Jonathan Jordan

Wordrobe Media

Book Coach, Editor, Ghostwriter, and Storyteller. I help brilliant but busy executives unleash their Inner Storytellers so they can transform ideas into impact. Books I've worked on have won awards, hit #1 on Audible, and received rave reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus. Represented by Settebello Entertainment in Los Angeles. 2018 winner of the Stage32 Feature Screenwriting Competition. 2-time Top 10% Screenplay Ranking for AMPAS Nicholl Fellowships.

Founder | Chief Storyteller

Greenleaf Book Group

Developmental editing and book coach for business nonfiction titles.

Developmental Editor and Book Coach

Kevin Anderson & Associates 

Ghostwriting, book coaching, and editing for Kevin Anderson & Associates, including authors publishing with Big 5 Publishers.

Ghostwriter, Book Coach, and Editor

Amplify Publishing Group

Book Coach and Editor

Forbes Books

Since 2020, ghostwriting, book coaching, and book planning for executive-level authors publishing under both Advantage Media and Forbes imprints.

Ghostwriter, Book Coach, and Book Planner

Scribe Media

Book coach for 2 projects: business and memoir.

Book Coach

RightNow Media

Senior Account Manager

Connect with small business leaders and identify video resources to help them engage their employees, care for their workforce, and develop themselves and other leaders around them.

Account Manager

I connect business leaders with the correct point person of our nonprofit to best fit their needs, whether they are looking for HR tools to best care for their people, partner with us in leadership development, or identify content to help develop and impact other businesses.

Senior Account Coordinator

I connected church leaders across the country and in Canada with our Senior Director of Partnerships for both online and in-person demonstrations of our online media resources and addressed benefits for the church's mission and ministry needs.

Senior Sales Coordinator

New Degree Press

Contract developmental editing and book coaching for semester-long publishing program in collaboration with Georgetown University.

Upbring

I supervised a caseload of foster families and the children in their care through monthly visits, compliance to state and organizational regulations, and regular service plan meetings. I was also on a rotating on-call schedule for emergency placements and ongoing training presentations for foster families.

Family Services Case Manager

Stretch-n-Grow International

My wife and I owned the Frisco Franchise for Stretch-N-Grow International, a children's fitness and nutrition company founded in the early '90s in Galveston, TX. We contracted with preschools, day cares and other child service providers to provide fitness programs for children as young as 18 months up through elementary-aged children. Our programs included general fitness/exercise, dance, sports, and yoga depending on the client's needs. My wife was the day-to-day business runner, and I helped with finances, purchasing, marketing, web content, and meet and greet marketing events.

Franchise Owner

Unleash your Inner Storyteller | Book Coach & LinkedIn Ghostwriter | Let's empower your Story to transform Ideas into Impact.

Writing a great book is hard.
Writing a great book that wins results is even harder.

You and I can change that.

As a former social worker and multi-business owner, I help CEOs and founders tackle their Page Fright, unleash their Inner Storyteller, and turn stories into ROI.

From Silicon Valley CEOs to serial entrepreneurs, my clients have leveraged their books to attract premium clients, gain industry authority, win awards, and even launch businesses.

Here’s how I can help you NOW:
1. Follow me to learn effective storytelling.
2. DM me about book coaching or ghostwriting.
3. Go read my book "Start With Story." Get it from bookshop.org/a/106317/9798991327008 to support your local bookstore.

Book coaching and editing services.

You swore you'd write a book this year.
Now you're just swearing. ⤵️ 

The cycle I see so many would-be authors stuck in:
- They start.
- They get distracted.
- They start over.
- They second-guess their ideas.
- They start over again.
- They hate what they wrote thus far.
- They start over again again.

Leading to stream of both verbal and nonverbal expletives.

Sound familiar?

Good news.
You don't have to stay there.

Bring others along the journey.
When you get stuck, they'll pull you out.
So you can move forward.

>>>Where are you in this part of the cycle?
(DM if you're afraid to say "out loud" in a comment.)

(P.S. pretty sure I stole this graphic from Jeanette Smith.)

Your content doesn't have to suck | Award-Winning Book Coach & Bestselling Ghostwriter

This is 40.  
Here's what has really mattered: ⤵️ 

*I love Jesus but cuss sometimes.

*Married Christa Jordan and grateful she's stuck by me.

