Something Old, New and Borrowed for 2014

by Malena Lott

It's ordinary time. I used to loathe the "in between" — of holidays, life events. I always wanted something to look forward to 

Every woman needs her own power drill. 

- something BIG and bold and photo-worthy.

Now I relish the ordinary day and finding extraordinary moments within each one and I've tried to stop judging a day, a week, a year as "good" or "bad." Now to jumpstart this year, I give you something old, something new and something borrowed to make our writing year a big success.

Something Old:
I get the rights back on Dating da Vinci this summer sometime. I'm thrilled I'll get to give it a new cover, new pricing and control the marketing. And the cool thing about the Internet is even "old" things are new to someone. And my novel Fixer Upper was the first one I self-published in 2010 and it's my top seller now. Pause for a moment and be proud of your past achievements. 

Something New:
I do like to set my intentions for the year so it helps me to come up with a theme to keep me on track. I settled on Get Real, where I've (probably stupidly) committed myself to a weekly blog post and video about a new topic I (and we) can get real about. I started with time because I'm so tired of how much it slips away and am certain I'm the one to blame for any of it being "lost" or wasted. I want to take bolder action with my intentions this year and that means paying attention to what I do and where my mind goes.

I'm currently writing my second Messengers YA book, Genesis, and I know once I commit to daily work on it, I'll love the story again.) I'd like to finish a mystery I started but don't want to commit to that just yet. It might be 2015 and that's okay with me. I also get to edit and publish other writers' work and that's a fun challenge. The story and strategy are my favorite parts.

I think it's important for writers to be broad with their interests, too. We can feel like we live in a cave in a world of all imaginary people. That's why I started a new media site, Sooner Spaces, focusing on stories about stylish spaces and the people behind them in Oklahoma and it's been a blast. I'm getting out of the house, meeting people and getting to be creative in a new way.

Take a deep breath of gratitude that we get the opportunity for creating something new. 

Something Borrowed:
Well, it's not exactly borrowed, but I have set an intention to not buy anything new the rest of this year for me personally. After a closet cleanse, I realized I have loads of extra clothes and if I do need something, I'll try to shop thrift first or actually borrow a friend's. We'll see! I'm also borrowing lots of great advice from people I admire to include in my Get Real series.

Treasuring the things we have help us to feel we have and are"enough."

I'd love to hear your old/new/borrow for 2014 and I hope you'll get real with me this year. No time like the present.

Malena Lott is a storyteller and strategist from Oklahoma. She's written five novels and two novellas under her name, one young adult book under pen name Lena Brown and an advice book, Dance Mom Survival Guide, with co-author Jill Martin. 

5 Things New Writers Ask

by Malena Lott

I get asked out for coffee often, yet it’s not for my sparkling wit, but rather because I’m a paid writer and the acquaintance wants to be. I LOVE to support other writers, and would definitely put myself in the corner of cheerleader, but just in case our schedules don't match up, here's our Online Coffee Chat with an Author. Bottoms up!

1. How did you find an agent? (We know this translates to “how do I find one” so we’ll go there.)

A. Research agents who rep writers like yourself, be sure and carefully read their web site for what they rep and what they are and aren't seeking and follow their submission guidelines to a T. Typically, they will tell you their follow-up timeline. Expect weeks to months, not days. Be patient. See what they've sold. Normally agents put covers on their website and it's easy to look those titles up on Amazon and B&N. It's fine to solicit an agent of a writer friend, but don't expect that to get you signed. Your friend may love your work, but the agent may not. All very subjective.

2. Do I need an agent now that e-books are growing and I can self-publish?

A. Most big publishers will not look at your work if you don’t have an agent, so if you want to “trad” publish, query agents. If you want to skip ahead and self-pub (see question 4), you can still do both and if your sales and reviews are stellar, that would help in your pitch letter to mention that.

3. I’ve written a book. Will you read it?

A. (in my sweetest voice) No. You may be nice as pie and write like a bad ass, but just because a paid writer writes does not mean they are a free reader (or even a paid one.) There are writers who offer consulting, which can also be found by shaking the Tree of Knowledge. You know I mean Google it, right? Other ways to get critiques: critique groups, a crit partner (you swap your stories and give each other feedback) or even online groups that allow members to upload your stories and receive feedback. You’ll get a mix of people who are too nice and won’t tell you what they really think to those who have spoken their opinion and it hurts your feelings, so just have a thick skin and keep searching until you find the right fit. If more than one person is saying any part of your story isn’t working, listen to that.

4. I’ve written a book. Should I self-publish it?

A. Only you can answer that. Here’s what you need to launch a great self-pubbed work: story editor, line editor/proof reader, marketing know-how, e-book formatting know-how, budget to pay aforementioned pros if you can’t do those things yourself, great cover art that doesn’t scream “self-pubbed” and, lastly, a following/platform/network to tap in to for decent sales. You can get the last by building up a social media presence, but I’d take the advice of hybrid and indie authors who are making good money from ebooks and say wait until you’ve written three books and put them up rather close in time frame so they can help sell each other. I found that people who read my summer e-book novella Life’s a Beach, ended up going back and buying Fixer Upper. I don’t have a trilogy, but I can see how that would bring customers back to the register if that works for your story. No matter which path you take, writing and publishing is a lot of work.

