Professional Content Writer, Copywriter & Ghostwriter
Name: Jessica Mendes
Type of Writer: Ghostwriter
Location: Toronto, ON
Rate Type: per hour
Average / Typical Rate: $50 - 100
My Website / Portfolio: https://weavingyarn.wordpress.com
Profile Summary
As a freelance writer and ghostwriter with over 30 years experience, I specialize in being able to articulate with eloquence exactly what a person is trying to say but cannot find the right words for. In this sense, I consider myself a midwife to narrative. Whether it is writing in their voice in a book, a profile, a resume or in web content, I find a way to tease out whatever message or story needs to be told to make content persuasive, compelling and substantive. I can capture, create or strengthen your brand or your character, depending on the project, and my nearly 20 years of writing for radio means I can also write for the spoken word in speeches, lectures or commentary. And I am very good at working with people in transition, or looking to reinvent themselves.
For larger projects, I typically prefer to start with a series of interviews, but I always adapt to the needs of my client. My process is highly osmotic. I take jumbled notes, bedraggled drafts, convoluted thoughts and half-baked ideas and find a way to make sense of them, in a way that is true to the character of my client. If there is nothing on paper, interviews are sufficient. Whatever your project, I can work with it.
My last major gig was a book project for an international company exploring the philosophies and legacy of a family-run business. The job involved extensive interviews over a one-year period with the president, diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. The transcription of those interviews – making coherent that which was often fragmented – was one of the biggest challenges of my professional life. I was hired for my ability to think unconventionally, and to relate to people who are different.
Ghostwriting a Book?
Ghostwriting requires tuning in to the deeper layers of a person’s story to translate it to the page. My brand of ghostwriting often involves intimate, ongoing, one-on-one work with a client in determining what aspect of their story needs to be told and how - which sometimes changes as the process evolves.
A collaboration of this ilk often becomes eye-opening; a process of discovery that reveals the story within the story and can be extremely rewarding for both parties. In my experience there can be any number of reasons a person is compelled to express themselves, and it is sometimes not what they think it is when they first start out.
Finding the right ghostwriter is critical, and by "right" I mean finding the right fit. Where personal material is concerned, it's important to work with someone who gets you and what you're about. While I can't claim to understand everyone I work with, I do have a strong intuitive grasp and am skilled at reading people.
Editing
I am also a strong substantive editor. Substantive editing focuses on the message: how it flows, if it makes sense, are there consistencies in character development, and so on. I have a sharp creative eye and often contribute my ideas to my clients with no need for credit. I am highly perceptive and can offer insights helpful to the development of any content.
Experience / Education / Qualifications
My background of over 40 years includes radio, newspaper and journal writing (including for the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the Ottawa Citizen and the Globe & Mail), book projects, biographical material, website content, ghost writing and promotional material for independent producers, editing for newspaper magazine, and spotting, pursuing and developing story ideas for print and broadcast media.
I have substantial experience with web copywriting and resume writing, as well as fiction and biographical material. I have written for anyone from entrepreneurs and artists to CEOs and authors in industries that include real estate, construction and building, moving and trucking, arts and culture, business, automotive, culinary, farming, medical and dental, health and healing, trades, HVAC, IT, insurance and much more.
How to Contact Me
My contact information is on my web page. See link here.