A Story About the Stories
Below are a few very diverse downloadable samples of my work. Because of client confidentiality I can include only a few published items. The first sample is actually very interesting from an historical perspective. It demonstrates a "pitch" letter and is from early in my career. I worked as a technical writer for M.I.T.S (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems). MITS developed the first personal computer, the Altair. M.I.T.S. contracted with a small software company called Micro Soft run by a couple bright kids named Bill Gates and Paul Allen whom I had met at a party at Paul's house.
My "real" dream was to be a freelance writer, so I proposed to Bill that I write a query letter to the biggest and most prestigious computer publication at the time, Datamation, pitching a story about Microsoft. Bill thought it was a great idea. It would give him a chance to see a sample of my work—gratis of course—and get publicity for Micro Soft (as it was known then). You can download the pitch and Datamation's form rejection below. Note, these letters are typed on that archaic device known as a typewriter since "text editor" software was in the most nascent development stage.
When I brought the rejection letter to Bill, he whirled around in his chair, facing the window, with his back to me while he read it several times. Whirling back, he put his hands on his desk and snarled, "Susan, you know what pisses me off? It pisses me off when people don't take me seriously. Well, you know what? Someday, people are going to take me seriously!"
And there it was: The Burning Bush of computer technology.
Later M.I.T.S. was swallowed up by another company which began laying off workers. I survived the first round but decided Micro Soft might offer more employment security. Bill offered me a job which I eagerly accepted. However, the next day he called me at work and asked if I could come over on my lunch hour. I was excited that I might actually get to start right away. Bill gestured for me to sit down.
"I screwed up." he said quietly.
"Screwed up?"
"Yeah, when I hired you, I didn't know that Paul had hired Andrea [my former boss]. Since you still have a job we decided it would be better to go with Andrea. You know we have a lot of work, but we can only afford one writer. You could work for stock though. You couldn't sell it or anything, but it will be worth something someday."
And the reply which would haunt me for the rest of my life?
"Sorry Bill, I'm a single mom with two little kids. If I'm going to do any extra work, I really need to get paid for it."
So, in the picture on the right of the Microsoft start-up team, the woman in the bottom row, second from the left next to Bill....well....could have been me.
Other Samples
The next sample is a citation-intensive article with original research on Multiple Sclerosis written for The Journal of the American Society of Radiologic Technicians. And finally, just to show my diversity, is an article from the scholarly journal, American Indian Quarterly. It was the first full article they ever published by an undergraduate.
