Natasha Tynes 🇯🇴🇺🇸

You know what separates published authors from aspiring ones? Not talent. Not connections. 85 query rejections worth of 'alligator skin'. The winners aren't the best writers. They're the ones who refuse to interpret silence as no. They are the one who keeps writing despite the rejections, and say out loud, "Screw that, I will keep writing. No one can stop me."

After experimenting with so many note-capturing systems like Evernote, Notion, Roam, etc., I’m now back to Apple Notes. It’s the one with the least friction and the one that I use the most. It’s all about simplicity.

Some people can't not write. It's not a hobby or a career. It's how they make sense. Of everything around them. Writing is who they are.

Readers are more empathetic. They understand themselves better. Fiction puts you in new worlds. You see through other eyes. Read to become more human.

I never run out of content. Why? Because I have a YouTube channel. And a podcast. Every episode = weeks of material. Now with AI? It’s next-level. I drop my scripts into ChatGPT and ask it to create tweets, LinkedIn posts, newsletter blurbs—done in minutes.

"The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living" - Socrates Journal. Make your life worth living.

What truly sets successful writers apart is their resilience in the face of rejection. Oh, so many rejections. It's s an integral part of the journey. Don't fight it. Embrace it with open arms. Celebrate it. It's your badge of honor.

...and try not to befriend people without bookshelves.

I've stopped trying to read people. I just read their bookshelves.

Stop trying to write well. Imagine texting a friend. No Shakespeare required. Just honest, simple words. That's how voice is found.

2019: I left my full-time communications job. 2020: I started freelancing and pitching to newspapers. 2021: I launched a writing cohort. 2022: I ghostwrote a book and thought, “Maybe this.” 2023: I ghostwrote one memoir after another. 2024: 80% of my income came from ghostwriting newsletters and memoirs. 2025: I run a business built entirely on words. It’s easy to miss the momentum while you’re in it. But this? This is a career.

Writer's block is fake. Sitting down breaks the block. Inspiration follows action. Show up like it's a job. Do the work anyway.

The world's shortest guide to becoming a freelance writer: 1- Publish content with your byline. 2- Create a portfolio. 3- Define your niche. 4- Send a cold Email or a pitch linking to your portfolio. 5- Get your pitch accepted. 6- Get published or get rejected and keep going.

Journalism is my education and my long-time career. Writing is my spiritual path and my business venture. 25 years. Still healing.

Publishers make pretty books. They get them in stores. But if YOU don't talk about it, books don't move. Marketing is the author's job.

I used to think successful writers had it all figured out. Then I became one. Turns out we're all just guessing. The difference is we guess publicly. And we don't stop when we're wrong. We publish, we fail, we fail again, then publish again. This is how you become a writer.

Writing a book is the easy part. Marketing and selling the book is where the real challenge is. Do you agree? Here is a snippet of my conversation with Bradley Charbonneau @brathocha on my podcast "Read and Write with Natasha."

If you are serious about writing a book, you have to treat it like a job and just write. You need to eliminate the following sentences from your life: I don’t feel inspired. I don’t feel like it. I don’t have time.

I want to eliminate one sentence from my life: “Let’s be realistic.” When people say it to themselves or others, they’re already boxed in an assumed benchmark they think they’ll never exceed. They are setting themselves up for mediocrity, to never dare to defy the odds.

Memoir tip: The best stories don’t start with ‘I was born…’ They start where the stakes get high. I often ask my clients what event changed the trajectory of their lives. As a ghostwriter, I dig for that moment—and build from there. If I ask you this question, what would be your answer?