5. Should I quit my day job?

A. The one thing you hear over and over from the industry is DON’T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB. In fact, even if you have a contract, that doesn’t meant you’ll be spinning gold yarn ‘til retirement. Writing and finishing a full-length novel is hard enough without the pressure of trying to find enough change to buy some ramen noodles for dinner. Keep your job, eat steak and prove to yourself that you are a committed writer – start a daily routine, hit your word count, finish the book and start shopping it.

6. BONUS QUESTION: Do you make good money as a writer?

A. Can you make a living writing? Yes. For me, that’s because I write everything: blogs, advertising copy, freelance articles and fiction. I also get paid for ideas and strategy, so I’ve wrung out every bit of creativity juice to make a good career. My fiction writing pays for some nice extras, but I don’t pay the mortgage with it. (Yet!) So if writing is your passion, branch out, build up your portfolio, and keep at it.

Good luck to you, writers! We’ll have real coffee soon. Scout’s honor! Any other burning questions? Ask them in comments and the other Girlfriends and I will be happy to answer. Girlfriends, what questions do you get asked? J

Next up: Malena Lott has a short story, “Snowflakes and Stones” in the winter anthology, Sleigh Ride, in November. See her available titles here and visit malenalott.com for fun extras.

The Rebel Writer

by Malena Lott

Are you a rebel writer? I've been pondering the word lately, most likely from all of the Egyptian news and other uprisings and the sick feeling in my gut with the ugly "liquidation" signs at Borders. I also have a fair amount of upheaval and change in my life - our house sold after a tepid try last year and after only two weeks on the market in January, we had to scramble to find a new home and get moved in 30 days. Yeah, that kind of new year. Which brings me to a home for our books - both at the publishing stage and at the retail front.

While I've always been entrepreneurial, lately I've felt my rebel spirit commanding more of my energy. While I'm working on my first non-fiction book about zen, I find embracing change and practicing contentment in rough situations also spurs radical action on my part in an area I can have control over.

Point: My agent is about to put my YA on submission. I'm not giving up on the traditional route to publishing with a big house, especially at my agent's deft command, yet after the writing, the author has no control. For control freaks (ahem) that's rather tough.

Rebel Counterpoint: I launched an indie press and promo service with my triple-threat husband (writer/editor/graphic designer). See, there are projects I want to do that may not fit into a traditional publishing mold, so I'm forging ahead (typical Aries, head down, horns out) and have three simultaneous projects seeking submissions via a contest. I've also marketed for nearly every industry out there. Why not help authors - my favorite kind - with their promotion? I have no qualms about trying something new, something that a lot of big houses can't always do because of the risk involved.

Point: I should revise my "soul novel" I wrote a couple of years ago and incorporate the feedback from the editors who rejected it and try again. New editors and publishing houses are out there. No writer wants to give up on having their "break-out" novel.

Counterpoint: I have other stories I will indie-pub through my Buzz Books line because I want to continue to see where digital publishing goes. I wrote a novella last year called LIFE'S A BEACH that's being edited now and will release as an ebook just in time for summer. I love novellas! I hope more authors I love start writing them, too. I can read three novellas in the time it takes me to read one 300 page novel. In today's fast-paced society, of course short stories and novellas will see growth. (Right, I'm not crazy here, am I?) I self-pubbed FIXER UPPER, and it required a big learning curve, but I'm nearing the top of the hill now, so I know future projects will be easier to manage. (That's the optimist in me talking.)

Another aspect of being a rebel writer is that you are writing what you love despite what is selling or "popular" at the time. Though people tell you time and again not to chase trend rainbows, hearing things like "such and such" is no longer hot or publishers have too much paranormal (well, they do, but it doesn't mean a great story isn't out there), so it can be frustrating for a writer who is spending hundreds of hours of time on a story.

Here's where the rebel writer spirit comes in. Used to, you might think, "I could write this and it may not sell and I'll stuff it in a drawer." But more and more we'll see that projects that writers love will find a home for their story, whether with the new indie digital publishers that can help writers find distribution and an audience for their work or figuring out how to do it on their own. Which is quite empowering, thankyouverymuch.

Are you a rebel writer? What's the most rebellious thing you've ever done in the writing realm?

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Post-Christmas Troll Report

by Malena Lott

I have a word for the week between Christmas and New Year's: VACATION! And not just any vacation, but the kind where you get to pick up used wrapping paper and colorful boxes while visions of a landfill dance in your head. The kind where the kids fight over whose turn it is to use the iPad and beg Mama Bear for permission to download the .99 Fat Booth app, then use your own money against you by taking your photo and showing you what you'll look like as a blimp if you keep eating the chocolates Santa left in your kids' stocking. Yeah, *that* kind of vacation.

