Member of:

The prestigious National Press Club

Mediabistro

LinkedIn

Please also read the “Methodology” page on this website for specific information about my experience and work style, and to get answers to FAQs. Email me at Pam@authorpambaker.com

In respect for your time, here’s the scoop in executive brief form..

I was born in Morganton, North Carolina; but I am from everywhere. Raised as an army brat, I had the privilege to grow and learn among every race and religion known to mankind. I have been the minority; I have been the majority; I have lived and worked among people whose language I could not understand nor read. Because of that upbringing in all those many places, I have been considered at one time or another, both the smartest and the dumbest; the prettiest and the ugliest; the morally sound and the hopelessly corrupted; the liberated woman and the girl who shamefully does not know her place.

It’s not that I ever failed to be me; rather, as those who judged me changed from place to place so did the verdicts. I learned early that truth is often a subjective thing; right is often according to the rules of culture, the dogma of religion, the talents of a lawyer, or the judge’s mood on any given day. Wrong is often dictated by poverty, ignorance, a jury’s predisposition, or the demands of the victor in any given conflict. As a result, I am neither liberal nor conservative; neither cynical nor naïve. I simply am. I observe, report, and write according to the rules of journalism, the needs of my fictional characters in their demand to become real, or the dictates of clients. I cling to my ethics simply because I have found nothing more substantial in which I can anchor a world seemingly bent on spinning out of control.  

From the past that once was me, arose the professional writer that I am now. From the well of life experience, I drew a bucket full of insatiable curiosity and a drive to make the world’s uncertainties a tad more certain and/or to make sense out of the seemingly insensible. I write because writing is a natural function for me; I can no more refuse to write than a cold glass of iced tea can refuse to sweat in the noonday sun.

I do not subscribe to the edict “write what you know” as I find that exceedingly boring, mulling over the same brain-rut day after day. Besides, if that wee bit of folklore were an infallible truth, how could anyone ever turn out a decent piece of science fiction or a truly horrific horror story? I say: go write something new; dare to birth a new thought; consider someone else’s point of view. Take a problem and turn it around, upside down, and inside out, then write what you learned. Anyway, those particular thoughts rattling around in the grey matter of my brain is why most editors and publishers consider me a “big picture thinker,” and it’s why I often end up writing feature stories and large, in-depth pieces. I just have a hard time stopping at what happened this moment in this day; I always want to follow that up with what that moment means in the general scheme of things, in life as we earthlings know it.

I am a survivor of many events and challenging people: I survived three argumentative but lovable brothers, my father going to Vietnam twice, puberty, high school, college, marriage, divorce, my mother’s cancer scare, two kids in their teenage years, corporate politics, newsroom insanities, layoffs, a couple of bad economies, and a dog that refuses to be housebroken. I claim no extra credit for surviving any of it. I think anybody that’s alive today that wasn’t dead yesterday, is just finishing their gig until curtain call – there is no extra pay or extra credit for performing one’s own stunt work in the show of life. You do what you can, as best you can, take a final bow, and hope the reviews are good.

That said, here’s what you can expect from me…

If I am writing about you, your company or your organization, then you can rest assured you have an avid listener who truly, truly wants to understand –even if I personally, vehemently disagree with what you are saying. I am willing to learn, if you are willing to teach. I will be fair; I will bother to get the facts straight. If I say “off-the-record” that’s exactly what I mean; that vow will never be broken. But, no, you cannot read my story before it is published: go buy the paper, the book, the magazine, or flip on the tube – that’s how I get paid, how I get to eat, and I find that I am fanatically dedicated to the practice of fine dining on a daily basis.

If I am writing for you as a journalist, then you can literally bank on my digging out the truth as best as it can be discovered; scooping the competition; relating the story in ways the reader can understand and use; covering your assets re: liability issues by taping interviews and diligently checking my facts; and, delivering an accurate and balanced story –all of it on time and in budget. I do not miss a deadline unless I have a damned good reason and I’ve already cleared it with you. My news stories are never fabricated and I will always have proof at hand if ever challenged.

If I am working for you in public relations or advertising: you can rest assured that nothing you reveal to me will ever be used against you. I never, ever cross the line between advertising and journalism. In the newsroom, we call that line a “Chinese wall.” The practice of never breaching that wall is a matter of sound ethics. When on assignment in the fields of public relations, advertising, and marketing, I consider myself a wordsmith for hire, not a reporter. The information belongs to you; I just hammer it into a persuasive or informative piece for you. Yes, I’ll give it punch and creative flair, but the underlying message is distributed at your discretion. I will not consider your information as news, unless of course, you want me to reshape the info into a press release. Even then, I may not consider it news. If that’s the case, I’ll help you find the real news in your story (and, who knows better what constitutes news than a writer who spends a considerable amount of time in newsrooms?). Then I’ll write the release and pump it out to the appropriate editors and reporters for you. Ditto for speechwriting and ghosting.

You see, much of my professional life is in the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock who began his career writing ad copy, and finished it as a tremendously respected and successful screen writer. So, it is not as strange as it might first appear, for a full-time freelancer to write ad copy, video scripts, press releases, manuals, technical pieces, speeches, AND report the news, plus work on a novel or a screenplay. It’s merely a tradition I hold dear and work hard to live up to ---- I sincerely hope Alfred approves.

Samples of my work and the requisite clips are posted on this website. Feel free to look around, take your time, and come to your own conclusions. If you want more info on my professional experience and work methods go to the Methodology page. I’ll wait patiently until you invite me into your world to find that nugget of news or that elusive creative spark. You’ll find my talent always on call, and my ego always checked at the door.

Hope to hear from you soon and thanks for considering me!