mother or your editor or your pastor or whomever. Tell your stories. Roar! (Or, if you're passionate about quiet stories...roar--that's okay too).

Okay, fellow writers. Take Cynthia's advice. Get out there and ROAR!