Mike Wicks
About me
I ‘m a ghostwriter, ghostblogger, freelance writer, author and publishing consultant.
Books have been my life since I joined my first publishing company at eighteen. I’ve written on just about any topic you can imagine, from mutual funds to the fire-bombing of Japan in WWII, from the decline in world trust to the fourth industrial revolution, and from how not sell and manage people to baby boomers to Dungeness crab. I write under my own name and as a ghostwriter and writer-for-hire for clients as diverse as a renowned financial advisor, a WWII veteran, a multi-billionaire, a popular life coach, a Vietnam helicopter pilot flying hunter/killer missions, and a sex trafficking survivor.
I co-wrote the Wall Street Journal bestseller, Built Not Born: A Self-Made Billionaire’s No-Nonsense Guide for Entrepreneurs with Tom Golisano. It was a bestseller on many lists, including Barnes and Noble, Publisher’s Weekly, and Amazon.
Harper Collins Leadership publishes my two books: How Not to Sell and How Not to Manage People (pub. August 2020).
Fire From The Sky – A Diary Over Japan won a silver medal for the best military memoir of 2005, awarded by the Military Writers Society of America.
My sales and marketing column appeared in Douglas business magazine for ten years. I have written small business, food, lifestyle, and travel articles.
I have over 40 years of experience in mainstream and custom book publishing, working at many great publishing houses, including Random House, Michael Joseph, and the Pearson-Longman group. I founded one of the industry’s first special publications divisions, publishing corporate-sponsored books and specialist publications. I subsequently became the managing director and part-owner of two custom publishing houses.
I am a member of the Association of Ghostwriters.
At eighteen, I entered the publishing world as a trainee sales representative. By my late thirties, I’d gained experience as an area manager, sales manager, head of special publications, and managing director at some of the world’s mainstream book publishers. I then decided to head west and become a ghostwriter and author in North America.
For the last quarter-century, I’ve been a UK ex-pat writing for authors and writing agencies across the United States from coast to coast, especially in New York City, Florida, Arkansas, Arizona, and California. I also have clients in Canada.
Today I have a major co-authored book (Built Not Born) due for publication by Harper Collins Leadership and am working on two new books for HCL that will be published solely under my name. In addition, I am currently ghostwriting five books for a diverse range of authors.
In 2011, I launched Blue Beetle Books Inc., a custom book publishing house. In 2016 Blue Beetle Books Inc. brought onboard a new business partner, took a new direction, and morphed into Your Better Business Content. Today, Paul Abra, my business partner, manages YourBBC, and I have a behind-the-scenes role as the lead writer for Your Better Business Content.
If you need a professional writer with over 40 years of experience who loves to be creative and approaches each new project with high-level energy and enthusiasm, call me for a no-obligation chat!
Click below for my bio.