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5 Hard Things I Tell My Clients

Most people think ghostwriting is ‘just writing.’ It’s not. There’s a lot of work done shaping the story, deciding what makes it in and what doesn’t, and translating memories into life lessons that everyone will understand and relate to no matter what their experience.

It’s tricky. I’m part confidante, part grammarian, part impersonator (I want the book to sound like you), part story strategist, part producer, part project manager, and part guide (after all, I have to make sure we don’t get lost in the process.)

That’s why sometimes I have to give my clients some tough love so that our work together is the best it can be. If you’re considering writing a book, whether you do it with me, AI, your assistant, or on your own, here are a few hard things I tell everyone.

Tough Love Advice When Writing a Book

  1. Some stories will be left out. A strong book is selective. More detail usually dilutes the message.
  2. If you tell your truth, some people angry may be angry. Real life involves real people, and they may not agree with your version.
  3. A good book makes people feel things—and you might not like what they feel. Reaction is part of impact and you can’t control other’s reactions. The goal isn’t universal approval. It’s resonance.
  4. You don’t have to tell everything. Privacy is part of craft. If a detail doesn’t serve the message, you can protect it.
  5. This process can be emotionally demanding. Even business books ask you to make meaning out of experience. That takes energy.

What This Looks Like When We Work Together

My job isn’t just to write clean sentences. It’s to help you shape the story, choose what belongs (and axe what doesn’t), and build a book that’s tight, coherent, and true to your voice.

While each project is vastly different, my professional goal for each is the same. I want my clients to hear the phrase, “I thought about your book long after I finished it.” That’s the mark of a story told well.

If you’re considering a book and want a strategic partner in the process, reach out.
Use my contact form and tell me what you’re trying to say, who it’s for, and where you’re stuck. I’ll reply with next steps and let you know if I’m the right fit.

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I’ve Never, Ever Done This Going into a New Year

I am a list maker, a thinker, and a goal-driven middle-aged girl.

Yes, all those things. (And yes, the phrase middle-aged “girl” is probably best understood by most of my Gen X compadres.)

But for the first time in my “adult” life, I went into this new year with absolutely no goals, promises, or resolutions.

It just wasn’t in me.

Oh sure, I thought about them.

No Resolution Rose to the Top

I have plenty of things I can work on to better myself and improve my career. But none called out to me. No area of my life seemed more poignant than another, demanding my attention and the righting of the ship, so to speak.

Since the turn of the calendar page, I’ve asked myself why I didn’t follow my usual zeal of creation and promises into the new year and it came down to several things.

  1. I’m in a different season of life. My kids left for college this past August. In some ways I have more free hours, but in others I’m facing new demands on my time and patience. Creation seems more difficult for me these days. It feels like a season to replenish, to let the fields grow fallow for a moment or two, to catch my breath.
  2. I want my choices to be impactful. This year, it was all about timing. The end of the year happened too quickly. I was in the driver’s seat for holiday celebrations and I believed that I was at the center of making everyone’s every meal as well as ensuring all of their Christmas delights were incorporated into a two week period. That left me emotionally exhausted with very little time for introspection. (Something I really need.) I didn’t want to default to the obvious resolution–lose weight, get in shape (although that’s a good idea and I have a lot of work to do in that area). I also couldn’t quite pinpoint the answer to the old question of “What’s the one thing you can do today that would have the biggest impact on your tomorrow.”
  3. I’m worn out. I’m not naturally a people person. I felt worn out by social commitments this year. I need some extra time to recharge. That’s why I’m taking a groundhog approach to early 2026. Hoping to see my shadow in the spring. Until then, I plan on a little hibernation and being more selective with my social obligations.

At the end of 2025 I gave myself permission to ease off the gas pedal and I’m working now on protecting my time.

I guess that in itself could be a resolution. (See how hard it is for me not to latch on to something? I’m a work in progress.)

As you metaphorically write your story this year, it’s important to understand that every chapter is different. Some are page turners and others are plot builders for future action.

But both are essential.