*Became Dad to two beautiful boys.

*I get to help people tell their stories.

And here's the stuff that matters a bit less:

*26 years struggling with anxiety/depression
(reach out if you need encouragement)

*Quit my dream of being a full-time writer in 2007, relegated writing to being a "hobby."

*8 years as a social worker (foster care)

*6 years in sales (B2B SaaS)
 
*Lost all my money in 2016 but reignited my writing dreams.

*Became a full-time writer in 2022.

*You'll find me nerding out on:
-Storytelling
-the Oscars
-the Olympics & Paralympics
-History
-Disney

*Not doing much to celebrate this weekend,
but in October, I'm finally fulfilling a lifelong
Anglophile dream of visiting London.

To be honest, I'm a little terrified at the idea of being "halfway."

Especially considering the roller coaster thus far.

But something tells me:
The Best is Yet to Come.

>>>As a birthday gift, tell me something we have in common (better yet, leave me a review for my book.)

Turn your stories into profits | Award-Winning Book Coach & Bestselling Ghostwriter

Weird Wednesday:
I ate an entire bag of baby carrots.

No one else in my family likes raw baby carrots.
I love 'em.

Especially dipped in hummus,
but I'll eat them straight outta the bag.

Even so, I lately don't finish the bag before they go bad.

(Not today, Satan.)

I'm on top of my beta-carotene game.
Maybe on top of the beta-carotene world.

We all need a weird win.

What's your weird win today?

I’ve waited 26 years for this… ⤵️

Ever since I first saw “Shakespeare in Love,”
(Still a favorite)
I’ve wanted to see a play at Shakespeare's Globe in London.

Just got my ticket for “Twelfth Night.”
(And I splurged on a cushioned seat for an extra £3.)

My family is doing the tour together,
but then my wife is taking the kids off on an adventure while I stay behind for the show.
(She's pretty awesome.)

>>>What’s next on your bucket list?

Make your brand unforgettable with a catchphrase.
4 steps I've used: ⤵️ 

Catchphrases say more with less.
Like poetry.

Great catchphrases:
- Capture attention
- Make you memorable
- Establish value and trust

So here's the framework I've used:
- Observe - pay attention
- Brainstorm - intentional thought
- Iterate - test them out
- 1 - pick one, be known as "the one"

Or "Obi 1" for short.

Some of my catchphrases:
- Turn a mess into a message.
- Be an open book, not an open wound.
- Page Fright

>>>Your turn. What's one of your catchphrases?
=====
Hi, I'm Jonathan Jordan, and I help CEOs and entrepreneurs develop catchphrases for their brands and books.

How to coin a catch phrase

Tell me your:
1. First job.
2. Favorite movie.
3. Favorite new follow.
4. Favorite city in the world.
5. First book you remember reading by yourself.


My answers:
1. Picking blueberries on a family friend's farm.
2. Chariots of Fire.
3. Kerry Barrett (because I need the video/speaking confidence boost).
4. Tokyo, Japan forever and always has my heart.
5. "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss.

Now stop.
Look at your answers.

You've now got 5 Ideas you can use:
- In a post
- In a blog/article
- In a newsletter
- In a book

♻️ to share the fun.

Want more content ideas? I provide 5 in my weekly newsletter.
Come join 1,600 other storytellers: https://lnkd.in/gUXn6vbs

Sean Baker didn't win 4 Oscars for "Anora." 
He won 4 Oscars for 25+ years of work. ⤵️ 

His first movie came out in 2000:
"Four Letter Words."

It has a 5.2 rating on IMDB.
(No score on Rotten Tomatoes at all.)

But on Sunday, 
he matched a record set by Walt Disney:
4 Oscars in one night.

Walt was 53 when he did it.
Sean is 54.

So if you're worried the work 
you're doing today isn't getting noticed,
I totally get it.

Keep at it.
Day by day.

It all adds up.

>>>Unrelated CTC: Who would you thank in your Oscars speech?
====
Hi, I'm Jonathan Jordan, and I help CEOs and entrepreneurs write award-winning nonfiction books.

I spent 12,700 minutes over 26 years to finish a single goal: ⤵️ 

Watch every movie that's won Best Picture. 

And here's what I learned about great storytelling:

#1. Heart matters more than being flawless.

#2. Put characters (People) before plot (Process).

#3. How you end matters more than how you start.

