nDash Writer Profile for Melanie Lockert

I'm a self-employed freelance writer who's been in the game for close to a decade (yes, this is the longest job I've ever had). I write reader-first compelling and engaging content — that also happens to rank pretty well, too. Think articles or blog posts to people's most pressing questions and concerns around finance, health, wellness, cars, and insurance. I've had the pleasure of writing for USA Today, CNN Underscored, Business Insider, Fortune Recommends, and other publications, big and small. 

My expertise is around student loans, credit, insurance, and banking. More recently, I've also started to branch out and write about careers, wellness, music, and cars. My favorite part of this job is learning and researching — and distilling complex concepts into bite-sized nuggets that everyone can understand. Give me a keyword and a brief and I'll be off to the races. 

As a writer, I'm meticulous, thoughtful, data-driven, communicative, and deadline-oriented. I'm happy to add reporting and include expert quotes if the piece requires it. I'm a word nerd and keyword artist. My strengths are in How-Tos and Explainers, but unfortunately not Best Of lists. 

So how did I start writing, anyway? It's a funny story, really. In 2013, I started a blog called Dear Debt. I was deep in student loan debt and wrote breakup letters to my debt. The blog helped me pay off $81,000 in student loans. The blog turned into a book. The book and the blog helped me break into the wild world of freelance writing. 

Though writing is my profession, my previous side projects include a women and money event called Lola Retreat. Plus, a podcast called The Mental Health and Wealth Show. I have a B.A. from California State University, Long Beach in Theater, and my M.A. from New York University in Performance Studies (remember how I said I had a bunch of debt?). Basically, I learned how to tell stories and wrote a ton of papers, which actually helps me with this career. 

I'm LA-born and Brooklyn-based and have two jazzy cats named Miles and Thelonious (who aren't very good editors, I'm sorry to say). I'm an ENFJ if that means anything to you. Let's create.