Please welcome the latest participant in our weekly Wordsmith Interview series…
Scott Laudati
Age 27
Brooklyn, NY
How long have you been writing?
11 years
Do you see writing as a career?
That’s the goal
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment as a writer?
The first poem I wrote that was published. I was 24. That’s really the first and only time I ever thought, “I did it.”
The Work
Tell us about your work in Crack the Spine.
“To The Girl I Went On A Date With Last Night” is about a cool girl living in the cool part of Brooklyn. It’s about a first date that goes perfectly, nothing’s had a chance to fall apart yet, and wondering if maybe you should just end it then and sort of live in that suspended time. So it could always stay innocent.
What inspired “To The Girl I Went On A Date With Last Night?”
I guess it’s the thing that inspires all pieces about women. The feeling that maybe, finally, your life is about to change.
How long did it take you to complete this piece?
10 minutes. I mainly wrote it in bridge traffic on the way out of Brooklyn.
Tell us about another project you have published or are currently working on.
I wrote a novel called “Pool Boys.” That’s been my main focus, trying to get that published. So far no luck. I guess it’s about that fork you hit as an artist, should you give up and join the race? Should you keep trying. I think it’s really about losing.
What inspired “Pool Boys?”
Ha. A girl I shouldn’t have broken up with, mainly. But also some of my friends starting families and living happily in the suburbs. Some of my friends living in the city trying to make it as artists. I guess the inspiration was the dead end jobs we work to keep funding the art so we don’t end up with dead end lives.
Where/When can we find this work?
If it gets published you’ll be the first to know.
The Methods
Where do you write?
Somewhere close to an ashtray and a coffee pot.
What time of day or night makes you most productive as a writer?
Everything good comes after 11 PM.
What are your thoughts on self-publishing vs. traditional publishing?
I think if you’ve got the funds to market and advertise and travel around self-publishing is fine. If not, I’d imagine every one of your Facebook friends is going to find you very annoying.
How many drafts do you generally go through before you consider a piece to be complete?
The least I’ve edited anything was 20 times. The book probably 60 times.
How do you react to editorial rejections of your work?
I’ve got a folder in my gmail titles “rejections”. There are currently 848. That doesn’t count the paper submissions. Rejection is a feeling you get over very fast.
The Madness
Who is your favorite author?
It’s a tie between Kerouac and Fante.
What is the greatest occupational hazard for a writer?
Once you see yourself being honest on paper, and the writing eventually gets decent, it becomes very hard to go to work and take shit from a boss.
What’s in that cup on your desk?
Johnnie Double Black
The Beatles or The Rolling Stones?
Stones.
Additional Reading about Scott
Personal website/blog: www.ScottLaudati.com
Facebook page: facebook.com/scottlaudati
Twitter profile: @scottlaudati