Telling stories is at the center of interesting lives. How often have we all heard someone say, "I ought to write a book" because they know they have a story to tell? The thought of putting that story in writing is often a really good idea. In fact, it is almost always a good idea, regardless of who actually puts it in writing.

I am one of the legions of writers or want-to-be writers who have a story to tell, and I have even written mine. So, why isn't it printed? Living a story, telling a story, writing a story, even publishing a story, are not one and the same. Nor does a great story automatically become a memoir or a book.

And that is where most people stop. But it does not need to be the end of the story.

I know there are wonderful stories that many would love to tell, maybe to give to family members, perhaps to share with a wider audience, possibly to advance a philosophy. What so many of us need is the help to turn our vision into its printed destiny!

Here's the good news. We now have the writers and editors with the knowledge to guide all of us from A to Z. We do not even have to be a writer. We can just bring our story to be written, or memoirs to be edited, or have someone to get us started and help us finish whatever it is to be published. We now have everyone and everything you and I need to hold our book in our hands, not just our heads.

I think about Mary Bergey's excellent story of her splendid family of farmers, A Symphony of Frogs. We published excerpts in earlier Shoppers and the Bergeys sold those fascinating books in their store. Best of all for that extended family is having their storybook for current and future generations. Being a small part of letting our readers know about Mary's book was so gratifying.
Judy Snider's recent thriller, Too Late To Run is a real page turner. Judy and her husband, neurosurgeon Gil Snider, are both published mystery authors. I hold them in awe and they inspire me.

These friends' talents let me know that people with active, successful lives and careers can also be authors of note.

Those who have a talent for fiction generally write their own stories, but may need editing services. Non-fiction can be told to a ghost writer by the story tellers who are not story writers!

Our truly excellent writers can look at others' visions through objective eyes. I know, and our writers know, how exciting it is to want to publish and how gratifying it will be for everyone involved to bring stories and memoirs to life.

Editor Rob Lauer will oversee this exciting arm of our business. Few people I have known are more talented, capable and compassionate. Rob has performed on Broadway, has written plays to read and to perform, has published, is a TV personality and a writer in great demand. We are proud to offer our clients the services he has set in place.

Editor Angela Slevin will keep us grounded with her calm composure, her unrelenting skills and never ending enthusiasm. She and Rob have assembled excellent writers as enthused about helping other writers publish as the authors themselves are to hold their own books.