Jim Moore

When I tell people I make my living as a writer, they always ask "Oh, you write books?" The truth is, I do all kinds of writing - travel writing, marketing, PR, technical writing, you name it - but there's a special satisfaction in saying, "Yes, I have a new book out. It's a cycling guidebook, for road riding in Oregon. And, hey, I'd love to sign a copy for you..." So it's great that I've gotten to work with The Mountaineers on "75 Classic Rides: Oregon." It combines three of the things I'm most passionate about: writing, riding and traveling. A pretty wise man told me about 20 years ago, "Work at what you love... the success and money will take care of themselves." Maybe not wholly original, but wholly true. I started my business, Word Jones (www.wordjones.com), in 1999, as a one-man writing-services company. The name sums up why I wanted to try it. Over time WJ has grown into a virtual creative agency, and I've had the opportunity to do everything from naming things to creating marketing campaigns, plus many more mundane assignments that have steadily honed my word skills. And over that time I've also managed to steer my work in directions I enjoy the most. When I started doing marketing for Cycle Oregon in 2005, that opened a door into the cycling world. I was already riding seriously, so it was a natural progression - and it eventually led to the opportunity to write the cycling guidebook. So I'm doing what I love, and hoping readers get the benefit of it even more than I do.