My Name is Jeff Slaughter and I’m a Writah!

My name is Jeff Slaughter and I’m a writah.

Before you question my spelling on that word, let me tell you the story behind it.

Years ago I got a job at a physical rehabilitation hospital in Jackson, Mississippi as ‘public relations manager’. My boss was a petite senior-ish southern belle from Atlanta named ‘Isabelle’.

On my first day at work, Isabelle toured me around the hospital and introduced me as her ‘writah’. I cringed every time. Not because I couldn’t write – but because I was so much more than a ‘writah’.

I had a degree in public relations. I’d taken classes in persuasion and propaganda, analyzed public relations case studies, and even studied a bit of marketing. Didn’t that make me more than a ‘writah’?

Over the nine years I worked in Jackson, I wrote. And wrote. And wrote.

Every once in a while I persuaded and propagandized. I got to work on meaningful public relations campaigns such as the ones we developed to educate the public about the prevention of spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury and stroke. And I even developed a marketing plan here and there.

But it turns out that ‘public relations manager’ was really just a fancy title for ‘writah’.

I wrote press releases, newsletters, brochures, full-color magazines, website copy, CEO columns, speeches and ads. I even wrote some recipes for a fundraiser cookbook.

Words, words, words. Who knows how many thousands I wrote working as Isabelle’s ‘writah’?

But over the years, I got better and better.

I learned to write short. I learned the art of rewriting – leaving copy and coming back to it fresh. I learned how to edit: to whittle a sentence down to size, cut the fat and keep it tight. In fact, others started asking me to write for them – or at least make their words better.

At some point in the middle of all those words, I stopped cringing when Isabelle introduced me as her ‘writah.’ I started seeing myself as a writer and felt a newfound pride in the skill it took to whip words into shape.

I learned that not everyone is good at writing. Not everyone wants to write. And not everyone has the time to write. I started to feel blessed.

Since then, a lot of life has come and gone.

After Mississippi, my family and I lived in Europe for 15 years where we did missions work. Although we’re now based in northwest Louisiana, I continue to travel to Europe and remain engaged in ministry.

The wonderful thing about modern technology is that with the internet, email and cell phones, I can write from anywhere.

And I do. Whether I’m at home in Louisiana, at our base in Brussels, Belgium or at an airport in Milan, Italy, I can write, prep images, and post articles on client websites or social media platforms.

Although public relations was my specialty way back when, today I write B2B and B2C content marketing pieces for clients in healthcare, small business and communications technology. I write business blogs, website content, social media posts, e-newsletters and press releases. And I offer ‘done for you services’ such as blog and social media posting, image selection, and search engine optimization services through the Yoast plugin.

So what kind of writer am i?

I’m strategic, creative and pretty fast.

I’m easy to work with, enjoy a hearty laugh, but am serious about the work.

I can work face-to-face in the northwest Louisiana area or via phone, email or skype if you’re somewhere else in the world.

I’m Jeff Slaughter. The writah! And I’d love to write for you.