What’s Your Writer Story?

What’s Your Writer Story?

Do you remember your first big moment as a writer? Although I’m privileged to serve writers and authors as a memoir and self-help non-fiction ghostwriter, editor, platform developer, and writer coach, I’ll never forget my first memorable byline. It came when I was a seventeen-year-old high school senior in Tucson, AZ.

I was the editor of our school paper, and I had written an article on the state football playoffs. When the piece was completed, and I’d pasted it up on the boards to go to the printer (there’s a hint as to how long ago it was), I was really proud of it. I’m not sure why I felt that way about that article as opposed to all of the others I’d written, but since I envisioned myself going off to college, majoring in journalism and becoming a sportswriter, I thought the article proved I could meet that goal.

The piece was entered in the “Best Sports Story” category for an Arizona Interscholastic Press Association award. Our newspaper staff was sitting at a big banquet table at the awards ceremony at a swanky resort in Scottsdale when my name was called from the podium. I won first place! As I went up to receive the trophy, I couldn’t have felt more proud. I’ve had hundreds of bylines since then, but none have ever been quite as meaningful to me as that one.

But I’ll also never forget the first time I bypassed my byline. I was working at a communications company in Tucson as a talk show host and editor of a monthly newspaper. By then, I was married, had two daughters, and my sportswriter dream had been replaced by an opportunity to work in broadcasting and broaden my writing skills beyond journalism.

One of my co-workers told me that her father, a private investigator, was working on a book and he desperately needed an editor. The author and I agreed on a fee and I set to work on his handwritten manuscript. As I transcribed it into the amber-screened computer, it became evident that this was more than an editing job; it needed a major rewrite.

After six months of writing, the project was completed. A few months later, the author came in to my office holding a bona fide book, called Deadbeat Dads, published by Pocket Books. In the acknowledgements, he thanked me by name for my work. My name wasn’t on the book cover, but it didn’t matter. There I was, associated with an actual published book. Heady stuff for a thirty-year-old kid!

This recognition got me thinking about how I could edit and write for other people. I didn’t know then that what I was doing was called ghostwriting. Since that time, though, I’ve ghostwritten hundreds of articles and marketing pieces. Since the birth of my writing business in 2011, I’ve edited or ghostwritten nine book manuscripts and am underway on seven more. I love taking someone else’s thoughts and ideas and communicating them in their voice, under their name. I have a passion for helping writers tell their stories with words that inspire.

In this blog, I’ll give you practical, weekly insights on memoir, creative fiction, and non-fiction writing, self-publishing and platform development, and on how I coach other writers. I know this will be a valuable resource and encouragement to you as you improve your craft. Join me in the journey. I look forward to getting to know you, learning your story, and motivating you to achieve your next big moment as a writer.

I want to hear from you!
Tell me about your first big moment as a writer and how it has inspired you since then.