Check out what I’ve done.
For the past 20 years or so, I've been working with the written word as well as a camera, putting my work on the web and in various print publications. In that time I've been a copy editor, editor in chief, associate editor, ghostwriter and executive editor for various companies. The important thing though, is that I’m very deadline driven, and I work hard to put out quality writing that people want to read. That, and I'm often told part of my “charm” is my meticulous attention to detail and almost OCD-levels of organization.
I’ve written four books: How to Restore Your Chevy Truck: 1973-1987, How to Restore Your Chevy Truck: 1967-1972, How to Install Air Ride Suspension Systems and OBS Chevy Trucks 1988-1998: How to Build & Modify. They’re all about custom cars and trucks, so if you’re looking for something for your book club to read, I’m your huckleberry.
Although I'm able to write in multiple formats, I tend to inject humor into what I write whenever possible. Clearly that’s obvious by this hilarious resume page.
Advantage/ForbesBooks (Contract)
Ghostwriter
2021 - Present
While I can't talk about the specifics, I can say my job entails making sure I match the author's voice and tone, then executing their vision. That can be a difficult lift depending on the person, which makes the position a lot of fun for me. It's like I'm an actor taking on different roles, none of them the same.
Ghostwriting is relatively new to me, but I enjoy it a lot. I've produced a few books so far, with many more on the way.
CarTech (Contract)
Author
2015 - Present
Writing a book isn't an easy task — I should know, I have a few failed personal book projects under my belt, too. So when I was approached to write a book about restoring old trucks, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, and it scared me. Fortunately, I knew that if I was afraid of it, I should probably take it on. That instinct paid off in the long run.
Today I've completed two books: How to Restore Your Chevy Truck: 1973-1987 and How to Restore Your Chevy Truck: 1967-1972. My third book, How to Install Air Suspension on Anything should be out by 2021, and I have plans for more as well.
Highlights
-> How to Restore Your Chevy Truck: 1973-1987 Sample Chapter (PDF)
-> How to Restore Your Chevy Truck: 1967-1972 Sample Chapter (PDF)
Whipps Industries
Owner
2009 - Present
I started my own company in late 2009 with the idea being that if I turned in ten articles to various magazines a month, and only five of them ran, I'd be fine. It took me just a month to figure out what a horrible idea that actually was.
Today, Whipps Industries handles marketing, writing and copy editing for various publications and small companies. My clients tend to revolve around the automotive industry, from writing feature and technical articles for Street Trucks and C-10 Builder's Guide to handling marketing, blog writing and newsletter duties for Switch Suspension.
Highlights
Constant Contact (Contract)
Senior Copywriter
2022 - 2024
I came on at Constant Contact to join the Web Team. My job was to update copy on landing pages for the new brand voice and tone, work with designers to create new pages, and make sure the copy for the chat bot was also using the correct standards. It was a pretty interesting gig, in that I always knew what was on my plate and what needed to be done. And it also gave me the opportunity to work for a company where I was a customer, and that was a good feeling.
Highlights
Osmo (Tangible Play)
Creative Copywriter
2022
As far as I know, there had always been just two copywriters at Osmo, which means there was a lot of work to be done. In this case that meant writing social copy, emails, video scripts, landing pages, packaging and a whole ton more. Basically, if it had words, I worked on it.
While I was there, Osmo came up with a new product: Reading Adventure. My job was to keep the voice and tone consistent across all aspects of the campaign to launch the product, and I also worked on packaging, the landing page and even some video work. That was a new experience to me that I enjoyed.
GoDaddy
Senior Writer
2017 - 2021
I started out at GoDaddy as a Copywriter II for the front of site team. What’s that mean? Well I wrote for one product — GoCentral Website Builder, as it was named back then — and focused on all of the customer-facing pages. Once you got into the tool itself, that was another writer. I was the guy writing to make conversions.
Soon though I was promoted to Writer III, Senior Writer, and I moved to the Brand team. Now I focus on an end-to-end product experience for customers. I write emails, newsletters, front-of-site pages, social media ads and more, all in one product category. At first that was Websites + Marketing, Professional Web Services and WordPress, but I recently moved to Domains. I’ve also handled copy for large ad campaigns, been the sole copywriter for a skunkworks-style team to rebrand the site and helped mentor new employees as they come onboard.
Highlights
Engaged Media
Freelance Writer & Photographer
2000 - 2019
Back when it was Y-Visionary, Engaged Media gave me my first big break in publishing after I wrote a rough story about my own car. Soon that turned into work for Import Racer! magazine, which then rolled into (see what I did there?) Street Trucks, World of Rods, Tread, C/10 Builder's Guide, F-100 Builder's Guide and Musclecar Power. Today I handle event coverage, technical articles and full features.
Boost Medical
Editor in Chief
2012 - 2018
Boost Medical is a marketing company for small medical practices across the country. When I started, my job was to create and promote SEO content for the web as well as manage all aspects of the print publication that each client receives. After a few years I stepped back a bit and just worked on the magazine.
Each month, I created a print publication for multiple Boost clients from across the country. Although I didn't have much input in the design itself, I still assigned the projects, wrote or subbed out content, edited the designed documents using Adobe InDesign, and made sure it got to print on time.
Highlights
Creative Market
Staff Writer
2015 - 2018
One of my bosses at AppStorm and I were talking about his latest gig one day, and we started talking about what they needed for their blog. He was looking for someone to provide him with posts that focused on the design community but had a very sharable component so that he could get more traffic. Soon that became the job, and for a few years I posted between 3-5 articles per week for Creative Market's blog.