Today we’d like to introduce you to Latoya Smith Farmer.
Hi Latoya, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I have always been a creative person. I can remember using my journals to write poetry when I was in high school. Writing has always allowed me to say the things that I was too shy to say out loud. It wasn’t until I started working with children that I realized that my words can give other’s what they need as well. I am a school counselor, but that was never enough for me. I wanted to work more with those children who had experienced trauma and help them heal from their experiences. The more work that I did with this population, the more I realized that when I serviced the babies that looked like me I had to use stories and materials who didn’t represent them or their culture. It didn’t take me long to decide that I it was time for me to use my love of words to give our families the tools they needed to empower their children in a way that other cultures have been doing for years. Today, I own a publishing company, Always Devoted LLC, where it is my desire to educate, encourage and empower families one book at a time.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road, however every moment has been worth it. I believe the biggest challenge that I had was coming to the realization that I can’t do everything all by myself! I am a creative, which means writing comes easy for me, however, I struggle with marketing and bookkeeping. It took me a while before I realized that I need to speak to people who specializes in the things that I struggle with so I can go back to focusing on doing what I love.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The simplest way to describe what I do is that I am an “Emotions Teacher.” One of the children that I worked with called me that and it stuck. I create stories and activities to teach children how to understand their emotions as well as how to deal with social and emotional situations in positive ways. I mostly do this through the books that I write, however my favorite part of my job is when I get to actually work with the youth and children directly. This is why I am always eager to speak at conferences and workshops. There is nothing like seeing the light come on for the kids and their parents. The biggest thing that set me apart from other emotional health authors is that I write books with African American characters to help build self-esteem and empower our community to feel comfortable talking about emotional health.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I feel that the publishing industry is becoming more accepting of self-published authors and small publishing companies. I believe that our industry will follow the lead of the music industry in allowing artist to have more power over their work and how it gets distributed to the world.
Pricing:
- Super Jacob $10.00
- Hooray! It’s Potty Time $8.99
Contact Info:
- Email: latoyamarie@alwaysdevoted.com
- Website: alwaysdevoted.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/latoyamariefarmer/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alwayslatoyamarie
Image Credits
Darnell Johnson
