We recently connected with Jeffrey Mangus and have shared our conversation below.
Jeffrey, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?
After losing my left leg below the knee in 2017 I started writing my first book as a journal. After the book was published for the first time, a friend of mine asked me if I would be interested in Ghostwriting a book for him. He was my first Ghostwriting client and we sold that book to HarperCollins Leadership right out of the gate.
Jeffrey, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My journey toward writing books for a living began at six-years old when I first saw a toy guitar. Yes, a guitar. I was fascinated, and when I held the toy guitar, it was magical. Even at that ripe age, I knew playing guitar was the thing I wanted to do. That love of guitar has transpired throughout my life as I took that passion and pursued a career as a professional musician.
I attended college and studied music and education, but I was approached to play in a rock band. Once I hit the stage, the rush, the energy, and the girls, I knew what I wanted to do with my life once that bug was planted. I followed that dream and toured the country for many years until finally landing in Hollywood, California, to play on the Sunset strip. I was only 23 when I hit Sunset Blvd., full of spitfire and vinegar, and within six months, I led my band to be voted one of the top five bands in Southern California. We played in front of every record company in the industry with major interest yet were not offered a record contract. I have no regrets as I stood on the world’s most famous stages and gave it my all, and left everything on the table. As a young man, it was an amazing journey and my first time meeting celebrities and stars. I witnessed Ozzy Osbourne five feet away pissing in a bush, to running smack dab into Porno star Ron Jeremy in front of the Whisky go-go in Hollywood.
But I bet you are wondering how I went from rock musician to ghostwriter?
Being a guitarist and songwriter, I have always nurtured my creativity by writing songs and words. I have always had an innate skill in writing words and telling stories, and after my five-year stint in Hollywood, I started a business creating and selling children’s lullaby tapes. The business was phenomenal, and demand was going crazy, so I created a lullaby tape to tell stories narrated over soft music. I wrote my first children’s story, and it came out fantastic on tape.
The seed was planted.
I started writing books for children and attended the Institute of Children’s Literature, where I sold my first children’s s magazine article, Bolts from The Blue. That story won an award for children’s non-fiction and was picked up and included in a national educational CD-ROM titled Discovery. This gave me the encouragement and inspiration to write. My aspiration as a musician blossomed into being a full-time writer. I started writing picture books and pitching to companies. To make ends meet, I worked in Cardiovascular surgery and then had a lucrative 14- year career in real estate, all the while writing books and stories.
In 2017, after major amputation surgeries, surviving sepsis, I lost my left leg below the knee. And it was in those harrowing moments where I followed my heart and define my life’s journey once and for all.
That passion was writing.
I jumped in headfirst and started copywriting for different marketing agencies across the United States. I got my feet wet on writing in someone else’s voice, and everyone seemed elated by my newfound skills. A good friend approached me about writing a book for him, and I accepted, which was the pivotal moment of my life. I wrote a stunning book proposal and sold the book to Harper Collins, and the rest is history.
I love the eighties era and anything that has to do with the 1980s, movies, music, and stories. I’m the guy who still listens to Led Zeppelin, Cream, and then jumps to Judas Priest, Winger, Ratt, Al Di Meola, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. I’m that guy who loves it all. I love playing my guitar and still do every single day. I am working on some major book projects and currently working on an incredible project that could be made into a television series.
This is a brief story of my life and how I arrived at writing books for others. I have written a few books for myself and enjoy them immensely, but I love writing the stories of others the most.
Writing about the lives of others gives me a front-row seat to live vicariously and endure the author’s pains, agony, despair, dreams, and the triumphs in my book that is an honor and genuine privilege.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
After writing my firstbook, and selling my friends book to to Harper Collins Leadership, I was suddenly thrust into the big time writing for big five publisher. I was scared to death. It was a make or break situation. I had to do it right I knew I was going to fail. I had a lot of professional eyes looking at my rookie writing and I had to push through using my tenacity and drive to make I sure to do the best that I could. I gave that book my all, and the book became a bestseller.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I deliver a ton of content on my website, blog snd consistsnt article writing. I call it breadcrumb marketing or invisible marketing leaving a trail for clients to find me. It takes a ton of planning effort but is worth the effort.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jeffreymangus.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/15sCzBeiCd/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyamangusghostwriter?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Twitter: https://x.com/ghostwritingus1?s=21