So when you're sharing your own Story:

1. Embrace your flaws and be authentic.
2. Put your audience (people) first.
3. Focus on ending well, no matter how you started.

>>>What goal took you the longest to complete?

You will always find someone
- Smarter than you
- More talented than you
- Busier than you
- More prosperous than you
- Wiser than you
- Further ahead of you
- Prettier than you
- More spiritual than you
- Faster than you
- More fill-in-the-blank than you

And you have two choices:
1. Look down on them and Mope
2. Look up to them and Move

And you can move by:
- Watching to learn what they do
- Hiring them to learn what they do
- Focusing on one skill to catch up to what they do

I didn't truly start scaling until 
I replaced negative comparison
("Why them?")

with positive comparison
("Why not me?")

>>>Who is someone you're looking up to?

"You're not what I expected."
(A phrase that can go 109,568 different directions...) ⤵️ 

Last fall, I traveled to Florida for a 3-day marathon
of sessions with an author.

One night, he generously took me to dinner
along with his significant other.

Halfway through dinner, she observed,
"You're not what I expected."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, to be honest," she hesitated,
"I expected a stereotypical writer: 
Nerdy. 
Pretentious.
Perfect grammar. 
You're laid back. 
And cool."

No one has called me "cool" in a hot minute,
so I basked in the compliment,
which means I nodded and shrugged.

"I like listening to people's stories," I said.
"That's tough to do if you're uptight
and think you know everything."

She made me realize how great it is to be "unexpected."
It's saved me from bad projects.
It's helped me land great projects.

Expectations are good.
Unexpectations are better.

>>>How have you defied expectations lately?

Quick look at the Plexible "Average" Day of a Book Coach/Ghostwriter: ⤵️ 

6:00 am - Coffee run

6:30 am - 7:30 am - Engaging here on LinkedIn

7:30 am - 8 - Checking calendar and email for any urgent items/reminders

8 - 11 am - Book coaching sessions / writing time (usually for blogs, articles, or book proposal items)

11 am - 1:30 pm - Lunch time with my kids so I can see them / give my wife time to run her business

1:30  - 3:00 pm - Client content calls

3:00 - 5:30 pm - Focused writing time

5:30 - 8:30 pm - Family dinner, bedtime shenanigans

9:00 - 11:00 - Working on personal projects (querying, screenwriting, etc.), or turning off my brain.

Now, let's be real:

There's no such thing as an "average day" when you're a book coach or ghostwriter.

And that's why I love working with CEOs and entrepreneurs so much.

They don't have any "average days" either.

You've got to be what my wife calls "Plexible":
Have a Plan, be Flexible.

>>>How do you keep Plexible?

Leadership lessons from my book clients:
"Be willing to train your next boss." ⤵️ 

This one hit hard.
Because the underlying message is this:

Real leaders aren't threatened by someone else's talent.
They amplify it.

[Now, if you have time for a story...]

In an old sales job, the VP asked me
to run a monthly training with a sales team.

So I approached the team lead about the idea.
They tensed up, eyes fixed on their screen.
"Not this month. Too busy."

A month went by.
Then another.

The VP checked in with me:
"I thought you were going to do 
monthly trainings with the team?"

I told her about the delays.
She sent an email.
Finally, the team lead said yes.
(Begrudgingly.)

The training went well.
But then two more months went by.
More haggling over a training time.

Long story short:

That team lead didn't last a year in the role.
Their "team" mutinied. (like, legit pirate stuff.)
The VP had to reassign them
to a non-management role.

With my client's lesson,
I finally understood what happened:

That team lead saw my trainings as a threat.
They saw themselves as the team's "resident expert."
They were afraid if the trainings went well,
 I would "steal" the team's respect,
maybe even their job.

My client's lesson brought this all into focus.

Be willing to boost the next boss.
The next success story.

There's room for us all to win.

>>>Shout out someone who you think is "boss."

Ariana Grande didn't have my respect...
until I found out this "Wicked" fact:

Confession:
"Wicked" wasn't on my watch list.

Yes, I've seen the stage show.
Not a fan.

But since it was up for Best Picture,
I bought a begrudging ticket.

While biding my time for the movie to start,
I read some trivia:

When Ariana Grande was cast as Glinda (or Ga-linda),
musician Stephen Schwartz wanted to
modernize the song "Popular"
to give it a hip-hop/pop style
more like Grande's music.

