The County Press

Local authors help other learn the trade




Christina DeBusk

Christina DeBusk

NORTH BRANCH — Writing is a unique profession in that it really doesn’t require a specialized course of study, and there are nearly endless forms of writing that one can do. Often, a person doesn’t start out as a writer, but life leads them in that direction. That happened to Chaunie Brusie and Christina DeBusk, and now both women are not only writers, they also assist others who want to be successful in the field.

Brusie, 32, of North Branch, has always loved writing, but ended up studying nursing in college. One day, though, she was feeling a little lost about her future, and came across a book about freelance writing at a store in downtown Lapeer.

“I was floored. I couldn’t believe that a career like writing actually existed, that would let me write about things that interested me and get paid for it. It seemed too good to be true,” she said. “I actually went to The County Press that day and spoke with the then-editor, just to get a feel for a real-life writing job, and he encouraged me to send him some clips. I didn’t have any clips, of course, but that day sparked my interest in becoming a ‘real’ writer.”

Chaunie Brusie in her home office. Photo courtesy J&J Brusie Photography

Chaunie Brusie in her home office. Photo courtesy J&J Brusie Photography

That day, Brusie applied to write for the college newspaper.

“I quite literally pulled an old Mac desktop out of my parents’ garbage and started writing — my articles were truly terrible, but I had never been happier,” she said.

Brusie put her writing dreams on hold after she graduated from nursing school and delivered her first daughter a week later. She started pursuing it more seriously after her second daughter was born in 2010.

“I started with blogging, which led to a book deal, and then eventually, I settled into freelance writing,” she said. “By the time my fourth baby was born in 2014, I was able to quit work as a nurse and work full-time as a writer.”

Her first book, Tiny Blue Lines: Reclaiming Your Life, Preparing for Your Baby, and Moving Forward with Faith in an Unplanned Pregnancy, was published in 2014, and Brusie has self-published a few other books on Amazon. She has also submitted a proposal for her second book with a traditional publisher.

Aside from books, Brusie’s writing is varied, from journalistic pieces to personal essays to copywriting for businesses.

“My primary areas are focused on parenting, health and wellness, and finance,” she said. “Currently, I do a mix of content creation for small businesses and brands with freelance journalism. Every month, I work with some ‘base’ clients that assign me topics and I pitch other editors and outlets different ideas to build my article count. It’s a lot of different balls to juggle, but most of the time, I love the challenge and opportunities freelancing allows me. My all-time favorite work is any writing that allows me to tell a good story; like most writers, I’m fascinated by people and their passions and I think the best messages are conveyed through good old-fashioned storytelling.”

The opportunity to work from home as a freelance writer has allowed Brusie to be present for her children and she’s earning more money than she would have as a nurse. She jump-started her career by taking a freelance writing class, and decided that she wanted to inspire others who wanted to be writers, so she created an interactive course to help people learn how to make a reliable income through freelance writing.

“Once I saw how it’s possible to make a career out of writing, I wanted to show other moms that it was entirely within their grasps too,” she said. “One of the most rewarding things about running my writing classes is seeing that lightbulb come on for my students that they can really, really do this. There’s nothing like the rush of that first acceptance! My own first paid writing work was a content mill piece on Botox that I got paid 20 bucks for and honestly, that was one of the proudest moments of my life. You have to start somewhere.”

Brusie is planning to open up her class again in the new year. Anyone who is interested should visit her website, chauniebrusie.com, for updates. Her books, including Tiny Blue Lines, The Moments That Made You a Mother, and I Suck at Marriage can be found on Amazon.

DeBusk, 44, left Lapeer in 2012 after her husband got a job in California. Before the move, she worked full-time as an enforcement officer for Lapeer County Friend of the Court, and was a reserve lieutenant for the Lapeer County Sheriff’s Dept.

She stayed behind for several months to finish up some business here in Lapeer after her husband moved to California, and that’s when DeBusk started writing in the quiet time before and after work.

“In preparation for that transition, I tried to think what I could do once I moved out there,” she said, adding that there was a possibility that she and her husband could end up traveling for his job, so she wanted a more portable job. “I had always had in my head that I wanted to write a book.”

Her first book, Rock Solid ABBs (Attitudes, Beliefs and Behaviors) for Weight Loss Success, was published in 2012, and now she has six books in her name, and has ghostwritten a number of books that are published in other people’s names.

In addition to becoming an author, DeBusk connected with a mentor and learned how to write professionally, which morphed into becoming a freelance writer.

“It was something I could learn as I went,” she said. “I’d always been a decent writer.”

DeBusk writes for a variety of fields, including natural health and wellness, personal development, safety at work and home, and the art of writing.

Writing as a career, DeBusk said, affords her the perfect mix of working on her own and working for other people, and she enjoys turning their wishes into articles, or helping them share their stories.

A couple of her books focus on helping people take the steps to author their own book, or get started on a lucrative freelancing career, and she’s also done some speaking, including at the North Branch library when she came home to help her aunt Sandy Czaczkowski prepare paczkis for Fat Tuesday, which she does every year.

It was incredibly rewarding, she said, to keep in touch with some of the people who attended her talk about freelance writing in North Branch, and she got to watch one of them get their first writing gig.

“I love helping other people,” she said.

DeBusk’s website is www.christinamdebusk.com, and her books, including I’ve Always Wanted to Write a Book!: 10 Easyto Follow Steps to Becoming a First Time Author, How to Earn a Comfortable Living as a Freelance Writer, Pessimist to Positivist: 12 Steps to a Happier Life can be found on Amazon.