Influential Woman · Freelance author
Gail Pallotta
Author, Winged Publications and Pelican Book Group
Marietta, GA
Her Story
About Gail
The granddaughter of a Presbyterian minister, Gail helped start a youth fellowship group at her hometown church and an inter-faith council in college. As an adult, she taught Sunday School for ten years and led children's church for five. She served on various committees and participated in starting an afterschool program at the church for children who had nowhere to go when the school bell rang at the day’s end. A people person, she likes penning the accomplishments as well as the needs of others. She is currently a member of Marietta Community Church and the Sonshine Group there. (Son i.e. Jesus)
When she isn't writing, she spends time with friends and family, reads, watches movies and studies alternative medicine. A great pastime is bargain shopping, especially with her daughter. As a descendant in a long line of Southern cooks, she has an overstuffed recipe book with handwritten papers sticking out of it. She enjoys trying out culinary creations on dinner guests from time to time, even though getting together is the real fun. Spending time as a young person in her friend's mother's flower shop, she grew to appreciate plants and flowers and likes to make arrangements. A beach lover, Gail swam in the ocean as a kid and young adult. Now she’s often seen at a YMCA pool.
Gail writes Christian mystery and suspense with a touch of romance. She says, “With goals to meet and problems to solve, the heroes and heroines trust God to help them navigate our complicated world. Storytelling involves me in my characters’ lives and takes me away from the day-to-day grind. My wish is my books will do the same for my readers. If my readers find a message that helps them in some way, that makes me even happier.”
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Gail
01What do you attribute your success to?
I'm grateful to God for allowing me to write, giving me the desire to do it and the persistence to stay with it in the midst of challenges, while I wait for Him to open the right doors and put the right people in my life. Any words that touch others or success I have come from Him.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Learn the craft and write for your readers.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Write. Write. Write. If you really want to write, don't ever give up. Keep learning all you can about the craft by attending conferences and joining groups. Writers must find the balance between being sensitive enough to write from their hearts and souls and tough enough to endure criticism. When the criticism is good, be thankful someone took the time to help you make your writing better. When it serves no purpose, ignore it.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge in the industry seems to be what do we do with AI? It can be a good tool, especially for research, except a writer has to check what AI says, because the information isn't always right, or AI doesn't understand what is needed. Also, there are concerns over AI taking material a writer has worked hard to develop.
Writers are often required to serve as the main promoters of their work. To add to the difficulty, there are scammers who make promises to do grand things with one's books after publication, so a writer has to be careful who she trusts. However, there are legitimate promoters and opportunities on the internet to tell others about books, blogs and articles. Author newsletters have grown in popularity because they seem more personal.
There are more avenues for publishing than ever before, including getting an agent, working with a large or small press, or self publishing.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In work, I value honesty, kindness and a job done right.
In my personal life, I try to follow the values found in the Bible to the best of my ability, especially the advice given in Matthew 22: 37 - 39: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. "Love your neighbor as yourself."
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