Summary: Laura Morton has written over 40 books and a staggering 19 New York Times Bestsellers, with a wide range of celebrities, including Al Roker, Justin Beiber, Joan Lunden, and Danica Patrick—just to name a few. She has worked in the entertainment industry for more than 25 years as a writer, producer, speaker and entrepreneur, and continues to pursue projects in publishing, production and electronic media through her company, Laura Morton Management.<br> Her first career was as a television producer. She got frustrated because she would spend a lot of money to hire script writers and have to rewrite them. That’s how she discovered she had a talent for storytelling. The first person she cowrote a book with was Joan Lunden, Joan Lunden’s Healthy Cooking . Laura met Joan when she produced Joan’s workout video.<br> When Joan and Laura pitched the idea of a cookbook/weight-loss memoir to Joan’s agent he said it was a terrible idea. The book went on to become a New York Times bestseller, and the rest is history.<br> We had an interesting conversation about celebrity, storytelling, and what it takes to be an author. Here are some of the takeaways:<br> <br> * The difference between being a ghostwriter and a co-author.<br> * When you would want a ghostwriter vs a co-author.<br> * The difference between writing in a male voice and writing in a female voice.<br> * How to suppress your own voice and write in the voice of your character/collaborator.<br> * The importance of having ownership of what you write.<br> * The process of recording someone else’s life story.<br> * The importance of trust in a collaborative relationship.<br> * The importance of liking who you’re working with.<br> * 4 hour work sessions and the point of diminishing returns.<br> * How long it takes to record someone’s life story.<br> * The power of creation and how books take on a life of their own.<br> * Writing a book is a good way to become recognized as a thought leader.<br> * A moment of transition is probably the number one reason why someone decides to write a book.<br> * The number one rule in writing is: write what you know<br> * People love to read celebrity experiences.<br> * People love a great victory.<br> * The importance of context in relation to content.<br> * Content is the information we see. Context is the lens we see it through. So if you’re having a bad day and your friend isn’t, and they text you a sarcastic joke you could take itthe wrong way because of your emotional state. That is context.<br> * The importance of being concise and to the point in your writing.<br> * The difference between writing and giving speeches.<br> * The importance of “killing your babies.”<br> * You don’t have to be famous to have your story told. There is value in everyone’s life experience.<br> * How shorter attention spans today have influenced publishing.<br> * Write what you love. Write what you know. Write what you have a passion to write.<br> * Write everyday.<br> * If you’re not connected to the material it won’t work. Writing a book is hard enough. You have to have a real passion for what you’re doing in order to power through the obstacles and challenges that will pop up.<br> * Know where you want to land and work backwards. What do you want to get out of this book?<br> * You can’t jump into something if you can’t go all in.<br> * If writing isn’t your passion, don’t choose it as a career because it will be a frustrating career.<br> * Making a book a success is all on you. If you self publish you’re the one that has to find a way to promote your book. If you get a book deal with a traditional publisher, you still have to be the one to promote your book. Even with big name authors traditional publishing companies don’t really do active campaigns.
