Have you ever dreamed of becoming a successful writer, but wondered if the moment had already passed? This week, in our “Author! Author!” series, we’re sharing stories from people who answered that question by simply starting – often much later, and after building careers elsewhere. These conversations show how the path to authorship isn’t something you find so much as something you clear, step by step, by leaning into the life you’ve already lived. Together, these episodes capture the heart of Second Act Stories: the idea that reinvention doesn’t have an expiration date, and that sometimes the most meaningful work begins after you’ve already lived a few chapters.
Dann McDorman always dreamed of writing and publishing a novel. After graduating from Columbia University, he spent a decade pursuing that dream with little impact. “Not only was I never published, I never heard back from a single publisher. I had zero success.”
As he hit his 30s, he found his way to a career in broadcast journalism initially working for Fox News but then climbing the ladder as a producer at MSNBC. Starting a family, his dream of being an author was put on the back burner. Today, Dann is the Executive Producer of “The Beat With Ari Melber” that airs weeknights from 6:00-7:00 pm.
During the Covid-19 Pandemic and without a daily commute to the MSNBC Studios, Dann had some extra time on his hands. He started thinking about writing again. With his wife’s encouragement, he wrote a full length mystery novel called West Heart Kill. And at the age of 47, his book was published by Knopf Publishing.
Dann’s advice to aspiring authors and second act pursuers: “Don’t give up…Stick with it and don’t think it’s too late to be successful.”
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Second Act Stories theme music: “Between 1 and 3 am” by Echoes.