Q: When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
A: I never had what you would describe as an “aha moment” with regard to becoming a writer—I have been a writer and a researcher my whole life. I was in the second grade when my father introduced me to the card catalogue for research on my first paper , about the Great White Shark.

My fiction career began with two works in the third grade: (1) Remove the Numbers—a short story about an enchanted house for which I won a set of Holly Hobbie stationery at school; and (2) a Halloween story I co-wrote with the boy who lived across the street, just for fun. However, it was my sixth grade teacher, Sister Laurian, who recognized my talent and told me that writing, words, and language would one day become a part of my personality, my life, and my destiny. I’ve have remained forever grateful to her for recognizing my gifts and giving me that important early encouragement.

Q: How and when did you make this dream a reality?
A: Although I majored in Nonfiction Writing at the University of Arizona, I didn’t really do much with it professionally for quite a number of years. I honed my skills as an editor in the corporate world, helping out with office communications such as newsletters, memos, employee reviews, etc. It wasn’t until I had the privilege of working with Debra Davenport, business mentor/coach extraordinaire of Davenport Folio, that I took the steps to start my professional writing/editing career. I was feeling bored and verging on burnout, but had no real idea what to do with my life. For some reason, writing had become buried, locked away in a secret mental file drawer. Debra had the key. Her advice: “You’re a writer. You should write.” Seems rather like “D’oah!” now, but those six small words changed my life.

Q: What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned so far in your writing career?
A: The most important thing I have learned is that the message/story is the most crucial component to any piece of writing. Editing, book design, layout, marketing, distribution, and the like are all technical matters that are generally correctable or easily enough outsourced. They may cost a pretty penny, but an author CAN hire them out. What cannot be hired out is the crafting of a powerful, passionate message. An editor can make your words sound better, but they can’t give you a message or story where none exists in the first place.

Q: What are you working on right now?
A: I am working on printing and distribution for a self-help book for women. It is titled 1,001 Real-Life Questions for Women: A Self-Exploration Workbook to Make You Laugh, Cry, Ponder, Ruminate, & Consider. I also am finishing up my first novel, Stan Finds Himself on the Other Side of the World. Additional projects in development include nonfiction works about:

• Changing relationships between women and men by changing the way we raise our children
• Situational communication
• Secrets and strategies from successful women
• Changing the way small business is formed and functions in America

Q: Name some authors or books that have influenced your writing life in a positive way.
A: Writing to Change the World by Mary Pipher; Why Business People Speak Like Idiots: A Bullfighter’s Guide by Brian Fugere, Chelsea Hardaway, and Jon Warshawsky; Promiscuities by Naomi Wolf; Commas Are Our Friends by Joe Devine; The Mac Is Not a Typewriter by Robin Williams; The AP Style Guide by the Associated Press; The Nine Modern-Day Muses (and a Bodyguard) by Jill Badonsky.

Q: What have you recently read or what are you reading right now that you would consider an outstanding work?
A: Broken Music by Sting (the lyric quality of Sting’s writing is unmatched by any other work I have ever read); The Heart of Love, by John Demartini (remarkable relationship advice that is simultaneously obvious and elevated; almost anything by Anne Lamott (laugh-out-loud humor that is biting, searing, magical, and unfunny because it is so true to life… all at once); Being a Starving Graphic Artist Sucks by Jeremy Tuber (best work on customer service I have ever seen; Tuber is my client).

Q: What excites or ignites your soul?
A: Good conversation, where I can participate fully as both listener and speaker… where ideas are kicked around… where challenges are laid down… where I am forced to reconsider long-held beliefs… where I can open someone else’s mind to possibilities they had never considered, and vice-versa; the magnetic pull of the ocean; the moon, which often feels like it was hung in the sky for me, alone; a beautiful flower; watching dozens of turtles swim through the dank pond outside the entrance of the Phoenix Zoo; observing lizards, otters, and my two dogs at play; a well-crafted story in any medium, be it film, painting, music, writing, storytelling, or a great TV commercial.

LAURA ORSINI is a talented writer, speaker, author, editor, and marketing expert who runs a full-service freelance editing business. With a BA in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Arizona, she is the author of the several e-books, including Words Made Easy, eBooks Made Easy, Niching Made Easy, Handwriting Analysis Made Easy, and the exceptional self-help workbook, 1,001 Real-Life Questions for Women. She is in the process of completing work on her first novel. Although she is a strong writer, she believes her true strengths lie in taking others material and making their words shine so that they precisely convey their messages to expertly touch the hearts, minds, and souls of their intended audiences. Whether it s Web copy, articles, blog content, or self-published books, Laura gives her writers the boost to go from good to exceptional. Visit Laura at www.WordsMadeEasy.com