I’m a professional copywriter.

And a former food columnist. And a one-time PR flack. And I compiled oral histories of up-from-poverty Great Depression boxers. And I was an employee communications specialist (puke). And the author of several small books of poetry and fiction, with a BA and MA in English from Brown University and a certificate in advertising art from the RI School of Design night school. I earned an international credential in business communications, too; winning global awards in that arena.

Whatever turned a buck and had to do with words.

I like words.

I love books. I wanted to be a writer before I could even read.

These days, I make my living by writing capital campaign cases and fundraising direct mail … by doing audits, reviewing and recommending fixes for donor communications … and by teaching others (through books and workshops and staff training) everything I’ve learned during decades of trial, error ... and the occasional spectacular success.

Like the time my direct mail acquisition appeal, based on Dr. Cialdini’s principle of “reciprocity” attracted 30,000+ donors to a community hospital. Or the time I turned a money-losing donor newsletter for an international charity into “a license to print money in the basement,” to quote a delighted CEO. The largest capital campaign I’ve worked on to date was for a billion dollars; it made goal ahead of schedule.