You Should Write A Book

I’m David Pascal.  I’m a writer and designer with over twenty years experience in marketing and advertising and the publishing industry.  

My main focus now and for the past few years has been ghostwriting. If you want to write a book, I can help you do it.

I can do more than just that. Most ghostwriters help their clients produce a finished manuscript, and so do I. But what then? You still need to lay the book out on the page, design a cover, and find a printer or publisher or find a way to get your book on Amazon. You may want a web site to promote your book, or someone to help set you up on Goodreads or social media. I can help you do all that.

Bottom line: I guarantee publication. Together we can put your book in front of the world public. Or in front of your public: that small circle of people you want to hear your message.

I’m one of the few people in the ghostwriting world with experience in both the verbal and visual, and print and online worlds.  I got my start in marketing as a graphic illustrator, became copywriter for a marketing firm, developed my skills to include web design and then expanded into internet marketing.

If you need a book (or white paper or presentation or web site), I can put it together for you and get it out there — and do it in one integrated package, without you having to deal with (or pay) six people, or an entire agency.  

Am I Good At What I Do?

Judge for yourself.   If you’ve read so far, I’d say my writing would seem to do the trick.  But this web site more than just some of the many things I’ve written.  It also includes documents and logos I’ve designed, campaigns I’ve done,  web sites I’ve created, presentations I’ve put together.  I think you’ll find my skills to be solid across the board.  

Multi-talented, eh?  Anything You Can’t Do?

Quite a lot.  Don’t worry, I’m not conceited (or crazy) enough to think I can always do it all.  I have limitations — I write English, HTML, and CSS well enough, but my Swahili, PHP, C++ and Swift is far from expert.  If a client needs really stellar quality in areas in which I’m not expert, I do what agencies do: I find the right person and bring them in on it.

It isn’t always necessary (and rarely cost-effective) to bring in a lot of people. If I can do it solo, I generally will. It just plain cuts down on time, costs, and project management headaches.  But if it takes a team, I can put one together. 

What Sort Of Clients Do You Work For?

My clients are generally upscale professionals and business persons who want to build their brand by using a book as a key marketing tool. They’re thought leaders who have a message to send, but are too busy with everything else to spend the months needed to develop and finish a book.

But I’m not restricted to that. I’ve written family histories, memoirs, political material, even novels for clients. Owing to confidentiality agreements, I can’t go into too much detail, but I’ve had clients who’ve served at the United Nations, led billion-dollar hedge funds, and had a net worth of over $100 million, and other clients who’ve been in prisons, experienced awful tragedy

I admit I have preferences. I like to learn. Helping people who have expertise articulate their knowledge and experiences is the best learning experience possible. It’s a payment in itself.  I have a background in psychology, and marketing, and people in those professions are always a pleasure to work with. I’m a book lover, of course, and people in the literary world make appealing clients. (They usually hire me as a ‘book doctor’ rather than an outright ghost.)  I almost always have a social or charitable project going.

Sometimes I work for me:  I teach classes in writing, advertising, and marketing, for instance, and have also taught classes in fiction and poetry.  (Yes, I’m a published, and award-winning, author.) I’ve lectured at colleges, given talks to business audiences and conferences.

What Sort Of Clients Say About You?

Nice things.

A recent client said: “I can’t congratulate David Pascal enough for the work he’s done on our web site and on our direct mail packages. Our site’s drawn frequent unsolicited praise from readers and has received unsolicited high rankings and awards from professional Web critics. His writing and consultation, in my opinion and in the personal opinions of the members of our Board of Directors, have been excellent.

“The bottom line is that since hiring David Pascal, our business has had the best year we’ve had in nearly 25 years, our web traffic has more than tripled, and we’re now the fastest growing company in our entire field.”

Says journalist, novelist and poet Sarah Freligh (who received a $25,000 grant after I created sarahfreligh.com):

“After an initial consultation with David Pascal, he knew intuitively what I wanted in a Web site and how best to accomplish it. The entire project was done quickly with a mininum of fuss. Working with David has been a pleasure. I’d recommend David Pascal’s web design services to anyone.”

Writes Dr. Mark Groskin:

“I have had a professional relationship with David Pascal for over 10 years. From web design and SEO, to marketing campaigns, media ads, brochures, business cards, and postcards, David is the man. I couldn’t be happier with the consistently excellent results of his work. David has an uncanny ability to get and keep peoples’ attention. Both visually and with words, David is an artist, and a creative genius. He is accessible, proactive, and gets results. He can draw someone in, and engage them with emotion and grace. I count my lucky stars to count him as a dear friend, collaborator, and mentor.”

Says best-selling financial author Alexander Franklin:

“David Pascal and Pascal Editions helped me to take an idea — a fantasy really — and make it a reality. After several easy recorded conversations, we worked together to create an outline and develop content, till eventually it became the story in my heart and head that I wanted to be told in exactly that way. (In fact so much material was developed that a second and third book became likely, and are under development as well.) Suffice it to say, that without David’s keen writing skills and intellect, none of this would have been possible or even probable. He was able to draw from me what I did not even know existed. Thank you David!”

Writes Philip Alexander (one of the leading internet marketing specialists in Canada, and in my humble opinion, one of the finest copywriters in all North America):

“David is more than an exceptionally gifted and knowledgable copywriter. To my knowledge he’s the only writer in the field I know that is equally competent in graphic design and print and internet marketing. The rest of us all work on our own little part of the project. David can see the big picture and put together an integrated package like no one else. He’s as unique as he is good. And he’s a pleasure to work with. If you’re looking to do a book, an advertisement, a presentation, a white paper, or just plain want a consultant who’ll give you some damn sharp advice, look no further. This is the guy.”

