Authors
How real authors used their books to create leverage, clarity, and lasting impact
These are not influencer stories or overnight success narratives.
They’re professionals who used a serious book to do serious work.
How to Read These Stories
Every author comes to Manuscripts with different goals, fears, and constraints. This page is designed to help you find stories that feel familiar, not aspirational. Filter by what matters to you, and see how others navigated the process.
While the majority of authors we work with are publishing thought leadership nonfiction, we also support select memoir and fiction projects where editorial depth, originality, and long-term intent are central to the work.
Cleola Davis is a U.S. Army veteran and author of Forged in Battle: African American Officers Serving in the United States Army.
Her work documents the stories of African American officers whose leadership and sacrifice shaped military history.
Payton Lynch is a Product leader at Disney, where she builds digital experiences rooted in storytelling and guest advocacy.
By day, she helps power one of the most iconic storytelling brands in the world.
By night, she became an author.
Katie Joy Duke is a mindset coach, retreat leader, and former disability attorney.
Her memoir, Still Breathing, chronicles love, loss, Stage IV breast cancer, and reinvention.
A USC Marshall graduate and operations leader at Sherwin-Williams, Jack blends business strategy with art, philosophy, and cultural storytelling.
Sam Perez is a weekend morning anchor, traffic anchor, and multi-skilled journalist at WBIR 10News in Knoxville, Tennessee.
She was named the 2024 South Carolina Reporter of the Year after covering major statewide stories including the Alex Murdaugh trial, legislative updates, and high-profile sporting events.
Amnoni Myers is a social impact founder, speaker, and #1 Bestselling author of You Are the Prize: Seeing Yourself Beyond the Imperfections of Your Trauma.
Lisa M. Randolph is the creator of The Wildlife Divas — a children’s action-adventure series featuring five African American girls who use science, technology, engineering, arts, and math to save endangered species around the world.
Dr. Miriam “Dr. Z” Zylberglait Lisigurski is a physician and wellbeing expert who has spent her career inside the systems that reward endurance, perfection, and self-sacrifice. Like many physicians, she was trained to prioritize competence over connection and performance over presence.
Multi-passionate writer, performer, composer, and executive coach who has spent years operating at the intersection of creativity and leadership. Trained in musical theater, with professional performance credits and a thriving executive coaching practice, Allyson had already built multiple careers before writing Ballad of Dreams.
Former Marine Corps officer, executive coach, and leadership development professional with 25+ years of experience working inside organizations, helping leaders build trust, connection, and performance.
Technology executive, investor, and board member of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship who felt a growing responsibility to prepare young people for the future of work. The book emerged at a personal inflection point, driven by fatherhood, loss, and a desire to leave something meaningful behind.
Attorney and long-time policy advocate who turned a personal experience with dismissive medical treatment into a broader examination of systemic failures in U.S. health care, particularly for Black women and other marginalized communities.
Leadership consultant and advocate focused on closing the leadership and wealth gap for Latinas who wanted to turn a deeply researched point of view into a credible, visible body of work.
Ian Lemke is a real estate investor and entrepreneur who built his business by prioritizing trust, transparency, and long-term relationships over transactional wins. His book, People Over Property, documents not just how he invests, but why—positioning ethical decision-making and partnership as competitive advantages in real estate.
Ty Pinkins is a 21-year U.S. Army veteran, former White House staffer, Georgetown Law graduate, TEDx speaker, and U.S. Senate nominee from Mississippi. His book 23 Miles in Running chronicles his journey from chopping cotton in the Mississippi Delta to serving in the White House.
Zachary Green is a US Marine Corps veteran, former firefighter, and award-winning entrepreneur who built a $30 million company after starting from the trunk of his car.
Author, Unlocked: How Empowered Women Empower Women
Founder, The Coaching Fellowship
Former Senior Leader at Mozilla, eBay & Sotheby’s
Cheri Mason is the former Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, where she led one of the largest federal adjudicatory bodies in the country.
Ricardo Rosselló is a former Governor of Puerto Rico who led during one of the most complex crisis periods in the island’s modern history. His tenure intersected with Hurricane Maria, U.S. federal response failures, and extreme political polarization.
Yale Child Study Center professor and psychologist who wanted to take rigorous learning and development science out of academic journals and turn it into a practical, widely accessible book that helps families and educators challenge broken systems and create better outcomes for kids.
Physician and nonprofit leader carrying a deeply personal story that required care, structure, and emotional safety to translate into a finished memoir rather than remaining an unwritten burden.
Founder, entrepreneur, and advisor with deep Silicon Valley experience who had built and exited multiple businesses but hadn’t yet formalized her core philosophy into a single, shareable point of view.
