Hi. Leslie here. And this is My Life As A Multimedia Event.
I began freelance writing to earn tuition for college and liked it so much I formed Easy Writer Productions ten years later.
For two years i photographed and interviewed Seattle business owners for the Pioneer Square Gazette and medical professionals for The Seattle Medical/Dental Building Journal. At the same time, I edited the college paper and worked as Assistant Manager for the college radio station KCMU.
I loved the radio station. After I wrote the morning news I would jump-start my morning drive-time DJ shift with a blast of Stray Cats. One of my proudest achievements at the radio station was the annual KCMU-FM Beg-A-Thon I managed that more than doubled our membership and nearly quadrupled our paid pledges.
- It was strategic. We knew most of our listeners were students - here for a few years then gone. However, from a survey I had sent the prior year along with the KCMU stickers, we knew that about three-percent of our members were business owners, who played the station for their workers. I wanted those established businesses to become premium members. These included car dealerships, medical clinics, and retailers. So I came up with some creative "exclusive" incentives.
- I also juiced up the promotional spots and included sound bites from the local grunge bands that were now getting national notice. I went to their shows and recorded the musicians asking listeners to support the station. (''You gotta give them some money, cuz man, they play us when no one else will, ya-know.") And of course, the bands were happy to comp us extra show tickets to give to our new supporters.
- In addition to the tickets to concerts and album release parties, our new Platinum Punk Members were thrilled with the generous underwriting packages, personalized station tours and guest spots with their favorite DJ. Plus, all our business members took home a really cool sweatshirt with the edgy new KCMU logo that my sister designed!
The response staggered us. With this stronger financial foundation, the station applied for and got a power increase led to KCMU-FM becoming a major force in greater Seattle radio landscape. That "Beg-a-thon was just the beginning. The the station continued to grow and this ripe plum was plucked several years later, discarding its student identity, and now operates as KEXP-FM/Seattle.
I hated to leave the station, but I had to graduate. I earned a degree in Film Studies and Broadcast Journalism and took a job producing travelogues and managing traffic for a niche advertising agency. From there I became a Production Coordinator for a publishing house, then a Customer Service Representative for a direct mail printing house.
In 1988 I wrote and produced Northwest Tunesmith for cable TV, an unplugged music series before unplugged was a thing. I produced wrote, hosted and directed this series with a crew of 16, taping in-studio and on location with a remote van.. The series showcased about 40 local musicians doing their original music. I loved supporting those talented and dedicated creative souls.
In 1990 I launched Easy Writer Productions to write and edit newsletters for three Seattle film and video organizations. First was Women In Film/Seattle (WIF/S), since I was a Founding Mother. Then both International Television and Video Association (ITVA) and the Washington Film and Video Association (WFVA) hired me to yank their newsletters out of the red and rebuild their advertising base, while informing the membership of all the changes hitting the media industry. These gigs overlapped with a position as Department Editor and Writer for Media Inc, a regional monthly trade magazine and index that served broadcast, film and marketing businesses in the Northwest.
Over the next decade I freelanced radio spots and newsletters, booked and operated the first real-time video conference room in Seattle, published weekly newsletters for a church, and wrote a dozen feature film scripts plus a few novels. I became the Senior Book Editor for Lighthouse Publishing Group, a financial training company that published books on stock market trading strategies and wealth management. I edited and/or ghostwrote a dozen books as many authors. Then an earthquake knocked the building down and tossed me out of a job.
I took a position as Media Production Department Manager for The Light Brigade, a fiber optics training firm. As manager I designed, equipped, and staffed the department. Then i polished up my technical and educational writing and worked closely with instructors and SMEs to update and revise technical training manuals, videos, PowerPoint, and multimedia to meet the demands of this fast-expanding industry. Then the Enron and Global Crossing scandals knocked the stuffing out of the fiber optics world, which tanked almost completely after Nine-Eleven.
This was a well-timed hiatus, because my At-Risk teenager was going off the rails in a big way and I needed to head off the train wreck. I was in crisis management mode 24/7 for the next seven years. I dealt with courts and judges, police and detention centers, lawyers and parole officers, doctors and hospitals, psychiatrists and medications, rehab and lock-downs, insurance companies and schools. Then there was that last debacle with the DEA bust that nearly cost me my house. Oh, and did I mention the divorce?
