In my mind's eye, I had already written a book, if not several. The stories write themselves. You start along a line and before you know it, it's taking on a life of its own - fleshed out with characters, emotions, places, and journeys...
After starting Elf, I worked on a lot of books for clients as an editor and also as a writer. As of 2014, I have edited over 150 books for three different publishing houses. I have also now written 14 books for clients - ten business books (100 to 150 pages) and four fiction books (250 pages each). These were all ghostwritten. The clients had a keen interest in the topics themselves. For the business books, I worked directly with CEOs or presidents of the companies involved. They had plentiful experience in the work they did. Writing a book was the next step in sharing their knowledge with their audience.
The fiction books I worked on were also in a similar vein. The clients had a strong passion for the subject. Of these four books, I found working on the Alfred Vanderbilt book (historical fiction) to be the most compelling endeavor. I enjoyed writing and researching that story for the Vanderbilt Museum in 2007-9. Alfred Vanderbilt Jr., heir to the Vanderbilt railroad fortune, sacrificed his own life to rescue women and children off the sinking Lusitania, in 1918. He also had a deep love for Arabian grays - fantastic thoroughbreds. I love history and historical fiction is a natural transition. As a kid, I grew up riding old racehorses. They were "old" in the racing world at three or four years of age but still so young when they were sent off to private homes and farms. Alfred's personal story is interwoven with historical events ranging from developments of the Vanderbilt railroad to the sinking of the Lusitania. I enjoyed writing the story for all these reasons.
These experiences have helped me hone my craft as a writer. I have worked within specified schedules, client expectations, and varying budgets. I have also collaborated with a lot of interesting people from varied backgrounds at the top of their fields. It has been a very interesting experience and I am thankful for it.
Now we will be working with clients in a different capacity at Elf — teaching via workshops and webinars. This is geared towards our business clients who write for specific audiences. It's an exciting time to be publishing your own works.
Coming back full circle to my own book writing, I have decided to write my own book as I was so confident of doing at the age of four. The Stowaway is that story. It's a fantasy and delving deeper into the imagination. It's also a story that has taken some time to manifest but I am happy to be working on it.