We recently connected with L.M. Archer and have shared our conversation below.
L.M. , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we talk about all of your success, let’s start with a story of failure. Can you open up about a time when you’ve failed?
Rather than failure, perhaps a better word might be “mistake.” Over a dozen years ago, I took a leap of faith from the grey, corporate world into the bright, colorful world of wine writing.
As a business professional, I immediately realized the importance of achieving designations to establish credibility. Additionally, I realized that in order to write about wine, I needed to understand the ‘business’ of wine.
Consequently, I determined to work in tasting rooms at four different winery tiers: family, boutique, corporate, and luxury.
I also made the unfortunate mistake of assuming that I needed to write a blog, which proved popular at the time. I never felt comfortable ‘blogging.’ I considered myself a writer. It took me a few years to figure out I didn’t ‘need’ to blog, and instead launched a website showcasing my professional writing portfolio.
However, it took a bit longer to work out the other mistake – working in tasting rooms.
For most of my life, I have suffered from acute shyness.. Luckily, the corporate wold provided the perfect cover to ‘hid in plain sight’ as an introvert. However, the wine world pivots around congenial extraverts.
Yet, for nearly three years after leaping into my writing life, I forced myself to suit up, show up, and work in tasting rooms, despite my lack of social skills. Despite my ineptness operating cash registers and taking manual inventory. Despite my difficulty lifting heavy cases of wine.
Ultimately, two of the wineries proved positive learning experiences (family and boutique), chiefly because they used user-friendly iPads, not cash registers, offered help lifting wine cases, and allowed me the freedom to make mistakes without recrimination.
Unfortunately, the other two proved horrible failures. I knew the day I walked into the corporate winery that I didn’t belong. It felt like working at a fast-food take-out for wine. However, I’d gone through such an extensive on-boarding process, I felt I had to “stick it out.” I left shortly thereafter, but the humiliation of that experience still stings.
Still determined to ‘tick’ the last box on my winery experience list, I accepted a position at a luxury brand. Sadly, despite the elegant decor and high-touch approach, the cash register still loomed as my daily nemesis. So did my shyness. Finally, after my husband suffered a life-threatening health emergency, I realized life was too short. I wasn’t here to work in a tasting room. I was here to write.
Ironically, after concentrating on the one thing I wanted to do – write – my shyness lessened.
Today, I can’t forget the mistakes I made. But I have learned from them. And hope that anyone reading this follows their gut – and their heart – rather than checklists when mapping out their own leap of faith.
L.M. , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I knew I wanted to be a writer at the age of eight. I come by the calling honestly.
The first five years of my life unfurled seaside amidst an ad-hoc Pacific Northwest artists’ beach colony.
The eclectic group of writers, artists, and photographers included folks like Frank Herbert, author of Dune.
Here, my father, a larger-than-life aspiring writer-turned PR person (and later, political operative), instilled in me my love of words, art, culture, photography, and music.
He also gave me my eyes to see, my ears to hear, and my heart to feel – gifts necessary for any writer.
Arriving at my writing life proved a true hero’s journey, not unlike the people about whom I write. We each took a leap of faith, encountered villains, enlisted allies and mentors, and overcame obstacles (in my case, crippling shyness). Most importantly, we each eventually won our battles, and share its boon with our communities.
Today, I’m an award-winning writer and contributor to consumer, B2B, and B2C platforms worldwide, with a focus upon food, wine, travel, bubbles, the business of wine, and sustainability. I also ghost write, a genre requiring the invaluable skill of discretion.
Ultimately, I desire to move, touch and inspire others through my work, and in doing so, create value.
My works appear in numerous publications and platforms worldwide, including The Drinks Business, Wine Enthusiast, and Wine Business Monthly. Additionally, I served as an Oregon field editor to the 2022 Slow Wine Guide USA .
An Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year 2020 award winner and 2021 Shortlist winner, I’m also a Meadowood Professional Wine Writer Symposium Fellowship recipient, and judge for professional wine events.
Moreover, I also moderate diverse industry panel discussions such as Rhone Rangers Oregon wines, Oregon Sparkling Wine, Willamette Valley sparkling wine, and Brexit: State of Play. Other visual experience includes video correspondent for FoodableTV.
On the geekier side, my professional affiliations include Society of American Journalists and Authors (ASJA), Circle of Wine Writers (CWW), Academy of Media Tastemakers – TASTE, Gotham Ghost Writers, and International Travel Writers Alliance (MITWA).
A graduate of Smith College, my designations include Bourgogne Master Level, Champagne Master Level, and French Wine Scholar from the Wine Scholar Guild, as well as Wine Fundamentals I & II through the International Sommelier Guild.
I look forward to helping interesting, creative people and organizations voice their own heroic stories.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
During covid, virtually all of my travel and food writing publication editors and staff disappeared overnight, due to lost ad revenue.
Consequently, I pivoted into content writing, a skill I honed using tools I garnered through my member ship with ASJA (American Society of Journalists and Authors).
Over time, the skills learned through content writing, particularly attention to brevity, keywords, and SEO ranking, vastly improved my long form and other freelance writing avenues.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Transparency, diligence, and professionalism. When I make a mistake, I acknowledge it, accept responsibility, and apologize. I also ask “how can I make this right?”
I have learned to keep going, despite obstacles, and to remain upbeat and cordial, regardless the challenge.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lmarcher.com
- Instagram: @lmarcherml
- Facebook: facebook.com/LMArcherLLC/
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/lmarcher
Image Credits
Alisha+Brook Photography