About Danelle Morton
I have more than thirty years of experience in investigative journalism, profiles and non-fiction books. I’ve collaborated on books with Hollywood stars, rocket scientists, sports figures, and political leaders, as well as America’s favorite veterinarian. Most recent projects include book collaborations with South Carolina’s First Lady Jenny Sanford and retired NFL quarterback Rodney Peete. In 2010 I was a finalist for the American Society of Magazine Editor’s award in the public service category for my story on real estate speculation in San Francisco. In February 2011, a book I worked on with Carolyn and Sean Savage, Inconceivable, was published by HarperOne, and debuted with a two-hour Dateline special about this amazing story. There is also a Lifetime movie in production.
Contact Danelle
I enjoy helping people tell their stories and make the process as painless as possible for them. My method is interviewing, something for which I have a natural talent. Many of the people I’ve collaborated with say that working with me is less like the tension of a deadline project, and more like having a deep conversation with a close friend. Together my collaborators and I explore that person’s past, go deep into the turning point moments, and produce a final product that is both a reflection of that time in his or her life as well as an entertaining, involving and well-paced story told in my collaborators’ voice. As my collaborators Sean and Carolyn Savage said in the acknowledgments for “Inconceivable”:
“Your insights and keen eye for how to arrange a well-told story have been priceless, and your patience and grace through the challenging moments did not go unnoticed. We are especially grateful for the way you motivated us to write through the most painful of memories. You said we’d be better for it. You were right. We cannot wait to see what you do next because it seems that everything you touch turns to gold!”
Often a book also requires that I use my extensive reporting background to uncover additional facts that help place the story in a broader context and bring it to a larger audience. I’ve had great success in developing book proposals that get high prices from publishers by writing a knockout first chapter and positioning the book’s message in the right spot in the marketplace.
