Life & Work with Chuck Sambuchino of Cincinnati, OH

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chuck Sambuchino.

Chuck, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve always loved to write. After college, I began writing newspaper articles, magazine articles, and stage plays. Then I transitioned into even more areas of writing. Then I realized that Writer’s Digest, a publication that helps writers get published, was actually based in my town of Cincinnati. I got a job there began teaching writers how to craft books and sell their work.

In 2017, I left to start Writing Day Workshops (writingdayworkshops.com), which plans writers conferences all over the country and also online. We even have events in Cleveland and Cincinnati. It’s a thrill to help people all over the country achieve their writing dreams. The conferences not only educate, but also connect writers with literary agents who can sell their work to big publishers.

As of 2025, I am still based in Cincinnati and plan writers conferences full time, and also find time to write the occasional book.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
COVID was a nightmare because we are an events business that could no longer create in-person live events. The silver lining was that it forced us to develop online education, which we still maintain today post-COVID.

I’d say the hardest part is not having a true mentor at any part of the process and thus learning everything through trial and error and guessing. Running a small business involves so many parts, including advertising and accounting. But when I can get past that difficult stuff, I get to teach writers and travel the country and help people get published. I even will teach in Italy this year (2025). So I have to enjoy the good stuff.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m very proud of some recent books that I wrote, which are all about pickleball. Pickleball is very big here in Southwest Ohio and it’s a wonderful community.

I sold a children’s picture book called GOODNIGHT, PICKLEBALL to Hachette Books and it comes out in August 2025 from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, etc. It will be released in Target later in the year. It’s my first book in Target, so that is exciting.

And I am in the middle of writing annual daily tear-off calendars called ULTIMATE PICKLEBALL. (These are great stocking stuffers.) The next one that comes out is the 2026 edition, and you can get it in September 2025. My last edition was my first book ever in Wal-Mart, so that was also a thrill.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
The obvious first person to thank is my right-hand man, Brian Klems, who helps coordinate conferences with me. Brian is a lifelong Cincinnati and author himself, and a great guy. He is a huge GirlDad, and wrote the parenting book OH BOY, YOU’RE HAVING A GIRL.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.writingdayworkshops.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writingdaywksp/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chuck.sambuchino/
• Twitter: https://x.com/writingdaywksp/