Ken Foster and Judy Katz Interview December 5, 2019
Judy is interviewed by Ken Foster on the Voices of Courage Podcast.
Spirited Away: the Life of the Ghostwriter
By Sarah Elizabeth Adler
The year was 1986, and Barbara Feinman Todd was a writer in disguise. Her mission? To crash a party— the 45th wedding anniversary of the director of the CIA, being held at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. No press was allowed, but it was her job to find out who the guests were.
Clad in a black velvet cocktail dress and armed with a notebook hidden inside her clutch, the 26-year-old slipped past the Secret Service agents. Once in the party, she scurried back and forth from ballroom to bathroom, where she wrote down the names of the Washington insiders in attendance—including Henry Kissinger and the U.S. Attorney General.
Silver Disobedience
Dian Griesel, January 5, 2018
Judy Katz, age 77, is a prime example of a #SilverDisobedience. She is a Ghostwriter living in New York City who has written and promoted 42 books. She’s still at it through her company, J Katz Creative. An animal advocate, she shares her spacious apartment with Sophie and Gretchen, two Chihuahuas. Besides trying to help get carriage horses out of Manhattan, Judy is an activist seeking to help get the older people out of prison and back into their communities. Judy belongs to Mensa, the Authors Guild, and several women’s networking groups. She writes a blog for the Huffington Post and The Three Tomatoes newsletter about mid-life dating. She’s currently single, is fun to be with and vows to never “act her age.”
Interview with Judy Katz, Professional Ghostwriter, Publisher, Public Relations Expert
Lori Soard
I was so excited to have the opportunity interview the inspiring Judy Katz recently. Judy agreed to share with our readers how she got into the ghostwriting business, a few of her secrets to success and tips for how our readers can do something similar. I know you’ll enjoy this interview. Need ghostwriting services for your business? Judy and her team of professionals are available.
RRM: Judy, you work as a full-time ghost writer and PR rep. Tell us a little about your business, Katz Creative…
Judy: I had been doing public relations exclusively and built it up to a 12-person midtown firm. But dealing with staff personnel “dramas” and all the minutia of being “the boss” kept me from my real love…writing. So, I transitioned to a home office. I immediately cut out the commute and my luxurious 2000 sq. foot high rise was no longer empty by day. I loved being able to work all hours of the day and night, using my core strength–my writing skills, and especially ghostwriting books for others, then extending that to publishing the book through a small publishing arm I created, and then, yes back to PR, for my authors only.
RRM: How did you find the courage to walk away from a lucrative career and begin your own freelance career? I know fear holds many people back who would love to own their own business.