Don Vaughan - Freelance Writer

Donald S. Vaughan

One Clean Shot
Military Officer
March, 2006

Magazine Clips

Freelance Writer

Hello! My name is Donald Vaughan, and I've made
my living with words for more than thirty years.

For a list of books I've written, check out my bibliography.
For a list of magazines for which I've written, check out my
magazine credits.

During that time, I have worked as a staff writer
and/or editor for The Lake Worth Herald, Your Health
Magazine and The National Examiner. For the past
nineteen years, I have worked as a full-time freelance
writer, publishing more than 1,600 nonfiction magazine
and newspaper articles and writing, co-writing,
ghosting or contributing to thirty-two books. Among
them: an examination of the Columbia space shuttle
disaster (Sixteen Minutes From Home (with Mark
Cantrell for AMI Books) and two celebrity
autobiographies (Hollywood Inside and Out: The
Kenny Miller Story and Reel Tears: The Beverly
Washburn Story, both for BearManor Media).

Over the past three years, I have also worked on
thirteen books for Illinois-based Publications
International Ltd. I was the co-author of 500 Things To
Do Before You Kick the Bucket, and have contributed
to several volumes in the popular Armchair Reader
series, including editions on Hollywood, Christmas,
dogs, Ohio, Texas, New York City, and the Bible.

In addition to writing, I teach Freelance Writing for
Beginners through the continuing education program
at Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh,
North Carolina. As a result of that association, I
founded Triangle Area Freelancers (TAF), which has
evolved into the largest organization in North Carolina
devoted exclusively to nonfiction freelance writing. In
2005, I was profiled in Writer’s Market (Writer’s Digest
Books) in an article about successful national freelance
writers. A follow-up profile appeared in the 2006
edition.

In 2009, I tapped my journalistic skills as a researcher
for the television series I Survived on The Biography
Channel. My duties included finding and interviewing
individuals who had survived extraordinary
circumstances, and writing a comprehensive report
about each for the show’s producers. Among those I
interviewed, and who were featured on the show, was
a California woman who had been viciously mauled
by a mountain lion, and a North Carolina woman who
had been shot nine times and left for dead as part of a
violent gang initiation.

I’m also a public speaker, lecturing often on freelance
writing, censorship and other topics close to my heart.
In recent years, I have been a featured speaker at the
annual conference of the American Academy of Nurse
Practitioners (AANP), where I have lectured on writing
and promotional opportunities for nurse practitioners
in private practice. And in 2009, I was a featured
speaker at the annual conference of the Garden Writers
of America, where I spoke on “Conducting the Perfect
Interview.”

I don’t know where tomorrow will take me - but as
long as I’m writing, I'm happy.