This time last year I started writing Retirement GPS: How to Navigate Your Way to Way to a Secure Financial Future with International Investing with expert Aaron Katsman. The book was released a couple of weeks ago, on August 23.

I provided manuscript development and editing services to Aaron on this project, beginning with the Goldilocks Chapter that secured his book contract with McGraw-Hill.

Write your book with your unique voice

Aaron is blessed a strong voice that I knew would help the book resonate with his intended audience: investors in middle age and older. His personality shines throughout the book, especially in the humorous, self-deprecating anecdotes. Here’s one at the top of a chapter about whether to work with professional financial advisors:

Before I was married and my wife could steer me in the right direction, I got pretty sick but didn’t know what was wrong with me. I had a fever over 101 degrees (Fahrenheit)  for five days in a row, had little appetite and, in manly fashion, figured I would take some Tylenol and a few bowls of chicken soup and all would be well. After a week, a friend came over to visit and told me that I looked a bit yellow. I finally decided to pay a visit to the doctor, who quickly diagnosed me with hepatitis!

 “Oops” I said, “I guess I got that diagnosis wrong.” What made things even worse was that I was living with a few roommates and they all needed to get shots. One had just left on vacation abroad, so it took a while to track him down to tell him to get his immune globulin shot. Needless to say I wasn’t the most popular guy in the apartment!

Had I put my ego to the side and relied on a professional, I would have saved myself and my friends a lot of pain and inconvenience.

Does the same hold true for an investors retirement portfolio? Is a retiree who manages his own money a fool, or an investor who saves a lot of money over the long-term and achieves her stated goals?

Working with me as a book editor

I provided manuscript development and editing services to author Aaron Katsman.

I knew from developing that Goldilocks Chapter that the book should resonate with Aaron’s unique wit and verve. His book proposal contained a table of contents that became the backbone of our work, but the anecdotes and interviews with industry experts really make the book sing.

You might think you don’t have a unique voice or other “special sauce” to use in your book, but you do, and I’ll help you discover it. My experience as a ghostwriter comes into play even when I’m not ghostwriting.

Reviewers consistently note how easily the book reads and how the conversational tone makes Aaron’s financial advice accessible to people who don’t usually read investment books.  Here’s one such review:

I thought that Aaron and Tamela did a fabulous job in writing about Investing Internationally or Globally. They made it understandable for the average person and shared poignant stories as well as interviews with industry leaders. I heartily recommend this book.~Joshua M. Normand

As the reader’s advocate, I watched for places where one of Aaron’s stories or case studies was needed, and he had several to choose from every time. We also made liberal use of case studies to help readers find themselves in Aaron’s advice and research. This did not go un-noticed:

…folksy wisdom laced with entertaining stories, combined with a broad knowledge of world economies and their myriad financial products…paint a clear picture of how one can skillfully diversify his investments beyond the United States into what Mr. Katsman calls the GPS portfolio.” ~Navad Serling (in the book’s Foreword)

About Retirement GPS

In Retirement GPS, Aaron calls for a more balanced portfolio in light of today’s realities–one that places heavy emphasis on foreign investments. This no-nonsense guide teaches you:

• Why international investing is critical to your retirement portfolio
• Where the best places to begin investing are–from Scandinavia to the Middle East
• How to invest in foreign stocks and bonds

Here’s what Aaron said of my work:

It was a pleasure working with Tamela on my book. She knows business and finance well, so I didn’t have to waste time bringing her up to speed AND she definitely provided value by making suggestions that helped strengthen my manuscript. Even though we were working on our project internationally—very different time zones—it was easy to work with her. As an accomplished writer/ghostwriter- she did a great job of helping capture my voice in my material.~Aaron Katsman, President and CEO of Lighthouse Capital, Ltd.

If you’ve been sitting on a book idea, let’s talk. The first consultation is on the house for qualified prospective authors.