She said "Absolutely not.
I want to be Glinda, not Ariana Grande."

With that, she had my respect.
She didn't take the "easy" route.
She grew into the role she needed to be.

>>>How are you growing today, 
whether it's popular or not?

(see what I did there?)

Helen Keller wrote 14 books and 475 essays.
What's your excuse? ⤵️

In fact...

Keller dedicated her autobiography
to Alexander Graham Bell.

Yeah, the phone guy.

Why?

Communication.

Nothing is more powerful:
- in business
- in leadership
- in community

Despite being blind,
despite being deaf,
she learned to communicate.

She recognized the power of the tools available.
And used them.

Now, I'll ask again:

>>> What's your excuse? <<<

You have more tools for communicating available 
than ever before.

Isn't it time to start using them?
=====
Hi, I'm Jonathan Jordan, and I teach CEOs and entrepreneurs how to use stories to communicate with their prospects.

You can be beautiful or you can be ugly, 
but you can’t be plain. ⤵️ 

Don't hate me.
It's a line from the movie 
"A Complete Unknown."
But it's also true with your content.

You can be beautiful (tell people what they like)
You can be ugly (be divisive)

But you can't be plain.
Plain gets ignored.
Plain gets no results.

There's a second half to the line:

"You gotta be something people can’t stop looking at.”

Your story might be scintillating.
Your ideas might be smart.

But once people stop looking,
it doesn't matter.

P.S. Go see "A Complete Unknown."
=====
Hi, I'm Jonathan Jordan, and I save CEOs and entrepreneurs from being plain.

Author: "I want my book to be for everyone."

Me: "But who do you want to attract?"

Author: "Everyone."

Me: "But who are you solving problems for?"

Author: "Um...HR leaders, I guess. But also C-Suite people like me."

Me: "Cool, so your primary audience should be HR Leaders with a secondary audience of the C-Suite."

Author: "No, I want my book to be for everyone."

Me: ... 

First step in a book that actually gets results?

Clearly define your reader.

Your book can't be for everyone.

It can't be for CEOs, ballerinas, unicycle enthusiasts, hobos, Civil War re-enactors, lawmakers, bread bakers, rapping rabbis, pumpkin farmers, cryptocurrency experts, and cryptozoology experts.

Think of your audience like you're at a coffee shop:
Primary Audience - person across from you
Secondary Audience - person eavesdropping at the next table

A book for everyone is a book for no one.

Write a book for SOMEone.

Not sure who they are yet?

I'll help you figure that out in 1 hour.
https://lnkd.in/gXYRt2_m

(Thanks to Kerry Barrett for letting me steal her format. Give her a follow if you don't already.)
====
Hi, I'm Jonathan Jordan, and I save my book coaching clients from trying to write a book for everyone.

Make your stories profitable | Award-Winning Book Coach & Bestselling Ghostwriter

Tell me the conventional wisdom you didn't follow.

That's the post.

=====
Hi, I'm Jonathan Jordan, and I help CEOs and entrepreneurs share unconventional wisdom.

St. Patrick was a Master of Storytelling. ⤵️ 

When he wanted to teach the Irish
the Christian concept of the Trinity,
he didn't bore them with theological theses.

He picked a clover and said,
"Three in one."

That's storytelling.

Not a clever tagline.
Not a crazy ad campaign
Not a celebrity endorsement.

Just using what's around you.
What people are familiar with.

That's when Clear becomes Clever.
(or in this case, Clover.)

>>>You wearin' green today?

Writer's Block isn't real.
You've either got Idea Constipation or Page Fright. ⤵️ 

Lucky for you, the cure is the same:

Start asking the right questions.
Turn the answers into stories.

When you ask the right questions,
you find the right content
to win the right results.

Questions have helped my clients:
-Write award-winning books
-Attract premium clients
-Book speaking gigs

No more excuses.
No more blaming Writer's Block.

Start with my resource linked below:
https://lnkd.in/dNimjfZj
=====
Hi, I'm Jonathan Jordan and I help CEOs and entrepreneurs turn questions into stories and stories into results.

I'm not the best ghostwriter in the world.
Or the best book coach either. ⤵️ 

But I have the best clients.

Work with people who make you feel the best.

>>>Spread the love. Shout out a client who makes you feel the best.

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