Local business owner Eric Koesterich put it more succinctly: “I liked his stuff. My customers liked his stuff. It got me business and it made me money.”

Can’t beat recommendations like that.

My very oldest client is the Upstate New York marketing firm The Galen Group. I’ve worked with them on assignments for over fifteen years now, and its CEO, Jonathan Rich, has called me, “the ghostwriter’s ghostwriter — and finest copywriter I ever had the pleasure of working with.”

OK, he exaggerates. But I am pretty good. 

How Do I Know You’re Any Good?

Read me.  Look at the work I’ve done. My web site can show you ads and ad campaigns, articles I’ve written, web sites I’ve designed, graphic work I’ve done, an extensive list of clients, my resume, and so on. Give me a call and tell about the book you want to write–free of charge. If I sound knowledgeable and articulate, guess what–I probably am.

If you want to find out if someone can cook — have a taste!

Do You Have A Particular Focus Or Specialty?

That’s a good question.  (Which is why I asked it.)  If there’s one thing that appears to be absolutely unique about me, it that I do not specialize:  I combine.  For instance, to my knowledge I am the only ghostwriter in the business who can not only help you actually write a book, but also design the page layout and the book cover and ebook version, then take them all through the full publication and book marketing process.

My ghostwriting page goes into more detail, but suffice it to say most ghosts produce a manuscript, collect their check, and say their farewells.  But getting a book out there means putting it into print and ebook formats, designing page layouts and covers, finding a publisher, getting the book onto Amazon and into book stores, publicizing it, transforming it across media into spoken-word CDs or condensing it into Powerpoint presentations, and so on.  There are people who can write your book, and others who can design your cover, and still others who can set you up properly on Amazon,  but I don’t know of any who can carry an author through the whole book process start to finish.

Why Should I Hire You And Not Some Other Writer Or Marketing Guy?

I’m tempted to suggest that you reread the above, because you’ll find yourself hiring several other writing and marketing guys. What distinguishes me from most other such professionals is that I’m not ‘just’ a writer. Or even just a marketing guy.  I am a published writer, and a marketing professional with long in-house marketing experience, of course.  But I also have skills and a background in graphics and design. And my academic and training credentials are in psychology — in particular, the psychology of persuasion and behavior.

If you hire me, you don’t just get someone with writing experience. You get someone with marketing experience, design skills, a sales and performance training background, formal training in persuasion skills and psychology, and someone who can produce and deliver the goods as well as just write them. You get work that’s totally integrated. And you don’t have to pay six or seven separate people to do it.

Of course, if you have money to burn, you can always hire a team or an agency.  Personally I think six for the price of one is a good deal.

What Do You Charge?

Depends on the project. I wish I could be more exact, but you really need to know the job before you can estimate it. A web site for a multi-million dollar nonprofit (which I’ve done) is going to be more work than a classified ad for a hypnotherapist. Which I’ve also done.

I do think I am generally less expensive than an agency, simply because when you pay me, you pay just me, but when you pay agencies you pay for the whole crew, the office staff, and the overhead.  Whenever I quote a project I generally recommend that the client call around for agency estimates to compare prices.  I have yet to hear even one tell me I’m overpriced by comparison.

Do You Charge For A Quote?

Heck no. There’s no charge at all. I’d be glad to chat about a project or an assignment. Call me at  585-434-7067. Or email me via the contact page on this web site.

One caveat:  if I don’t pick up at once, leave a message.  At times I am just plain bombarded with calls and email. I’ve also learned from experience that the only way to actually get some work done is to go off the grid and concentrate on the job and only on the job till it’s finished.  Leave a message.  I’ll get back to you ASAP, I promise.

What’s Your Background?

If you’d like to know more about my professional background, my resume’s on my resume page.

My personal background? I was born in Buffalo, New York, and, travels aside, seem to have spent most of my life in Rochester, mostly at my home in Brighton, not far from the celebrated Harley School.

I have a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, and a second bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities (graduating first in my class and magnum cum laude). I’ve done some post-grad study and have Practitioner Certification in neuro-linguistic programming. I studied sales under a genuine master, and Zen for several years at the Rochester Zen Center.

I’ve also lectured at colleges, and taught writing, copywriting, and web design at various places, principally the nationally celebrated organization, Writers & Books.

I’ve been a member of Mensa, Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, as well as several other groups and charities.

Professionally, I started out as an illustrator many years ago, then joined a marketing firm called The Galen Group, where I soon turned copywriter, then Chief Copywriter, then Partner, then left to freelance. I’m an award-winning writer who’s been published in numerous publications.  There are samples of those and much else that I’ve done elsewhere on this site here. Poke around.

How Can I Get In Touch?

Call me:  585-434-7067.  Or drop me a note from my Contact Page.  And if you’re not sure about calling me?  Tour my web site. I’m afraid I can’t offer you a frappuccino, but there’s plenty of things to read, a some nice design work, links to articles and sites and even fiction that I’ve done. If you’re in a rush, just send me your email. We’ll schedule something.

Till then,  look around and enjoy the tour. And if you have any comments or suggestions on the site and how I can improve it? Stop by the Contact page on your way out and let me know.

Thanks for stopping by.

– David Pascal