Jackie Webster, Ghostwriter, New Jersey

Jackie Webster, Ghostwriter, New Jersey

Jackie Webster’s professional goal is to be the Woman of 100 Voices. “Right now, 83 people have trusted me with their voices. I’m so close!” she laughs. For nearly a decade, Jackie has made a career out of ghostwriting and editing from her home in New Jersey.

“I’ve written more than 2 million words for all sorts of experts and professionals and I love it,” she says. “It’s amazing how many different ways there are to live a life—and for a moment, I get to put myself in their shoes and help them tell the world what’s on their mind and what they are working on. It’s really a privilege.”

Jackie has helped a wide range of people tell their stories, including CEOs, scientists, financial planners, governors, bourbon makers, lawyers, policy experts, academics, software engineers, members of the House and Senate, radio hosts, talking heads, and more. Her writing can be spotted in 74 national and state news outlets (though you’d never know it).

Working as a full-time communications director of a leading national advocacy organization in Washington, D.C., gave Jackie her start, but she can’t imagine going back to a W-2 role.  

“I was burnt out,” she explains. “I had two cell phones, and both were ringing on my Christmas break with reporter questions. That’s when I knew I needed a change—I wanted to control my relationship with work.”

Jackie gave her notice at work, and for the next two weeks, her then-boyfriend (now husband) helped her design the very first website for the Jackie B Writing Company. They moved to New Jersey, got married, had two kids, and never looked back.

Jackie cherishes the independence, flexibility, and time that her business affords her. “I get to choose which clients I work with, and when and where I work with them. As my kids get older and their needs change, I can scale my workload up and down,” she explains. “I don’t have to ask anyone for permission to take my kid to the doctor. That freedom is everything to me.”

But that freedom Jackie has worked so hard to cultivate is threatened by a new Department of Labor rule that could change the classification of workers from 1099 independent contractors to W-2 employees, putting her entire business model at risk.

“I’m worried about the huge gray area this creates,” Jackie says. “If my clients aren’t quite sure where the line is because it’s so vague and subjective, they’re going to play it safe and just cut my contract. That’s a potentially disastrous scenario for my business and my family.”

Jackie’s clients have tried to bring her on full time, but being a W-2 employee is not an option–at least for this season of her life.

“Right now, the sky’s the limit,” Jackie says. “It took years, but my husband and I finally built the work-life balance of our dreams. It would really be something if the DOL makes it impossible for me to take my youngest to story time at the library on a weekday.”