Episode 23: Stephanie Krikorian

07/19/22 • 75 min

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“It’s a weird job, isn’t it?”

So says veteran ghostwriter Stephanie Krikorian, who started in on her ghostwriting career after a long run as a television news producer. In fact, she sees a through-line from the work she used to do as a producer to the work she’s doing now as a writer, especially in her many collaborations with some of our leading health and wellness experts. For her very first book—Urban Skinny: Live the Fabulous Life and Still Zip Up Your Favorite Jeans, written with nutritionist Danielle Schupp—Stephanie reports that she leaned on what she knew about building a series of compelling news segments in order to help tell a much larger story.

That book led to others, many of them in the self-improvement and empowerment space, including You Are Why You Eat, with Dr. Ramani Durvasula; and The Comeback: How Today’s Moms Reenter the Workplace, with career expert Cheryl Casone. Eventually, Stephanie found herself doing so many deep dives, into this new diet or that new meditation practice, that she was moved to write a book about her own experiences as a self-help-ghostwriter-turned-self-help-user—Zen Bender: A Decade-Long Enthusiastic Quest to Fix Everything .

Alongside her work as a collaborator, Stephanie has contributed to a variety of publications, including The Wall Street Journal, O: The Oprah Magazine, Vanity Fair Hive, and the New York Post, writing about wine, pop culture and wellness. Among her many books are The New York Times best-seller The Promise: A Tragic Accident, a Paralyzed Bride, and the Power of Love, Loyalty, and Friendship, with Rachelle Friedman; Straight Walk, with supermodel Patricia Velasquez; and, Play Big: Lessons in Being Limitless from the First Woman to Coach in the NFL, with Dr. Jen Welter.

Learn more about Stephanie Krikorian:

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“It’s a weird job, isn’t it?”

Learn more about Stephanie Krikorian:

Please support the sponsors who support our show.

Daniel Paisner's upcoming novel Balloon Dog
Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order

Previous Episode

Episode 22: Peter Golenbock

Peter Golenbock has written more books about baseball than just about anybody. He’s also written about basketball, football, stock car racing and popular culture. His account of the New York Yankees’ 1978 World Championship season, The Bronx Zoo, written with Sparky Lyle, was a runaway best-seller. Coming on the heels of his own history of the Yankees, Dynasty, that book helped to establish Peter as one of the leading chroniclers of our national pastime.

He would go on to collaborate on books with Yankee legends Graig Nettles (Balls), Billy Martin (Number 1) and Ron Guidry (Guidry), and to write comprehensive team histories of the Chicago Cubs (Wrigleyville), the New York Mets (Amazin’), the Brooklyn Dodgers (Bums) and the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns (The Spirit of St. Louis). His latest book, Whispers of the Gods: Tales from Baseball’s Golden Age, Told by the Men Who Played It, collects the musings and reminiscences of some of the game’s near-greats, and forgotten greats, in the tradition of Lawrence Ritter’s The Glory of Their Times.

Peter is also the co-author of a new memoir from former New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine (Valentine’s Way), as well as books written with Hollywood legend Tony Curtis (American Prince) and noted criminal defense attorney Jose Baez (

Next Episode

Second Printing: Laura Zigman

This episode originally aired October 19, 2021.

Laura Zigman is one of our leading voices in contemporary fiction. She’s the author of five novels, including her genre-defining debut, Animal Husbandry, which enjoyed a second life on the screen as the Hugh Jackman/Ashley Judd starrer “Someone Like You,” as well as her most recent novel, Separation Anxiety, which is currently being developed as a limited television series featuring the actress Julianne Nicholson.

Laura’s novels are known for their wit and insight, as she shines compelling light on women and families on the edge, but many of her most faithful readers are probably unaware of her work as a collaborator—most notably with the comedian Eddie Izzard, Texas state senator Wendy Davis, and matchmaker Patti Novak.

Over the years, she’s leaned on her ghostwriting assignments as a way to fill the spaces between novels—and, to sharpen her instincts as a writer as she seeks ideas and inspiration for her fiction. In this episode of As Told To, she tells host Daniel Paisner that she sees herself as storyteller, whether she’s helping to craft someone else’s story or working in service of her own.

“It’s a very delicate dance,” she says of the tug-and-pull that often surfaces between collaborator and subject. “You have to learn how to handle people. You have to give it back to them sometimes. You have to find that balance between being in service to them and their story and pushing back a little.”

Here’s where you can find Laura online:

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