Writer Stuff

I’m a life-long learner, early adopter, and tech junkie.

My writing life is in about iteration v.8. I started life as a magazine writer. That was a blast as I learned how to write fast and research even faster. My articles were published in mags as diverse as Astronomy, eBay, TechEDGE, Writer’s Digest, Family Tree, San Diego Parent, and History. From there (cause NF writers gotta roll with the times) I went into writing content, then SEO content. Along the way I learned how to create WordPress websites and did a bunch just for fun.

Next came books. I think I’ve published about 30, half traditionally published, half self-pubbed. I started with co-authoring two astronomy books (think telescopes), then did a couple of coffee table books, and lastly genealogy & history books. If you really want to see some of my clients, click here.

That’s the stuff I do for a living, you know, like:

• I help a handful of non-fiction authors with their book projects
• Several of my books have hit #1 in their Amazon category.
• One of my magazine articles was chosen for a Best Of  book published by The Writer magazine.
• One of my poems is in the San Diego Poetry Annual
• I’ve been interviewed by the NY Times, Better Homes & Gardens, Kiplinger’s, and bunches of websites. You can also catch one of my podcast interviews over at The Creative Penn.
• Both Ancestral Tarot and Ancestral Grimoire won Best Divination Books (2022, 2023) from the World Divination Association.

MARGIE LAYTON
I found your “How to write for Kindle” after midnight last night. I had downloaded books for hours it seemed, trying to find a simple, easy book on how to format and submit a book to Kindle. (I’m very new to this.) With a headache from wondering how so many people could write so much and say so little, I was about to give up and go to bed when I found “the mother lode”! Your Book! How could I have missed it?? Headache forgotten, my eyes could not move fast enough until I finished it. I’m not sure what time that was. Before I sit down today to read (instead of “gulp”) it again I must thank you. My wish is that someday one of my readers will find that excitement and joy of reading in one of my books that I just found in yours. THANK YOU.

• I’m writing a novel  
• I love research
• I’m a cat person
• I wear purple a lot (does that mean I’m old?)
• I’m an Emily Dickinson fan
• I adore creative non-fiction
• Am a nut for iphoneography
• Always loved Dylan (Bob and Thomas)
• I listen to period music when writing
• I’m currently into lime green things
• I’m a minimalist
• I try to take at least one class every few months
• I grow ideas
• I write poetry
• I try to write short stories (frankly, I stink)
• I’m a terrible editor
• I write. I write. I write.

If you want to be a freelance writer, here’s my best advice

Although I’ve written about everything except finance (think swords, Elvis, flags, scrapbooking, journaling, technology), the most valuable thing I can tell you is

pick a niche and make a name for yourself

Travel Bug

Travel is a passion, particularly to the out-of-the-way roads of the frontier West. Walking where history happened feels a lot like experiencing it myself.   Right now I’m remembering what it felt like to stand where Coronado stood at Pecos Pueblo 500 years ago. Or where Custer and his guys fell. Or where Geronimo was imprisioned.

On my trips I’ve seen and heard strange things. Like ghosts, and flute music, and tepee smoke that wasn’t there. But, those are stories for another time.

Dang, More?

An Invitation and a Caveat

After reading all of this (and please feel free to comment) if this kind of stuff isn’t your cup of tea, let’s part company as friends. If, however, this strikes a chord, stay awhile and let’s see what develops. Better yet, join me at my Substack where I’m TRYING to chronicle the process of writing a cozy mystery.

When I was ten I wanted to be an archaeologist. I’m not sure if it was the idea of climbing through ancient ruins or the thought of making a world-shaking discovery that became my carrot; whichever it was, it didn’t happen. Instead I fell in love with words and went on to become a writer.

Over the years, I researched and wrote about whatever caught my fancy – from  astronomy and aerospace to genealogy and technology. After a time, though, I realized that the things I loved writing about the most centered around the past.

Few things gave me as much joy as writing about the places that witnessed the great events of history:  the spot where Crazy Horse rode into captivity, the chamber where Franklin and Adams turned the world on its ear, or the southwestern pueblo Coronado visited five hundred years before I walked the same ground.

At first, I wrote for magazines – small trades mostly, until  I built enough of a portfolio to sell to nationals. For a few years I wrote steadily for Astronomy magazine and then later became a contributing editor at Family Tree Magazine. During that same period I sold photos to accompany several articles, including a favorite I shot of an annular eclipse while standing knee-deep in the Pacific. (It’s ok, I was wearing my custom made Vans eclipse shoes)

At some point – strangely I can’t remember when – I focused on business writing. I wrote for  corporations, higher education, medicine, aerospace, and even a military service academy. I became adept at writing web copy and analyzing websites to find flaws in conversion and marketability.

A Life, Changed

Then, something happened. I read a blog post by a novelist who confessed that writing no longer gave him joy. I spent most of the day thinking about the post, pondering all of the “stuff” about my own writing that had been simmering below the surface. That evening it  came bubbling out in a wash of clarity

I realized – just like the novelist – that writing no longer gave me joy. In fact, if you had  asked me on that very day how I liked being a writer, I would have answered “it’s just a job”.

Sometime in the last ten years I had stopped loving what I do – and that’s about as soul-sucking as it gets. No wonder I couldn’t remember the last time I jumped out of bed, eager to get into my day.

That same night I must have dreamt about the novelist because I woke up pre-dawn, wondering what had become of my passion. The answer was simple – business writing didn’t feed my creativity and now, all these years later, I wondered if I was even capable of writing a beautiful sentence.

It was in that moment that I made a decision. No longer would I seek out work that I didn’t believe in; instead I would go back to my roots and write as beautifully as I could; the craft would become my guide. And, I would do my best to write about my passions – travel and history.

I don’t profess to know much about extraordinary writing, but I know it when I see it – and I know that years ago I wrote a handful of articles that were so good I could hardly sit still. I want to feel that way again and I invite you to join me.