“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth…”
My company Adducent celebrates its 23rd birthday on July 5, 2023, and what a journey it’s been. It started on a single path… then a fork in the road offered a choice between two. Had I not taken the one I chose, I would never have had the challenge of a project like the one mentioned in the client endorsement below and the joy and reward of its completion and the client’s satisfaction.
I have been a business owner since 1993 and worked in them full-time since January 2, 1996. I founded Adducent in 2000 as a management and consulting firm. Over the next 8+ years, I worked with M&A attorneys, investment bankers, and business owners on management, planning, and growth through acquisition. That led to business writing, which led to a book (to support my consulting) that led to my contacts asking for help to finish and publish their books. I did; others asked for similar support, and some asked me to ghostwrite their book. This unplanned sideline grew to supplant my consulting. That brought me to the fork in the road.
“Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same…”
“And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.”
I chose the one less traveled (writing and publishing were a new business to me) but one I knew I’d enjoy more. In 2009, writing and publishing became Adducent’s focus. Since then, we’ve assisted dozens of clients and helped publish 89 titles for a spectrum of people: generals, admirals, military veterans, senators, government officials, executives, entrepreneurs, Fortune 500 CEOs, chairmen of multi-billion-dollar companies, doctors, artists, lawyers, university professors, and retired agents and officers in the intelligence community.
Along the way, I’ve also written a lot of nonfiction and fiction. My own and for clients… approaching three million words worth: (37 books ghostwritten for clients: 14 nonfiction, 9 memoirs, and 14 fiction). Two projects for clients (creative nonfiction and a novel) have been optioned for screenplay development. A third (mentioned in the screen-captured client comment above) is in development with a screenwriter/producer team.
So…
“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I…
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
