3 Major Professional Updates

I’ve been quieter on Substack than I’ve intended, but here’s why: I made three major professional changes in 2025, two of which happened at the tail end of the year.

1. I signed on with a literary agent.

I met Jesseca Salky, owner of Salky Literary Management, in NYC during my trip for the Gathering of the Ghosts. I’d worked with her before for a one-off project. I already knew she knew her stuff. Another ghostwriter, whom she also represents, highly recommended her. And then Jesseca turned out to be a genuine human being who is also highly accomplished at what she does. I signed on with her a few weeks after our meeting.

Coincidentally enough, two high-profile projects rolled in at the same time. It was such a mental relief to have someone like her help me think through those projects and, more than that—something I can’t say I’d ever given full thought to before—my career trajectory. I spent most of 2025 hemming and hawing over the percentage an agent takes. Now I can’t wait to see what 2026 brings.

Related: I’m gratefully booked for the next few months, and this Substack might go quiet again.¹

2. I invested in my website.

For decades, I’d built and maintained my own site, partly for cost savings and partly because I (sometimes) enjoyed the process. Eventually, I realized two truths: I’m not a web designer, and all the time I spent tinkering was actually procrastination in disguise.

I’m very pleased with my current site, and even the process of discussing my site’s purpose with designer Brennan Davidson was eye-opening on the marketing side of my writing and editing business. If you want to level up your online presence, contact Brennan at Design Groove.

3. I leased a tiny private office for a year.

In the same way I vacillated about the cost of an agent, I wavered for a month on investing in office space. (I resent increasing my operating expenses.)

Last year, I mostly worked from home, which proved challenging since my son is part-time homeschooled. He also started piano and voice lessons. And he’s also very loud, which is great for his budding acting career, but not so much for my writing career (even with noise-canceling headphones.)

When I needed to get out, I’d head to a coffee shop. I’d maybe get an hour or two of work done. I also paid for a coworking space for a few months. The space was great, but I realized I needed, well, effectively a prison cell for the kind of focused work I want to achieve this year.

2025 was a good year for my business.

I’m investing in it in 2026 to make it even better.

Any questions?

And I’d love to know if this encourages you to make a long-needed change in your business.

P.S. A client’s book releases in a week! Pre-order BIG TRUST by Shadé Zahrai, and she’ll send you some great bonuses.

---

---

1. I know you’ll survive though. There are so many good Substacks to read.