My career in writing goes back far enough that I know and honor little-known rules of usage and grammar. “Enamored” goes with “of,” for example; “myriad” does not. It’s improper to say, “Give the report to Bill and I.”
I’m also a social media marketing guru, so I get the value of creating a spicy bit of copy that, yeah, would make an English teacher cringe, but that packs a punch. And I’ve been something of an itinerant – well, whatever – lawyer (I was an enforcement attorney for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), publisher, editor, copywriter, website developer, collateral creator, and search engine optimization specialist, so I know a good amount about a lot of stuff. I even have a B.S. in cybernetics, which no one’s ever heard of (that’s a mind-meld of engineering and premedical studies), so I’m adept at attacking scholarly articles and rewriting them accurately and clearly for normal people to read. My work is all about words and presenting them effectively. And I love it.
Last year I ghostwrote a nonfiction book for an attorney on a topic of importance to women; it came out last April in hardcover and is doing well. I absolutely love those kinds of long-term projects. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you the title of the book, because I am bound by a nondisclosure agreement. The client is a lawyer, after all.
I also ghostwrite weekly blog posts for a few select clients, including a medical group that specializes in the research and treatment of one of the deadliest diseases in the U.S., and a roommate-matching service for a targeted segment of our population. Again – these are ghostwriting projects, people, so nope, I can’t tell you what those websites are.
Sometimes I ask myself, “Why ghostwriting? What were you thinking? How will anyone believe that you do what you do?” But I love the work, so I do it, and somehow I manage to find clients – all of whom have been great to work with, by the way.
If you’d like to read samples of my bylined writing, click any link below:
- AnnVBaker.com (I write about tech for people who don’t exactly love tech.)
- WomenAtWoodstock.com (I write about women over 50. Yep, that’s it. But there’s a lot to say.)
- SixtyandMe.com (I write about tech for people who didn’t grow up with tech.)
So back to the engineering side of that B.S. degree; I’ve always been a techie, so I love not only writing and creating but the machines and software that deliver the words and media. I build websites using WordPress and I integrate them with social media platforms, optimize them for search engine visibility, defend them against hack attacks, and create social media and email campaigns to promote them. Click here to see a portfolio of my web designs.
If you’ve reached this last paragraph, I appreciate the time you’ve taken to read what I’ve written. As the Bartles & Jaymes guys say, “Thanks for your support.”
If you’re interested in knowing more formal stuff about my education (J.D., B.S. in cybernetics), early law practice, subsequent publishing career, and now my writing and web design practice, click here.