While all that was happening on the ground, Spirit was operating in me. I worked with energy healers, spiritual advisors, and alternative health modalities, and parent support groups and counselors. I attended motivational and personal training courses to gather tools as I went along. I earned the equivalent of a master’s degree in How To Save A Soul From It's Own Reckless Human Expression.
I absorbed a generous portion of spiritual and human resilience, wisdom, and compassion. These now support my work with clients in the coaching, human potential, and self-improvement professions.
While saving my kid from the abyss, I went a little nuts myself. I entered a furious phase of inspired creativity that let me escape my personal hell on earth.
- I wrote and produced two music albums of original music.
- I performed at concerts and hosted music showcases for other artists.
- I wrote three novels and dozens of short stories.
- I wrote, produced, and directed short films.
- I won awards for feature scripts and collaborated with film producers to get them through development.
- I wrote and directed a fundraising video for my church, which helped raise $8M for a bigger building.
Still freelancing. I edited PowerPoint and manuals for NetSpeed, an executive leadership training firm. Then I ghostwrote a series of guidebooks for another executive leadership company. Then a Canadian investor and financial educator hired me to ghostwrite his book. In addition, for the next five years I edited his monthly newsletters, and wrote his marketing materials, emails, and legal reports. I dabbled in Forex and worked as interim desk editor for Stocks & Commodities/Technical Analysis magazine.
In 2008 my life went totally sideways again. Caught in the mortgage meltdown I short sold my house. A very slim silver lining showed up when my real estate agent hired me write and produce his continuing real estate education course to teach other agents how to get these tricky transactions through the banks. I created his PowerPoint and his 100-page Field Guide, and designed and wrote his website and set it up for enrollments. I vetted 100,00 contacts through three auto response programs and migrated everything into Infusionsoft. Then I wrote and managed multiple email campaigns to fill thousands of seats in three states.
Then my mom started to fail and I moved in to become her caretaker for the next 10 years. This was a welcome respite while I decompressed from Post Traumatic Stress and my child completed her GED and then graduated from a vocational school.
Rekindling my love of music, I began performing again and wrote and produced my third music CD. I managed and wrote copy for Victory Music website for three years. Then wrote publicity for Far-West International for another three years, writing promotional ads and press releases for their conferences. Both organizations serve the folk and acoustic music communities. Victory Music is based in Seattle and Far-West serves five states.
In 2014, I trained as a Human Design Specialist and began conducting readings, workshops, and coaching via Zoom.
My mother died at age 99 under the eclipse on January 31, 2018. Three months later I moved to Las Vegas with my daughter to manage the legalities, taxes, and bookkeeping for her talent agency. I drove for a limousine company until Covid shut down the Vegas Strip. I went off the grid. I went deaf and isolated further. In the silence, I completed Spiritual Practitioner Training with Science of Mind/Centers for Spiritual Living. Now I do prayer work for family and friends.
Now it is July of 2023 and 114-degrees outside. I miss green trees. I miss rain. I miss making music with my friends. I miss connecting with the world that is changing so fast. I miss working with change-makers and business people, who make things happen. I feel like the Vampire Lestat waking up after being buried in New Orleans for 12 decades.
I'm excited!
I'm leaving Las Vegas and moving to Spokane.
I'm rebooting Easy Writer Productions to write for hire again!
I'm up-leveling my digital copy writing and content creation skills.
I'm crushing the latest productivity tools like ChatGPT and Canva.
I'm retooling my script writing for Video Sales Letters.
I'm reinventing myself. Again.
You know my story now. Now tell me yours.
- Maybe you're a financial educator helping workers navigate the new gig economy.
- Maybe you are a real estate developer meeting the need for tiny houses and low and middle-income housing.
- Maybe you’re a life or personal coach marketing new programs to new clients.
- Maybe you operate a music distribution platform to help artists find their tribe of fans.
- You might be an alternative health professional offering energy healing, nutrition counseling, or sound therapies for elders.
- Maybe you need to promote your Turn-Around-Residency Program for At-Risk-Youth.
- Or maybe you are something completely different!
I’m ready to meet some good people who want help to spread the word about their important solutions. Let’s talk.