Debbie LaChusa

From Journalism student to Aspiring Memoirist

My journey as a writer began in college.

I studied journalism, advertising, and marketing at San Diego State University. It was an interesting combination of liberal arts and commerce. Writing to communicate and writing to persuade and sell. I wrote everything from marketing copy to magazine articles. I even served as senior editor of the college magazine.

Writing has always been a part of my work.

From writing strategic marketing plans for clients, to crafting copy for my website, and writing blog posts to market my various businesses and projects, I’ve always written to accomplish an objective: to build a following, sell a program or service, or support a project. I’ve never written just to write or explore the craft of writing, until now.

Blogger.

I started blogging in the mid 2000s when I launched 10stepmarketing Connection, a blog designed to market my online coaching and training business. That blog was followed by three more: The Business Stylist Blog, The Money Success Happiness Blog, and The Following Inspiration Blog.

Author.

In 2007, I wrote and published my first book: Twin Connections. As a fraternal twin I was fascinated by the connection I had with my sister. I created a website to collect stories from twins around the world, eventually publishing those stories, along with my own in a book.

In 2008, I wrote and published my second book: The Career-at-Home Mom. Based on my experience transitioning from a corporate marketing career into a home-based consulting business, I used it to position and market myself and my business.

My third book, Breaking The Spell, was published in 2012 and chronicled my experience getting caught up in the success industry.

In 2019, I wrote and published my fourth book: The Following Inspiration Experiment, Learning to let go and live in the flow.

Aspiring Memoirist.

In 2021, I began feeling called to write a memoir. I started reading memoir and enrolled in an online course to learn the craft of writing memoir. But in early 2022 my life took a detour. My dad’s life was coming to a close and my daughter gave birth to our first grandchild. I spent much of 2022 traveling to San Diego and Ohio to visit them. Writing was not my priority, family was.

Dad died in June 2022 and we buried him in August. Upon returning home from his funeral I felt a renewed motivation to start writing. I enrolled in a memoir writing class and began writing almost daily.

In December 2022, I closed my online course business (although my courses are still available on Udemy) and embarked on my fifth career as a writer and aspiring memoirist. I created this website and blog to share my journey and my writing.

I hope you find what I share interesting, enlightening, and educational. From day one I’ve found the journey to be all three.


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