 Since I work from home, a stay-at-home vacation doesn't feel much different than a regular work week, other than I'm not making (not kidding) 44 trips to the school this week for drop-off, pick-up, basketball, dance, etcetera. Instead I'm using those precious moments to ready FIXER UPPER for her launch into the ebook world where I hope my book will pop many Kindle cherries. I'm thrilled so many folks got ereaders for Christmas. Let's just hope they *all* don't want to read Dickens' since that baby is free.

Coming soon to the Amazon.

It's not snowing in Oklahoma, either and since I've discovered zumba on YouTube I don't have to drive myself anywhere this week to exercise something other than my fingers on the keyboard and my mouth chewing odd-named food like "summer sausage" in the middle of the day. My husband is a film critic so I don't even have to leave the house to watch the movies in theaters - which we fondly refer to as Awards Screeners in my household.  I even got my young adult manuscript, series' synopses and marketing plan to my agent on Winter Solstice so I really am the sluggiest of slugs this week. I am getting out to visit girlfriends over high-priced coffee and a girls night out for our NBA game in the suite, but I'm more excited about dinner and drinks and girl talk than I am the game itself. (GO THUNDER!)

What about you, friends? I'd love to hear your favorite Christmas gift, awkwardest Christmas moment or special (or not-so-special) New Year's Eve plans. Shocker: I'll probably end the year catching up on films and more tongue exercising (did you know it's the strongest muscle in the body?) with popcorn & M&Ms and making out with my husband. 

xoxo, Malena
P.S. I'm not a film critic, but I did love the following: BLACK SWAN, WINTER'S BONE, TRUE GRIT, THE SOCIAL NETWORK and 127 HOURS. Also, I adored IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY.

P.P.S. Seeing what you look like in the Aging Booth app will not make you feel great about aging gracefully.

The Zen of Writing

           

By Malena Lott

I’m not unlike you: scurrying through life with the keys to the mini-van in one hand and my second cup of (strong) coffee in the other. My children’s voices fill the air (fighting) until it’s replaced by Katy Perry’s “California” blasting through the car speakers as we head out to school, dance, and doctor’s appointments.

Tap into the nature of all things through writing.

            I’m Malena Lott of Many Labels: mother of three, wife, brand and marketing consultant, zumba enthusiast, seeker, Starbucks lover, writer. Ah, there. That last one. Out of all the “I AM” statements, that one speaks closest to the Me-Without-a-Label, the inner sanctum that takes me from everywoman to my divine purpose.

            Just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, what I needed was within me all along. I’m not sure if writing found me, or I found writing, but I’ve been scribbling stories since I was in sixth grade, filling notebooks with monsters in closets, unpopular girls and journeys big and small.

            I’m also unsure if I find stories or if they find me, but I know if I practice awareness, staying in the moment, I See what would otherwise stay hidden. I do force myself out of my comfortable bubble to explore, including estate sales: you know, when someone has died and those left behind sell off the house and all the contents within. I love figuring out the story of someone’s life by perusing the stuff they couldn't take with them. Every house and every life has a story. This summer, I found a coup on the bookshelves: The Zen of Seeing and The Book of Angelus Silesius, both hand-written, translated and drawn by Frederick Franck, a very talented artist. I snapped them up and have spent many a quiet night in the bathtub soaking up the beautiful language.

            He quotes many Zen sages, explaining that it is not some Buddhist sect or school of thought.

            What then is Zen?

            Zen is: being in touch with the inner workings of life.

            Zen is: seeing into the nature of things, inside and outside of myself.

            Zen is: when all living things of the Earth open their eyes wide and look me in the eye.

            I get there most easily when I’m writing. I’m taken both within myself and outside of it, for I get to explore the nature of things and do my best to articulate it with words. Franck did this with pictures. Every artist has his or her preferred palette.

            The Zen of Writing is not judging, but submitting completely to the characters, to the story. Time and space seem limitless. We are “lost” and only realize where we’ve been when we bring our eyes up and step from one world back into another.

            I’ve had two novels published, both journeys about women, and my next, Fixer Upper, will be an ebook about a woman searching for her purpose long after she’d thought she’d found it. Can we change our minds, change our futures, even if that means destroying the order of the lives around us?

            I’m also working on something completely different: a young adult paranormal that came to me as a dream (okay, nightmare) about four years ago and wouldn’t let go. Stories can be needy like that. Finally, I decided I had to write it down to be rid of it. I’m in the revision process now.

            Another great way to practice awareness is within the pages of someone else’s stories. I read at least a book a week, but I’ll leave you with a sampling of this summer’s delicious fare: our own girlfriends’ tomes: The Life You’ve Imagined by Kristina Riggle; Slim to None by Jenny Gardiner, The Other Side of Me by Sarah Pekkanan, The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate. Also, I highly recommend An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor for more on the sacredness in the everyday; The Season of Risks by Susan Hubbard (an intellectual vampire series); and I’m completely absorbed in Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, which really is as good as everybody said it was.