I hope you remember how hard it was for me to find a literary agent for my manuscript. (If not, please check my previous blog posts). My new literary agent’s plan was to pitch and submit my book, Girl, Taken, to publishing companies and negotiate a great deal. I imagined her as the middle person, as the bridge between myself with my literary work and a successful publication. During our initial and following phone conversations, she presented a pretty adequate and promising p

"I was extremely interested in this as the premise is aw-inspiring and captivating. Unfortunately, I will have to pass on your manuscript..." "This does not suit our needs at this time…" "This doesn't feel like a match for me, but thank you..." I received another painful rejection after rejection, after rejection. But what does not kill us… (you know the rest). I was still going forward despite any hard feelings I experienced, and it was paying off. With each day on my path,

Painful rejections, placed in a few horrible words “I will have to pass on your work at this time…”, rained down on me. Rejection hurt. (We started conversation about rejections in the previous blog post, so please read it first.) The matter of my narration was so delicate and dear to me, that the agents’ rejections or showed indifferences felt twice as painful. I saw myself totally naked on a pedestal in the center of a large and busy square, in the middle of a high traffic

Wise people say that rejections are inalienable parts of success. Back in 2017, I willingly and voluntarily chose to believe in such a theory in order to not lose my good spirit. As you can remember from my previous blog post, I sent that first pitch letter to twenty literary agencies across the country hoping to find an agent for my manuscript Girl, Taken. Four weeks later I started receiving responses that were all rejections. What do rejections really mean to people? Espec

As you can remember from the previous blog posts, my only desire at that time was to find a literary agent. I spent days creating a successful pitch letter - an enticing bait that could attract agents’ attention. (By the way, if you want to find a literary agent for your own book, you can write an effective pitch letter using the templates presented in my guide, located in Chapter 11 of this book: “From Zero to Self-published Hero”.) Let’s get back to the story. On that promi

As an author, I thought I achieved the majority of my goals and wanted a literary agent to see them within my work as well. I needed to represent my work nicely, served on a beautiful plate like a highly desirable gourmet dish. I learned that a great pitch letter could add that exotic flavor and luxury. (If you have never read my previous blog posts, please read them before this one – it will make a lot more sense. It’s part #13) I realized that a pitch letter serves as a del

To tell you the truth, I was overjoyed by the idea that I was able to create something that I could see and touch – a physical product, a manuscript, a future book – from essentially nothing – out of painful thoughts, deeply trampled memories and years of seeping heartaches. Have you read the previous blog post? If not, please go back and check it. I want you to know what the process of writing actually means to me. You will see - it’s pure magic. My first book - "Girl, Tak

I always believed it was a pipe dream. Until the day when I saw my very first and my very self-published book on the top of charts on Amazon. And I thought to myself: yes, I did it. (Of course, overwhelmed with feelings, I thought about it pretty loudly in my head, with about a thousand of exclamation marks.) Everything is possible when you really desire to achieve it. You just need to make that very first step. I’m sharing my success story hoping to inspire you and give you

Per aspera ad astra. I’ve always liked this Latin phrase, meaning “through hardship to the stars”. Ever since I decided to start a new career as a writer, the famous Latin saying has taken on a new meaning. I think that writing is a marvelous thing. But sadly, the action of writing is not always a path strewn with rose petals. The process of writing can be a complete and utter fiasco, when the moment strikes that every writer is afraid of – a writer’s block. When mine suddenl

With bated breath we wait for miracles to happen, thinking that miracle is only something significant and radically life changing. What about small miracles that happen every day through things that we love, through people that we admire, through friends that we unexpectedly acquired? Everyday small miracles DO happen, we just need to stop for a second and acknowledge them. Back then, in 2017, after a few months of sleepless nights, an ocean of tears and tons of memory tortur

Back then, the decision to write a book seemed incredible and even surreal. Little did I know that it would have a significant impact on my entire life. So, believe it or not, I started writing my very first book! Excited to the core I outlined my future narration and began drafting it in Russian – my native language. I planned to translate it into English and make both versions available for readers. I thought I needed to find a local writer who would be able to help me to g

He told me I should write a book! I would like to thank Richard (remember him from the story I mentioned in my previous blog post?) for planting a seed in the soil of my brain. Writing a book was a great idea in every way, solely because it would make one of my old dreams come true. I have been nurturing the idea of telling my mom about being in captivity, for years. If I could write about it – she could read it. Even if this story wouldn’t be seen or heard by anyone else, an

Speaking about meaningful encounters… Do you remember the conversation we started in the previous blog post? Yes, I think it’s pretty amazing how a chain of brief meetings that I did not take seriously at the moment led to a major change in life. Many years ago, I used to be a photographer – well… a very amateur photographer – I had just started then, actually. Luckily, the stars aligned in my favor and I was invited to shoot a cage fight event, due to the unexpected illness

Once I decided to share the most horrible part of my life, I could not stop thinking about it. Every day, confidence about my story exposure grew and straightened out, like a young oak developing into a powerful giant within fertile soil. I just needed to define my task and make a plan. I was positive that a talk show – like Ellen DeGeneres – would be the most amazing way to tell my story. The only disadvantage about that idea was that the Ellen DeGeneres show seemed like a s

How did I get inspired to write my first book? It was during one of the spring days of 2015, when I was relaxing in a comfy recliner at the movie theater with my 13-year-old daughter watching trailers of films that just so happened to be based on true stories. At that very moment, an amazing idea struck me like lighting, and I thought to myself – pretty loud in my head: I too have a story to tell! That ordinary evening at the movie theater turned into such a remarkable one! I

As I promised in my previous blog post, below is my story, briefly retold from twenty-six years ago. The world is full of victims. In the fall of 1994, a terrible thing happened, and I became a victim myself. It can take just moments to turn an innocent person into a victim. But how long does it take to turn a victim into a survivor? September 15th, 1994. I’m turning 21. I feel so free and joyful. I’m a happy student, in love with my boyfriend and life seems like such a wonde

Hello awesome people! My name is Lena. I'm truly thrilled you are here! I’m an award-winning author of the bestselling book Girl, Taken - A True Story of Abduction, Captivity, and Survival. On this blog, I share my thoughts, ideas and more. A few words about myself: I immigrated from Russia in my 20’s, chasing that fabled “American Dream” even though I had little idea about what the “American dream” was. I’ve been living in the USA for the last 20 years and I finally figured