In my last article, I told you I started writing after the TV died when I was a kid and we didn’t replace it. It’s true. But, the death of a dream led to my professional writing career. I became the opposite of a “starving artist” I did it so I could eat!

In 2008-09, at the height of the housing crisis, I was running a youth theatre studio teaching acting, stagecraft, and theatrical productions. We were putting on about ten shows a year between our youth theatre and community theatre groups. I was living my ideal life, but something changed. 

The sh*t hits the fan!

At the end of the Summer of 2009, it seemed like people just stopped spending money. We were ready for a big push to increase enrollment when it happened. I had 10,000 glossy, double-sided door hangers, beautifully designed with just the right messaging (I’d been at this for 15 years, I thought I knew what would work) and I had legs. So, I picked the best neighborhoods with lots of kids and enough disposable income to be interested in what we had to offer and off I went. 

I put out all 10,000 of those door hangers. In the past, a few hundred paper flyers had been enough to boost enrollment some, but we were determined to hit our highest mark ever. So, I hung the last one and I went back to the studio and waited. The phone didn’t ring. A few emails came, mostly complaining about the hangers. Not one student even asked about enrollment. Not one. 

After facing the hard facts that the little theatre that could, couldn’t anymore, I took one last look at the stage and studios I’d built with my own hands, and closed the doors. Seeing the for sale sign at the curb was the biggest blow of all. My dream was over. 

What would I do now?

But, I had 8 kids and they had to eat. So, I did what any smart person would do, I started writing. Yeah, it does sound stupid, doesn’t it? 

At the time, the best gig I could find was writing home improvement articles for Demand Media, who were building Ehow.com at the time. That may sound like misery, but for me, it was a life saver. I’d spent years as a carpenter, alongside my theatrical career, and this was easy! Even though they only paid $25 a pop, I could finish 8 to 10 in a day and the editors loved my work! Turns out, I was a natural! Within 18 months, I’d published over 3000 articles with Demand. If you go to Ehow today and search Mark Morris, you’ll find them. 

Over two million words later

Fast forward ten years. I’ve now published well over two million words for hire. I stopped counting at that point. I’ve had over twenty million views of my work. I’ve self published two dozen books and ghostwritten over a dozen more with private clients. 

Through the years, I’ve had a lot of interesting writing gigs. I wrote artists bios and product descriptions for an art collective. I’ve written SEO content for body shops, a dumpster company in Australia, Real Estate brokers, Landscapers, Computer Repair Shops, health and wellness brands, medical device companies, dentists, dog trainers, photographers, concrete contractors and business coaches. I was even a ghostwriter for a thought leading HR platform, and my only experience in a traditional office was three months as a telemarketer. 

In short, I’ve been blessed to have clients across four continents and dozens of industries tell me my work helped them increase traffic and sales. It’s been an interesting ride. Which brings me to right here, right now. 

In the past three years, I’ve been privileged to be invited into the lives of over a dozen people who wanted to author books but either didn’t feel qualified, didn’t know where to start, or felt they simply didn’t have the time to get it done. As a ghostwriter, I’ve been able to help them share their incredible stories with the world and I love doing it. 

Although I spent four years in lectures and workshops two decades ago being trained as a creative writer, I didn’t really feel qualified to call myself a writer until I saw that my work was benefiting others. Now I proudly tell people that’s what I do. 

Recently, I was honored to be added to the Gotham Ghostwriters Network, a group of world class writers represented through Gotham providing ghostwriting to clients all over the world, from heads of state to CEOs to celebrities, to retired people who are finally ready to share their story. It’s pretty cool seeing those pitch opportunities in my mailbox and knowing that I’ll be sharing the lives of many more people in the years to come. 

I'd love to work with you!

So, what about you? Why haven’t you written your book yet? If you’re like my clients, you’re probably a mixture of afraid, intimidated, feeling out of your depth, and wondering if you really have anything to say. I’m here to say it’s okay, you’re not and you do! In fact, in today’s modern world, where you can literally publish a book and hold a single copy of your book in your hands mere days later for less than $10, I think everyone should! Why not? 

But, maybe you need help, that’s cool. I get it. You’ll never see my first attempts at writing books. Ever. And even some of the stuff I’ve got for sale out there is under revision because it was done in a hurry. No worries. I’d love to help you on any level I can. Need encouragement, tips, resources? Those are free, just DM me. If you’d like to discuss coaching, or ghostwriting, I’d love to set up a time to go over your project and see if we’re a fit. 

I don’t know if I can honestly say I’m as happy now as I was in my theatrical days, and I may go back, when I can afford to fund it properly, but I am pretty damn happy with who I  am and what I do and I’d love to help you get the satisfaction I’ve had over two dozen times of putting a book out into the world .