I’ve made a good living as a writer for 25+ years

Always my words. Often ghostwritten.

I wake up most mornings in beautiful Saratoga Springs, New York and commute 18 feet to my office.

From the art of telling a Twitter-length story to a blog post or magazine feature, my journalism training always guides the voice in my head.

Early in my career I earned a valuable reputation for translating health and scientific news into compelling, understandable stories that attract the reader from the first line, then hold their attention with fact-based content.

My notes and thoughts came together between 9p.m. and 1a.m. when in the ’90s my now Manhattan dwellers were young sleeping boys. I worked on steady freelance assignments, including six years as a frequent contributor to the New York Times Metro Section (sans bylines under corporate policy at the time).

I managed strategic communications for national not-for-profit organizations focused on health, renewable energy and climate change. I still described myself as a writer — spending at least 80 percent of my time interviewing experts, researching and crafting website content, blogs, skillful media pitch letters, and the occasional full-length magazine feature.

My specialty continues to be reporting on issues, in particular complex issues that need good listening, attention to facts and some creativity to become understandable human stories. This recent one had 31k views.

I built a distinctive 25-year career successfully informing, motivating and often prompting purposeful personal and organizational action.

My recently published first children’s book may seem like a long leap, but it was a clear cut calling in mid-March when the world was (and remains) so upside down.

A crazy year — it isn’t easy! is the hopeful story of 9-year-old Aiden living through the #coronavirus #pandemic of 2020, amid other life-altering changes, because COVID-19 didn’t hit us in a vacuum. Expected and unexpected challenges continue to face us, like Aiden becoming a big brother for the first time — to identical twin boys!

​Much of my work has been ghostwriting, from blogs and opinion columns to full-length books and even medical textbook chapters. I enjoy the process of helping others get the thoughts, knowledge and stories in their heads before the eyes of interested readers, in whatever genre.

My second children’s manuscript is a ghostwritten book about an adorable girly girl whose life is soon shaped by the physical and emotional scars of a terrible accident. She shares her compelling story as a confident adult who wants other children to learn and be comforted by her own extraordinary path to personal and professional success through self-care.

I’m delighted to be in this COVID-induced stage of writing for myself and my own priorities, no matter whose name appears below the title.

That’s not to be confused with retirement or an absent need for a paycheck. I simply believe, honestly, that if you do what you love and work to be good at whatever your trade, the compensation will follow the satisfaction.