So Who The Hell Are You Guys and Why Should I Care?
The four of us met on Medium.com—where despite only running an article or two a week—we have a combined 200,000+ readership, 20M+ views, and 250+ featured articles.
Due to our enthusiasm for craftsmanship and our shared belief that caring trumps quantity, we quickly became fast friends.
Over the years, we’ve helped each other to continually get paid to write through editing each other’s work, sharing opportunities, and filling each other in on the tricks of the trade to land book deals, get our articles to move, and build relationships with mainstream publications.
The mission of this newsletter is simple: to invite you into our circle.
Every Tuesday and Thursday, we will give away everything we know about how to attract readers to your doorstep and ensure they leave well-fed.
Before we get into who we are and what we’ve each been able to accomplish - and the milestones we’ve helped our clients to achieve - here’s a run-down of the topics we’re going to cover.
Best practices to write articles that keep readers glued to your words from beginning to end
Storytelling tips that we’ve shared in classrooms, boardrooms, and family rooms across the globe
Proven strategies to write compelling book proposals and find and query the literary agents (this past month alone two of our client’s secured book deals as first-time authors without large social media followings)
How to pitch and write for mainstream publications to establish yourself as a thought leader and, more importantly, a thoughtful person in your respected field
Ghostwriting, technical writing, magazine writing, and journalistic writing to ensure your skills are properly diversified to attract consistent opportunities
Copywriting, growth strategies, and tips to get your words to sing to ensure the messages you want to see in the world effectively scale
Best of all, it’s free.
This newsletter won’t cost you a dime.
We may offer some services like editing, storytelling workshops, and book proposal courses, but when it comes to the weekly teachings, nada.
If this sounds good to you and you’re familiar with our work and find value in it, click the button below and we’ll see you each and every week with the best of what we’ve got.
If you’re still on the fence
And want to learn more about our backgrounds—and the milestones we’ve helped our clients achieve to get a better idea of how we can help your words to rise— here are our resumes.
Hola, I’m Michael Thompson
When I’m not getting beaten up by my two kids and pieced back together by my wife in small-town Spain, you can find me wrestling with words.
As a communication strategist and leadership lecturer for MBA students, my lane is helping thoughtful, ambitious people to find their audience and grow their influence.
In addition to averaging over 20,000 views per article on the 300+ posts I’ve published on Medium.com, my work has been featured in Business Insider, Fast Company, INC, MSN, Forbes, Crunchbase, and The Blog of Steven Pressfield.
As for my clients—I’ve helped them earn similar results by landing placements in GQ, Entrepreneur, Men’s Health, Cosmo, INC, and Esquire as well as securing book deals.
Thanks for coming along for the ride.
By following The Write Life, I’ll also be sharing my own journey of writing my first traditionally published book (fingers crossed as my proposal is in final review with my agent).
Howdy! I’m Benjamin Sledge
I’m a wounded combat veteran and recipient of the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and two Army Commendation medals who—today—fights with a microphone and pen.
Over the years, I’ve worked in geopolitical intelligence and helped run a mental health non-profit in addition to working with veterans. I hold certifications in Crisis Response, Trauma Care, and Suicide Prevention.
Today, as a full-time writer and designer, I’ve written dozens of viral articles that are regularly featured on Medium.com covering the topics of masculinity, the military, relationships, and faith.
Where Cowards Go to Die—my first traditionally published book hits shelves this coming July and is already on pre-order with stellar reviews.
I’ve consulted and spoken on behalf of major entities ranging from The U.S. Census Bureau, The U.S. Military Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Colorado State University, Volunteers of America, and several other nonprofits and businesses.
My specialty, however, is storytelling.
I believe we all have a story to share and I get a serious kick in how I make a good part of my living helping other people to confidently share theirs.
Hey, I’m Dan Moore
Based out of Oakland, CA, I’m the lone west-coaster of the bunch and the proud parent of a dog that gets more attention than my articles.
After editing PS I Love You on Medium and building a 300,000+ audience for the publication, I’ve recently stepped away to focus on my own writing and that of my clients. Currently, I’m writing features for the San Francisco Chronicle and The Ringer. You can follow my work on Twitter.
Over the years, my writing has appeared in many places around the web, Business Insider, Fast Company, DJ Booth, Forge, Human Parts, and others. My clients’ work has been featured in quite a few places also.
I’m also a contributor for The Oaklandside Magazine.
Finally—for any agents out there—at work on a book!
Excited to share what I’ve learned about editing, ghostwriting, and long-form.
What’s up - I’m John Gorman
A lotta folks make six figs and even more of ‘em will tell you how to make six figs. But we do both a little differently around here.
Like the other guys in The Write Life, I swim in many lanes. I’m an award-winning brand copywriter, speechwriter, messaging strategist, essayist, speaker, entrepreneur, humanitarian, journalist and recovering musician living in Austin, Texas.
Currently, my clients pay me handsomely to write about cannabis, crypto, and climate change. I also build brands and coach clients on how to be less boring.
I never thought I’d end up here. At age 29, I landed my first “adult” job as a junior copywriter at a Fortune 500 company, but only after exhausting all other options. A lifetime to avoiding writing (and responsibility more generally), I was homeless, carless, and penniless. What’s happened since? LOL.
When Dell and EMC merged to become Dell Technologies, I established their voice.
When a 28-year-old bartender from New York ran for congress, I scaled and refined hers.
When this 34-year-old washed-up musician started a Medium page in 2017 and scaled it to 52K followers, 200K monthly readers, and 9M pageviews around the world? I found mine.
On top of Medium, my words have been featured at: CBC.ca, Cuepoint, Entrepreneur, Huffington Post, Inc., Insider, Scary Mommy, Sports Illustrated, and The Ladders.
While the other guys are into books and professionally tuned essays—my 10,000-word Medium ballads are a bit too gonzo to uphold as examples of “craft”—I’m your source for brand storytelling, copywriting, and getting your words to sing.
If you’ve made it this far, stick around and join us each week on The Write Life.
We teach this stuff all day long to our clients but rarely publish our writing tips online.
We’d love to have you.
—Ben, Dan, Gorman, and Michael
PS—if you know anyone who would like to receive free weekly writing tips from four writers who have found success in quite a few lanes, pass this newsletter along.
