Today we’d like to introduce you to Morissa Schwartz.
Hi Morissa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have spent most of my career helping people turn “I have this idea…” into something real, whether that is a book, a business, a brand, or the collection of seventeen Google Docs someone swears they are finally going to organize this year.
I started writing professionally as a teenager and quickly fell in love with the strange magic of words: the right ones can make someone laugh, buy, care, click, remember, or finally believe they are allowed to take their own idea seriously. That eventually led me to build two businesses, Dr. Rissy’s Writing & Marketing and GenZ Publishing.
Today, my work sits at the intersection of storytelling, strategy, and creativity. Through Dr. Rissy’s Writing & Marketing, my team and I help entrepreneurs, experts, authors, and growing businesses with writing, editing, public relations, SEO, social media, advertising, and big-picture marketing. Through GenZ Publishing, we help authors bring meaningful books into the world, especially voices and stories that might otherwise get overlooked by more traditional publishing routes.
Along the way, I have been named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Media, built a social media community of more than half a million followers, written for publications including *Entertainment Weekly, Entrepreneur,* and *Forbes,* and been featured by outlets including *The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, MTV, The Today Show,* and *The Daily Show.* Those moments are exciting, obviously. I would be lying if I said being featured by places I grew up reading and watching did not make my inner teenage media nerd do a tiny backflip.
Still, the work I care about most happens behind the scenes. It is helping a business owner explain what makes them different without sounding like a robot in a blazer. It is helping an author take the book they have been carrying around in their head for years and make it tangible. It is helping someone with real talent stop being invisible online.
I have always had a soft spot for independent creators, women-owned businesses, local entrepreneurs, and people building something meaningful without a giant corporation backing them. I love the underdogs, the weird ideas, the passion projects, and the businesses with heart. They are usually the ones making life more interesting anyway.
My career has never followed one neat, obvious path, which has turned out to be one of its best features. I get to combine writing, marketing, publishing, creativity, humor, and problem-solving every day, all while raising my daughter, Maven, hanging out with my rescue Yorkies, and collecting random facts at a rate that would concern a normal person.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been a perfectly smooth road. My father, a lifelong entrepreneur, told me when I started my first business that something would go wrong every day. I thought he was being a little dramatic. Now, I consider it a banner day when only one thing goes wrong.
Running a business means learning to handle surprise invoices, tech issues, shifting algorithms, delayed payments, last-minute client curveballs, and the occasional problem that somehow manages to bring its cousins.
The biggest lesson has been that a positive attitude is not about pretending challenges do not exist. It is about refusing to let a monkey wrench become the entire machine. Some days call for a pivot, some call for a deep breath, and some call for opening a fresh Google Doc and figuring it out anyway. Every obstacle has made me more resourceful, more prepared, and better able to help clients navigate their own challenges with perspective and practical solutions.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I work at the intersection of writing, publishing, marketing, and visibility, which means I get to help people take a strong idea and give it the full ecosystem it needs to actually go somewhere.
Through Dr. Rissy’s Writing & Marketing, we work with authors, entrepreneurs, experts, and growing businesses on ghostwriting, editing, PR, SEO, social media, advertising, brand messaging, and content strategy. Through GenZ Publishing, we help authors move from “I have a manuscript” to holding a finished book, with editorial guidance, design, distribution, launch strategy, and all the behind-the-scenes puzzle pieces that tend to multiply when nobody is looking.
I am especially known for seeing the bigger picture. A book can become a media angle, a keynote, a website refresh, a social-content series, an email campaign, a stronger personal brand, and a long-term credibility engine. A great business story can do the same thing. I love creating those connected strategies because every piece of someone’s work should be pulling in the same direction instead of wandering around the internet like unsupervised toddlers at a birthday party.
I am proud of the results, of course: helping clients become bestselling authors, land meaningful media coverage, grow their visibility, and finally feel confident explaining what they do. I am equally proud that people come to us with ideas they have been carrying for years and leave with something real, polished, and ready to meet the world.
What sets me apart is the blend of creative instinct and practical strategy. I care deeply about the words, the voice, the details, and the human side of a story. I also care about what happens after the words are written. Will people find it? Will they understand it? Will it help the client grow? Will it make them feel more like themselves, only with better copy and fewer open tabs?
That mix has taken my work from books and brands to national media, a community of more than half a million followers, and opportunities to support people who are building businesses, sharing expertise, and trying to create something that lasts. I still get most excited by the moment when a client realizes, “Wait, this could actually work.”
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success, to me, is building work that matters and a life that still feels like mine while I am doing it.
I love the visible milestones, of course: helping clients become bestselling authors, seeing a campaign take off, landing meaningful media coverage, or watching someone go from “I’m not sure anyone will care” to realizing they have something truly valuable to offer. Those moments are little fireworks.
The version of success I value most is more grounded. It is creating opportunities for my team, helping clients grow in ways that genuinely improve their lives, supporting independent voices, and having the flexibility to be present for my daughter while building businesses I am proud of.
I also think success has a lot to do with staying useful. The world changes quickly, algorithms do whatever algorithms do, and every industry has its plot twists. Being able to keep learning, adapt with good humor, and continue showing up with something helpful to offer feels like its own kind of win.
My favorite version of success is seeing the people I work with become more confident, more visible, and more equipped to take the next step. Building that kind of impact, while still having time for family, rescue Yorkies, and the occasional completely unnecessary deep dive into a random topic, feels pretty successful to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: MorissaSchwartz.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morissa_schwartz/
- Facebook: Morissa Schwartz
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morissaschwartz
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MorissaSchwartz
- Youtube: https://www.tiktok.com/@morissaschwartz?lang=en
- Yelp: https://www.tiktok.com/@morissaschwartz?lang=en
- Other: DrRissy.com
