By Sue Wambolt, Contributing Writer
Marlborough – Marlborough resident Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts is an award-winning business writer, marketing specialist, business-writing and technical-writing workshop facilitator, and coach. For the past 25 years she has been principal of Sheryl Lindsell-Roberts & Associates, a business writing/marketing firm helping clients to maximum productivity and profitability through the written word.
After high school, Lindsell-Roberts became a legal secretary. Then, after marrying and having two sons, she went to college part-time, earning a bachelor's degree in teaching and English from St. Thomas Aquinas College in New York and a Master's in Business from Montclair State University in New Jersey. It took 17 years to earn the master's degree. She became an English and paralegal teacher in a post-secondary school and, afterward, started her own business writing technical manuals and marketing campaigns. This led to becoming a workshop facilitator and writing coach.
Lindsell-Roberts writes marketing materials for clients and has written 24 books including “Business Writing for Dummies,” “Technical Writing for Dummies,” “Speaking Your Way to Success,” and “New Rules for Today's Workplace: Strategies for Success in the Virtual World.” She has recently finished writing her memoir and she encourages others to do the same.
“Many people have told me they want write their memoirs but they don’t think their lives have been interesting enough,” Lindsell-Roberts said.
Her response to that?
“‘Perhaps you haven’t conquered the world…you haven’t cured a disease…you haven’t starred in a blockbuster movie…or anything of that magnitude. But, you are a very interesting person to a select audience – your family and friends. To many of these people, you may even be a central figure in their lives.”
When writing your memoir, Lindsell-Roberts said, the three most important things are: (1) Start with one or two events you want to write about. If you try to write your autobiography, it becomes an overwhelming challenge. (2) Engage your senses to make your story come alive. When writing about that event, think of what you saw, smelled, heard, tasted or touched. (3) Remember that a memoir doesn’t have to be about a happy event. When writing about something that caused you pain, think about what you (or someone else) learned from that experience or how you (or someone else) benefited from the experience.
All of Lindsell-Roberts” books so far have been non-fiction, related to the business world. An unknown fact, though, is that she has written a few children's books that she hasn's had any luck getting published. She would love to see that happen. One story is about a young child who's moving and the other is about a young child whose grandfather died. She wrote the latter one for her son after her father died.
Lindsell-Robert has appeared on television and radio networks throughout the United States and has been featured in “The New York Times” and in magazines such as “Continental Airlines,” “Profit,” ” Home Business,” “CIO,” and others. She is an acknowledged leader in the field of business writing. For more information on Lindsell-Roberts visit www.sherylwrites.com.
