Living the Writer's Life:
Leslie Blaize
By Mindy McHorse

Leslie has established herself as a go-to writer in the architecture,
engineering, and construction space.

Leslie Blaize didn’t let the termination of her corporate job get her down. In fact, she didn’t even bat an eye before jumping into the writing world. Find out how she got started at lightning speed and went on to leverage her professional knowledge into a lifestyle that offers loads of freedom and space to have fun and be with family.

Where were you before you found writing?

Leslie and a friend from her dance group,
the Golden Dancers, rehearse at a
studio in Madison, Wisconsin.

I provided corporate communications for an architecture engineering construction firm for many years, and I really enjoyed that. Then, one day, I was called in with the HR director, who said, “Well, we don’t have your position anymore.”

I was as surprised as anybody. I responded, “All right, then I’ll be a freelance writer.” It was like, Where did that come from? I guess it was back in my subconscious. So before I even left my position, one friend of mine said, “Good, now you can edit my mom’s memoir.” And somebody else said, “My wife has a friend who needs help writing product descriptions.” I walked out the door and basically had two gigs in my pocket. At the end of doing those, it was like, Which way do I want to go? Do I want to do memoirs or stick with what I have a background in? Then I thought, How do you run a business? That’s when I came across AWAI.

What life changes did you experience after becoming a writer?

I started my writing business in 2017, and it’s been really good for me as far as giving me the freedom to do what I want. Then in September of ’21 my husband and I moved to Billings, Montana, to be closer to my daughter’s family and three grandchildren. Because of what I’m doing, I have the flexibility to pitch in with the grandchildren when needed, and my son and his family are in California, and I can go there as well. It’s really evolved nicely for me.

With the corporate job, you’re constrained and supposed to be there a certain amount of time. I don’t want to be working full time at writing, but I enjoy working part time at it. It’s really nice having the flexibility that I wouldn’t have if I had to be in a bricks-and-mortar building. My days of doing that are done.

I think many of us become unemployable after a certain number of years doing this. Besides the two you had right out of the gate, where did you find clients?

LinkedIn has been my mainstay. Also, at the time, in Madison, Wisconsin, I was in a networking group, and one of the members there said, “Oh, I know an engineer, and he could probably use some writing help.” That was a good first start.

What kinds of writing do you do now?

I offer a variety of writing for AEC [architecture engineering construction] clients — articles, thought pieces, web copy. But, through AWAI, I took the case study course, and I became a case study expert. I write case studies in the AEC world; technical expertise is really valued. And since July of ’22, I’ve been doing a LinkedIn newsletter called AEC Connect that focuses on case studies and storytelling.

Tell me more about your newsletter on LinkedIn. How is it working for you?

It’s helpful for when clients see my name. They don’t say, “We are hiring you because of your newsletter,” but it does get my name out there and builds my credibility. I have put it out the first Thursday of the month, except for holidays.

What hobbies do you get to enjoy with your flexible schedule?

One thing that I have done for over 20 years is, I’m in a women’s dance group called the Golden Dancers, and it’s made up of senior ladies. We perform often at the senior centers. That has been great for me. I practice twice a week for an hour and a half, so it takes a chunk of my time. And if I didn’t have a flexible schedule, I couldn’t do that. We practice Monday afternoons and Thursday mornings.

If you were speaking to somebody who wants to write for a very specific niche like the AEC industry, what would you advise them?

Look for somebody you have a connection with, and just jump in and try to start getting some work. You can build out from there, and be open to possibilities. If they say, “I want a thought piece on the new bridge construction inspection rules,” say okay and figure it out. Just be open, and keep learning and ask questions of your prospect or client.

Leslie's story was featured in December’s Barefoot Writer magazine issue.

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