What type of chapter are you in right now? Are you in the middle of a big build-up or a plot twist? Perhaps, you’re learning something about the main character.

Give yourself permission to enjoy each chapter and what it offers to the greater story.

If you’re ready to explore the deeper themes in your life or help others learn from your experiences, I can help. Contact me today and let’s talk about you and how we can get your story out into the world where others can enjoy it and apply your lessons to their own challenges.

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When Was the Last Time You Watched the Sun Set?

Serious question on this President’s Day…when was the last time you watched the sun set?

I’m not talking about seeing a sunset from your car as you’re driving to a baseball game (oh wait, that’s me). I mean you go somewhere–even if that somewhere is sitting on your back deck or at your window–and you watch the day end.

When did you do that with the sole purpose to watch that glorious orb sink below the horizon?

Last night, my son went on his first date to a beach to watch the sunset. When I picked him up and asked him how it was he said he had never watched the sun set before. I considered all the times we had been on the baseball field or a road trip and the sun put on a spectacular show across the sky. He admitted he had witnessed the beauty left behind but he never watched that moment that exists between the sun being visible and the sun sinking below the horizon.

Granted, he is 14 and slowing down to enjoy a moment of natural beauty that happens all the time isn’t high on his priority list, he appreciated the moment in a way that gave me a glimpse into the man he’s on his way to become.

As we drove home in silence (assuming you don’t count his muted chuckles over TikTok videos as sound), I wondered how many people seek out a sunset and how many we miss because there’s simply “no time.” The sun sets every day (weather allowing visibility) but how often are we able to watch it? How often do we choose to?

Ehhh, there’s always tomorrow, right?

Right?

Is There a Tomorrow?

Imagine knowing that today would be your last opportunity to watch a sunset.

Who would you ask to join you?

Would you watch by yourself, thinking about everything you’ve seen over the course of your life? All the beauty, all the pain, all the mystery. Or would you make a big party of it?

Would you watch from home or from some tropical destination? Maybe you would revel in the majesty of the pinks and purples or would you ugly cry because it would be your last time to enjoy those colors?

Would you want to know it was your last or would you prefer not to know?

Am I being morbid? Not intentionally. These are ideas I’m working on for my next novel tentatively titled “Pardon the Interruption.” It’s about lasts and firsts and how life would change if you had full knowledge of which were which.

If you’d like to know more about it and when it will be out, sign up for my newsletter.

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Being a Writer Is Hard

writer

Writing is hard. Not terminal illness or losing a best friend hard. Okay, it’s not really hard at all.

But ideas are.

Ideas and the time in seat that it requires to hammer out nouns and verbs that agree. Not to mention sticking in a few things to make English teachers go “hmmm.”

That’s hard.

I’m one of the fortunate word slingers. I don’t get writer’s block. There’s a list of 20+ future novels in my notes app on my phone, not to mention all the scrap papers and cocktail napkins that I’ve written my endearing brilliance on. Half of which I can’t read. My handwriting is that bad, despite years in Catholic school with nuns helping me practice penmanship. I must’ve ignored them in much the same way I did my elementary school teachers when they tried to teach me the metric system. I told them it would never take hold in the US. Yes, I was a curmudgeon even then.

But if your head doesn’t resemble my book idea circus, I have a tip for you.

Go someplace that requires your attention on something outside of your own brain like a business meeting, a parent/teacher conference, or your child’s recounting of their latest video game feat. 

As they drone on and on, thoughts will begin to percolate. Ideas will vie for your attention. 

Listen.

Write that %#$* down.

If they ask, tell them you are taking notes on the conversation so you can refer to it later. Throw in a self-deprecating joke about your memory. Most people enjoy that kind of attention.

If you want to be more creative, have your pick of book or story ideas, and put an end to writer’s block with the same vigor that Jon Snow slayed Daenrys, you’re going to love my new project, Creative Fugue. 

Stay tuned for more details. Or don’t. Whatever.

On second thought, you should. You really should.

Let’s stay in touch.

