Journalist, Author and Entrepreneur Susan Peck

This week’s Writer Wednesday is journalist, author and entrepreneur Susan Peck from Birmingham, MichiganI! Susan is the founder and president of ICI Media! She is an award- winning journalist with over 25 years of experience writing for both national and local publications, including newspapers, magazines and corporate communications. She also provides strategic and influential PR advice with an emphasis on brand development and growth.

Along with PR and marketing strategist Robyn Levin, Susan will be leading the virtual workshop, “How to Get Featured in the Media,” on Dec. 8, 2021 at 6 p.m. EST. Join in to learn how to get your book, business or story covered by the press!

What is your favorite part of the writing process?

My favorite part of the process is the very beginning — when I get hit by a bolt of inspiration regarding something I need to share with the world. Sometimes it even hits me in the middle of the night, and I then take that and write it in an article or as part of my book. I have the honor of passing along information, ideas and feelings that hopefully will change readers lives for the better, in some significant way.

What does your writing workspace look like?

It’s a tsunami of sticky notes, stuck onto every surface, including the walls, my computer and desk. I use them to help me remember key points I want to use in my piece, and it’s a primitive way to organize my thoughts and writing.  

For personal inspiration I keep a candle burning, inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright made by YIELD artisan Work Shop in St. Augustine, Florida.

What’s in store for the DWR workshop you will be leading on Dec. 8?

My partner Robyn Levin and I will be sharing inside secrets and tools to get your book or project showcased in the media, including print, T.V. and digital.

Robyn is a PR, marketing and branding expert with 25 years experience placing clients in major media outlets like The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur and the Today show. 

I can provide the “other side of the story” — working as a journalist in print and television, I will pull back the curtain and let you know what stories or topics a journalist is excited and compelled to cover and how you can craft a press release to get a positive response from the media.

We will also have an opportunity for Q and A, and some brainstorming on a press release you have in the works!   

What is your favorite non-writing hobby?

I’m a lover of all things that deal with spirituality and wellness. I listen to podcasts, go to classes and workshops and am currently in a healing circle that involves practices like drumming and sound healing. 

What is your favorite piece of writing advice?

I have a quote from Ernest Hemingway in a frame that says: “All you have to do is write one true sentence. The truest sentence you know.”

That quote means so much to me on many levels. As a writer and artist sometimes I find myself working with words I’m writing in an effort to create beauty and poetry in each line. But what Hemingway reminds me is that what truly resonates with a reader is if they can relate to the honesty, vulnerability and truth in my words. That’s what draws them in and captivates their heart. A beautifully written paragraph falls flat if it isn’t backed by raw truth and humanity. I’ve scrapped pages of my writing after I ask myself the question: Is this the truest sentence I know? That question helps me do my best work.   

What writing projects are you currently working on?

I’m always submitting to magazines and newspapers with whatever is my current inspiration and am writing a book “Buddha and the Boxer, The journey to knowing you are enough!"   

Follow Susan on Instagram at @susanpeck-mi..