Jeff Deck

What do you do and why?

I am a fiction ghostwriter and editor. I’ve appeared on the Today Show for my writing, along with other national and international media coverage. I went on a nationwide tour to promote my first book, and I’m the author of both fiction and nonfiction books. Now I help other people who have a book in them to tell the story they’ve always wanted to tell.

Whether it’s ghostwriting (writing the story based on the author’s vision) or editing (revising the author’s own writing), I work side by side with authors through a six-stage process to bring their manuscript to life. My clients’ works include travel memoir, horror fiction, and political nonfiction. My own books include the new urban fantasy novel City of Ports: The Shadow Over Portsmouth Book 1, the supernatural thriller The Pseudo-Chronicles of Mark Huntley, the sci-fi gaming adventure Player Choice, and the nonfiction book The Great Typo Hunt (with Benjamin D. Herson).

Tell us a fun fact about yourself!

No matter how many books I sell, my dog Burleigh will always be more popular than me. He’s a hundred-pound German Shepherd / husky mix with one brown eye and one blue eye, and he makes friends wherever he goes.

How are you changing the world?

My book The Great Typo Hunt had the half-joking subtitle Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time. When I set out on the journey that the book describes — a cross-country trip to fix typos in signage — I did believe that working with people to correct their spelling and grammar mistakes was making a difference in the world, however small. Now my mission has evolved to helping people tell their stories, which I think can offer even more benefit to the world. Stories can change lives.

Why did you join IVY?

I joined IVY to reconnect with the Boston area. I have been living in the Seacoast NH/Maine area for the past several years, and it is lovely here, but I wanted to get down to Boston more often to revisit the vibrant city and meet more people there.

What has been your most memorable IVY Experience?

At least so far, it was getting the chance to meet with a Boston gallery owner who is making art his life’s work. I love any opportunity to speak with people driven by passion for their career. It’s both educational and inspiring to hear their stories.