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I’m Giving Up on Meditation. Convince Me Otherwise.

meditation and fiction

I like quiet.

That’s no secret.

That’s why I had twin boys.

I also like rainy days.

That’s why I moved to the Sunshine State.

While my decisions don’t always make sense, the older I get, the more I understand about myself.

And if there’s one thing I know, I can’t meditate. It’s not that I can’t quiet my mind. I’m actually very good at thinking about absolutely nothing.

I don’t get anything out of meditation other than maybe some well-needed sleep.

It doesn’t calm me or inspire me. It doesn’t make me feel healthier or more in touch with the secrets of the sphere.

You see, in order to effectively meditate I think you need to transcend the sarcasm level of the brain and I am just not able to move past that.

But I will offer one piece of advice for those of us who are meditation challenged…

maybe you’re not meant to enter into a deeper level of consciousness by someone talking to you or some bowl from a far-off land gonging. Maybe you need something different.

I’ve discovered my ideal morning meditation…I read.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CA-T7lkp1Rw/

My perfect morning consists of a beverage and a comfy spot on my balcony on a day when the humidity in the air is closer to 70% than 100. I find that as I read my pages, I lapse into a calm that is good for my spirit and so much better than inhaling and exhaling to someone else counting. I also have amazing thoughts and inspiration as I “meditate” to the written word.

Anyway, that’s what works for me.

Have you perfected meditation or are you like me and just don’t get how people stay awake during it?

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The Writing Career Path

When I was 7, I wanted to be two things in life: a writer and a mom.

I am one of the fortunate ones who has had her dreams come true even if I plodded through a very thick, overgrown path to get there.

The author at six, on the right

I’m not going to talk about my path to motherhood. That’s a different type of genre, after all.

But I will tell you how I became a writer.

First, I wanted to. That’s the important part. You have to want to be a writer because you certainly don’t chose this life for the monetary reward, the glamor, the people you’ll meet along the way, or the extravagant business trips.

Writing is a solitary life full of creative problem solving like how you’re going to pay your next bill. Many of us take jobs on the side. Even the famous among us. Well, not Stephen King or JK Rowling. But look at a list of traditionally published authors and you’ll see a lot of teachers, professors, and other jobs cluttering up their resumes. Very few of us are full-time fiction writers. I’m a marketing writer, for instance. I write website copy and articles when I’m not making up tales.

But I digress.

I didn’t go into this blindly. I knew the difficulty behind becoming a writer in a world where people no longer read anything lengthier than a tweet.

Oh. You’re still here? You’re one of the 1%!

When my godmother asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I announced my intentions, she said…

and I remember this so clearly. I can’t tell you why I got up and just walked into this room but I can clearly remember she said…

“You sure do have your head in the clouds.”

Another one of my parents’ friends suggested I follow in my parents’ footsteps and go into medicine but frankly, I’ve never been that caring and selfless of a person.

Later, my father told me to find a job I could live off of. Well, that knocked out writer.

So I tried to divert my energies into other ways writers could make money.

I worked writing:

  • ceremonial documents for the governor
  • disaster recovery plans
  • fashion descriptions for a home shopping channel
  • marketing collateral for a tech firm

These jobs all paid the bills, but they didn’t feed my soul and that’s a luxury most of us Americans long for. I could never shake the desire to do my own thing.

At one point I worked for a publishing company that published college textbooks. Every year before school started, you would swear you could smell brimstone in the office. Dante knows what I’m talking about. It became hellish.

And there was one particular salesperson who took his dissatisfaction with life out on me. Now, I’m not a perfectionist but I take pride in my work and this particular ripping got to me.

I swore at that moment that I wasn’t going to listen to one more angry anyone. I quit my job about two weeks later.

I’d like to tell you I’ve been writing successfully ever since but it took another 10 years and another shove from the universe masked in “the department is going in a different direction” in the tech company I was working for to get me doing my own thing.

So this whole convoluted blog post was written to tell you this:

sometimes your crappiest experiences are laying the groundwork for you becoming the person you want to be.