Jason Schwartzman

Jason Schwartzman – Ghostwriter

Memoir + Nonfiction specialist. Author/senior editor/ghostwriter w/ work in NYT, nymag, Narratively. Catapult Instructor. Dear Sugar vibes.

Overview

Ahoy!


I'm Jason, the author of NO ONE YOU KNOW, an acclaimed nonfiction collection out in 2021 from Outpost19. I was a ghostwriter on a recent celebrity memoir out from Dutton and have also worked on 10 other nonfiction books.


My writing has appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, Narratively, BULL, River Teeth, X-R-A-Y, and many other places. I teach a nonfiction class, recently for Catapult ("The Art of Flash Nonfiction"), edit for a historic adventure magazine, and was selected for Medium's nonfiction author's program. As a long-time nonfiction specialist, I've worked with bison herders, hot air balloonists, herring scholars, military nurses, superintendents, TV executives, and business magnates, among other folks. I'm fascinated by stories and the unusual paths people take.


My style is inquisitive, encouraging, and focused. I aim to capture my client's voice with a high fidelity so it really feels like YOUR book. My process revolves around core interview time so we can generate the foundational material before I begin shaping, elevating, writing, and expanding. I encourage clients to email or record little thoughts, asides, and additions to bring deeper color and nuance. After a review of any other supplemental material, I present a sample chapter for discussion, followed by a full draft and 1-2 rounds of revision.


Above all, I aim to honor the vision of the project. I thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to work closely together on what is invariably a profound and illuminating literary adventure. Along the way, I will strive to make the stories as dynamic as possible by carefully thinking about clarity, tone, voice, pacing, structure, argument, and character development, plus other relevant narrative and rhetorical elements. I savor the work of helping a book become the best version of itself before it emerges into the world.


Thanks for considering me! Always happy to answer questions. Fire away.


— Jason


P.S. Selected blurbs + testimonials:


“Jason is my most trusted editor. I actually keep all his ‘notes’ emails saved in a folder because they’re still useful to me months, even years, later. He’s my secret weapon for immediately feeling better and more confident about what I’m working on regardless of the genre or style of the piece.”


— Jessica Granger, Staff Writer, LA BREA, EXTRACTION


"In the great tradition of wayward oral historians, this compelling debut from a talented new author is a vivid and sentient portrait of everyday Americana and the nature of intimacy. An important collection, well-observed, stitched and told."


— Geoffrey Gray, NEW YORK TIMES Bestselling author of SKYJACK: THE HUNT FOR D.B. COOPER


"NO ONE YOU KNOW is sharply observational, atmospheric, with a clever surprise on every page. This debut is an understated and zoomed in account of what it means to be a person, and Jason is an exciting new voice to watch."


— Chloe Caldwell, author of WOMEN and I'LL TELL YOU IN PERSON


"Jason is electric."


— former Catapult student

Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs Sports & Outdoors
Fiction
Short Story
Languages
English (US)
Awards
  • Leanna Boysko Prize for Creative Non-Fiction (2012)
  • Best of the Net Nominee (2020)
  • BART Lines Contest Finalist (2022)

Work experience

True.Ink

Jul, 2014 — Present

Revived a heritage adventure magazine with an experiential component, plotting innovative editorial adventures like crowdsourcing a racehorse, searching for Genghis Khan’s tomb, hosting an overnight barn dance, racing to Cuba on Patton’s boat, communally selecting a barrel of bourbon, and on, accruing loyal following of active folks.

Interviewed 50+ experts and subjects using journalistic ability to develop rapport and elicit compelling content, developing as-told-to articles along with featurettes on adventurous accomplishments.

Self-employed

May, 2012 — Present

Publisher Collaborations: Dutton (Big 5), Outpost19 (Small Press), Story Terrace (Self-Publishing)

Copywriting, Editing, and Proofreading Clients: Indeed, McKinsey & Company, Quartz, GE,, Quora, Endalgo, Mack Weldon, Paul Evans, INDOCHINO, Bombas, Janji, Story Terrace, Atlas Obscura, Buffalo Trace,, Vivial, Narratively, Bright Money, Bonora Rountree, PatBO, Alluma

Notes on Portfolio books:

-- Some of the books I've ghostwritten are not on Amazon so I couldn't list those.

-- I worked as an editorial consultant for Saved by an Avalanche and Living in the Shadow of Tyranny.

-- I am a frequent editorial collaborator with Geoff Gray, though I was not involved with Skyjack!

Jason has 1 review

Professionalism

Quality

Value

Responsiveness

Lynn P.

Lynn P.

Oct, 2024

Jason is engaging and easy to work with. He helped me develop stronger structure to my short stories, especially with beginnings and endings. He pulled out detail and dialogue from our interviews that added interest to the stories and made them more complete. He suggested many title changes to the stories that added mystery and intrigue to interest the reader, and arranged the stories to create...
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