Does using a cane to get around compromise my work as an editor, ghostwriter, or coach? No.
But I’m surprised at the conclusions some people make when they learn I have a physical disability. Back in 2022, when I was going through the barrage of medical tests, I continued to maintain a robust client slate. I was grateful to have such engaging, creative work—to cultivate and protect a part of my life where I remained fully capable and productive. It felt good.
Despite that, in my region, word got around that I was using a cane and had some strange medical challenge.
A church put me on their “prayer chain”, which I soon learned was really more of a gossip list. Within days, total strangers learned who I was and began to “armchair diagnose” me, concluding I would be dying imminently. In fast succession, I lost a couple clients who were connected to members of that church. The clients emailed me, saying they were concerned that I should “pull back from work and use this time to rest.”
Wow. Only the exceptionally privileged will make such a thinly veiled insult and think it will be received well. Or perhaps they really did believe that, upon developing a physical disability, I suddenly became independently wealthy too and could just quit working!
No, I could not afford to take a full medical sabbatical. But even if I could have, I don’t think I would have wanted to. I love my work. My client projects are some of the biggest delights in my life.
As I drilled down and learned more about the motives of the couple clients who wouldn’t work with me anymore, I learned the truth. They didn’t want to work with a disabled person. Period. They feared I’d turn “complicated” and might not meet my deadlines.
My response? I found new clients.
Ones who didn’t have hang up’s regarding physical disabilities, ones who valued and respected the quality of my work.
Yes, I have needed to care for my physical health a lot these past three years. I had more medical appointments than I’ve ever experienced before in my life, and my partner and I worked hard to adapt my office to accommodate my new physical needs.
And you know what? In the midst of all that, I also:
- Ghostwrote or heavily line-edited THREE book manuscripts for my Client base
- Coached and equipped three other new authors to write their own books
- Edited several lengthy government reports for HHS and the Department of Defense
- Wrote over 50,000 words in a memoir manuscript of my own
Last year, when potential clients contacted me from out-of-state, I intentionally said nothing about my disability. I didn’t want to risk losing any more clients or potential clients over something so petty. And it was totally possible to hide my situation from someone who would never meet me face-to-face. I worked with these folks via video-conferencing and email only.
But soon I changed my mind on this issue. I shouldn’t have to hide this aspect of myself. I shouldn’t have to worry about new potential clients researching me online and finding a social media post about “living with a disability” or a GoFundMe campaign set up to help me pursue an experimental treatment. I shouldn’t have to worry about “what will happen if they find out I am disabled.”
Into the Spotlight
I want potential clients to know, and I want them to make a conscious choice about working with me, as a person who is physically disabled and as a solid ghostwriter with over twenty years of experience. If they are the sort who won’t work with someone who has a disability, I don’t want to work for them. Let’s just get that out in the open right now.
I recently began letting new potential clients know about my disability and asked outright at the beginning of our meetings, “Are you okay working with someone who has a physical disability?”
No one is going to say “no” to that, right? Because, frankly, it’s illegal.
But that’s not the point of this jarring question. The point is to acknowledge and discuss the elephant in the room at the outset. I ask this politically-incorrect, blunt question in order to require new clients to search their own hearts for any outdated cultural biases and stereotypes, and promptly leave that baggage at the door.
In today’s polarized environment, I also want to note that this problem is profoundly apolitical. It turns out, cognitive bias can show up anywhere.
- Both Republicans and Democrats have treated me with clearly stereotyping bias
- Both Republicans and Democrats have treated me with total respect
As far as my experience, political affiliation does not predict how a person will treat a disabled person in the workplace. The much more consistent predictor is this:
- If someone has experienced disability themselves or has a loved one who has a disability, they are more likely to feel affinity with me and may even count the disability as a positive reason to work with me. They value my perspective.
- If the potential client has little or no personal experience with disability, they are a more likely to hesitate or require more trust-building on that issue before they choose to work with me.
You know what type of people I like to work with? The ones who judge the quality of my work… by judging the quality of my work. I appreciate it when people evaluate my editing and writing work by reading my work samples, by experiencing my initial free consultation sessions (I’ve offered those for years), and by speaking with my past clients.
Judge my work by judging the quality of my actual work, not the quality of my adaptive equipment or the nature of my disability. Evaluate the quality of our work relationship by experiencing that relationship during an initial coaching package. Then, make your decision.
Artistic image of an open book and colorful butterflies that hover in the sky