Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Jordan.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jonathan. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve been writing stories since I was seven years old and I’ve always been an avid movie watcher. In my senior year of high school, I won a one-act play competition. And then I won it again the very next year. In 2007, I earned my degree in English Literature. My next step in life? Logically, I became a social worker. Yes, I spent the next eight years working with foster kids in a variety of roles. During that time, I always kept writing as a hobby, but always wondered what would have happened if I had pursued it more seriously. In 2016, I decided to get serious about writing again and turn my writing into a business, but how? I wanted to tell stories, especially through film, but I also wanted to help other people tell their stories.
In 2017, I helped my first writing client self-publish a children’s book and then in 2018. I won a major screenwriting competition that helped me land my agent in Hollywood. That same year, I was hired for my first paid script, a film based on a true story that is in pre-production. Since then, I’ve helped over a dozen authors bring their books to life and have had projects pitched to major studios. Most recently, I was selected as a ghostwriter for a well-known publisher and I’m currently working on another film based on a true story.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Becoming a professional writer has never been easy for anyone. The fear of failure was part of why I didn’t pursue it seriously after graduating. That and the fact that the collective “wisdom” is that writing is unrealistic as a profession unless you have a degree in journalism. I listened to this instead of following my passion and told myself I had to be content with writing as a hobby. My time in social work helped me sharpen my storytelling skills as it opened me up to new perspectives, and I learned that there were other ways to earn money from writing.
Financial struggles have slowed me down as well and led to further discouragement. Combine that with working a full-time job and being a husband and father and you’ll find me up late most nights writing whatever project I’m invested in at the moment. Finding editing clients has always been difficult too, as I have to balance the time it takes to find clients with working on my projects. Plus, as you can imagine, it’s not just anyone who has the drive and passion for completing a book. Sometimes I’ve had eight clients at once to juggle, while other times I’ve had months without writing work.
I also have to get creative to keep myself motivated in the face of rejection. Just last year, I had a script considered by two major studios only to have both of them pass on it, which was incredibly disappointing. I’ve learned to take that disappointment and convert it into motivation to keep creating and finding new stories to tell that will have a positive impact on others.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
My specialty is that I help people to tell their stories. I like helping new writers convert their ideas into reality and then pass that on to others. With my editing clients, my specialty is helping them learn how to be storytellers, helping them find their voice and dig out the little golden nuggets of truth in those stories. In my film work, my specialty is creating stories that haven’t been told before, bringing to light ideas and characters that can inspire the viewer even if their story is completely different. So far, this has translated into a specialty for true life sports films and family-friendly fantasy. What I’m most proud of as a company is a success that my clients have enjoyed and the exposure that their books have brought them to pursue what they are passionate about and to influence others with that passion. I think what sets me apart is my pure love of story and my ability to instill that in others throughout the process.
What were you like growing up?
As a kid, I talked too much, and always had an adventure story playing out in my mind. I liked being the center of attention, which is exactly the opposite of how I am now. We moved around a lot through the first half of my childhood, which I think taught me to adapt well and made me more open to new experiences and meeting new people. I have always liked getting along with everyone and avoiding conflict as much as possible. I wanted everyone to like me – I mean, who doesn’t?
I’ve loved movies from a young age, and I was obsessed with drawing because that was my way of creating characters and worlds. Seriously, I’ve killed SO many trees. But once I figured out how to give voice and action to those characters through words, writing became my medium. While the only youth sport I could manage to be decent in was cross country and track, I grew up in a baseball-loving family and my parents also instilled in me my love of the Olympic Games – both Summer and Winter, so my childhood was filled with the Olympic spirit. I’ve always been a bit of a night owl/insomniac, so I would stay up late into the night on weekends, working on new stories that were bursting out of my brain.
Contact Info:
- Website: wordrobemedia.com
- Email: wordrobemedia@gmail.com
- Instagram: jonathan.jordan.writer
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jonathan-Jordan-669422803472568/
Image Credit:
@charityclaytonphotography (for all photos except the 2 with dark wood backgrounds)
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