We were lucky to catch up with Mary Zalla recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Mary, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
That’s easy, my dad. I grew up on a farm, the oldest daughter of 10 children. My dad also owned, and was growing, his commercial general contracting business. We raised beef cattle, tobacco and enough corn and hay to feed our herd. There is ALWAYS something to do on a farm and always something to do when you are a business owner. My dad kept us very busy. He very much believed in hard work and believed in instilling a strong work ethic into us.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I retired in January of 2024 after 35 years in the advertising, brand and design industry. Once I retired, song ideas started flooding into my heart and brain. I think the weight of the world was off my shoulders (My job was great but very demanding) and my creative juices were more than flowing. I started learning about songwriting that same year. Since then I have taken dozens of classes, listened to countless podcasts, read books, attended seminars and workshops and joined several songwriting forums, through which I have met and continue to work with co-writers and collaborators.
Songwriting is my passion and I can’t imagine ever not doing it. I am a lyricist writing mostly country but I also enjoy writing Christmas songs. Along with two of my co-writers, I recently placed in American Songwriter’s Lyric Contest and we won a free demo for our song “Honky Tonk Hair”.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Work Ethic – I started out this interview talking about how important a strong work ethic is, especially if you’ve chosen a difficult field, and or one where there is lots of competition. Of course, the music industry is both. Knowing how to work is not only necessary, but can be the deciding factor in your success. I know there are countless people who are more talented than me and countless people that have more experience than me. But, If I’m willing to work hard, I can challenge myself to get to their level.
Creative Capacity – I have always believed that every human being is creative and also that you can build your creative capacity. Even on days when I’m not necessarily “feeling inspired” I stick with it. I just write. Yes, often badly, but I know the mere act of creating makes me more creative.
Positive Attitude – There are lots of no’s in the music business, indeed in many businesses. You can’t let the no’s get you down or stop you. You have to commit to keep going, keep creating, keep learning, keep pitching, keep trying.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
I am ALWAYS looking for talented and creative co-writers. Since my skillset is as a lyricist, I really enjoy collaborating with musicians, composers and producers. I have and continue to write, many songs on my own. But most of what I think of as my better songs, were written with other people, so I am always on the hunt for co-writers. You can find me on instagram @maryzallamusic and I hope to hear from you!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @maryzallamusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092298896618
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryzalla/
Image Credits
These are photos that I myself have taken.
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
