AT THE HEART OF ISLAND LIFE
From LA to Mallorca
Bestselling Author Arizona Bell on Grief, Ghostwriting, and Finding Your Voice
Los Angeles born writer, Arizona Bell, is a bestselling nonfiction author, ghostwriter, and literary agent who has lived in Ireland, Italy and Mexico before settling in Mallorca for good in 2024. She began writing professionally in her early twenties and was approached by Macmillan to write her first book, Soul Magic: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Mystics. She has since built a career helping others tell their stories while developing her own distinctive voice. Much of her work is influenced by themes of loss, belonging, resilience and transformation, inspired in part by the enduring impact of her late mother. Alongside her writing and consulting practice, Bell is currently preparing her next book, The Griever’s Dictionary, while continuing to engage with creative and spiritual communities on the island she calls her “forever place”.
By Lucy Hawkins
30/03/26
Why do you write and who do you write for?
I write because I have to write. In his poem “so you want to be a writer?” Charles Bukowski said: “if it doesn’t come bursting out of you in spite of everything, don’t do it.” I’ve been bursting with words since I spoke my first at 8 months old, and was the first to write and read in my class. Wordsmithery is an innate thing for me and I couldn’t stop it if I tried (I have tried).
As a ghostwriter, I write for a lot of different people—the gamut spanning from dentists to shamans to sex trafficking survivors. But on a personal level, Kurt Vonnegut advised to write for just one person, and for me that person is my mother who passed away in 2015. On her deathbed she told me not to despair and to chase all my dreams, of which she knew being published was the pinnacle. Making her proud is my guiding light, creatively and otherwise.
How do you recognise the difference between an idea that is merely interesting and one that is truly book-worthy?
In my experience, most ideas don’t arrive fully formed as “book worthy”. They arrive as a spark, a pressing question, a curiosity to follow. As inherently creative beings (yes, all of us), we all have many interesting ideas rolling in and out of our minds all the time—but that doesn’t mean we need to write a book about every idea we have, right? The important thing when considering bringing an idea into book form is to isolate which ideas stay with you—the ones you just can’t shake. If a book idea keeps tapping on your shoulder, it’s something to pursue, because those are the ones that will generate the energetic momentum it takes to birth into a book.
What is the biggest misconception aspiring authors have about writing a book?
That getting a book deal from a traditional publisher will instantly make them instantly rich and famous. Can you get rich and famous from being an author? Sure, but it’s not an overnight thing—like anything else, that level of success almost always requires persistence. And it shouldn’t be the sole driver behind your writing anyway, in my opinion. I advise aspiring authors to check their motivation and get clear on the “why” behind their desire to write and publish a book. Write it because you need to write it, not because you need it to be read—that is my advice. When you adopt that kind of creativity-first mindset, that’s when the good stuff actually comes rushing in.
What should a first-time author focus on more: craft, platform or persistence?
Putting on my literary agent hat, the answer is ideally all three. The days of getting published based on writing merit alone are, sadly, passed. Today, aspiring authors are expected to have talent, an audience hungry for that talent, and the persistence of an unrequited lover. That said, fiction authors can get away with less of a traditional platform than non-fiction authors in the traditional publishing world.
How has living in different countries shaped the themes or perspective of your writing?
Having been raised by a German mother and travelling abroad since being in the womb, the love and need for travel is definitely in my blood. Experiencing different cultures has made me more curious about everything, less certain about everything, and far more attuned to nuance in an increasingly polarized world—and all that inevitably turns up on the page. Nothing inspires me more than writing in a cafe in a new place; that feels like home to me. There is something about existing slightly outside of my own life that sharpens my awareness and opens my creative mind.
What surprised you most about the publishing world once you entered it professionally?
That brilliant writing alone doesn’t translate to prestige or success in regards to book deals. As both an author and an agent, I am now used to hearing things along the lines of “GORGEOUS writing—but we don’t know how to break it out into the market in a big book way.” It definitely breaks my heart and I hope for a revolution in the industry in that way as soon as possible.
How has ghostwriting informed your own authorial identity?
Ironically, it has sharpened it. Ghostwriting has been one of the most formative experiences for my own voice because it requires me to step outside it. I spend so much time inhabiting other people’s minds, cadence, and world view, that I’ve developed a kind of precision in understanding what voice actually is beyond the abstract.
At the same time, it’s forced me to get very clear on my own voice—and ultimately to protect it. When your job is to channel other people, there’s a real discipline in not accidentally giving away your own literary instincts, phrasing, and ideas. When I first started book ghostwriting I did give a lot of that away, and it didn’t sit well with me. It’s been a process of learning the boundary between elevating someone else’s story and handing over my own hard-won clarity, conviction and style. Now, when I return to my own writing, there’s a much stronger sense of authority in my own voice. I know who I am, I know what’s mine, I know how I sound, and I’m far more intentional about how I use it all.
Bestselling Author Arizona Bell on Grief, Ghostwriting, and Finding Your Voice
Los Angeles born writer, Arizona Bell, is a bestselling nonfiction author, ghostwriter, and literary agent who has lived in Ireland, Italy and Mexico before settling in Mallorca for good in 2024. She began writing professionally in her early twenties and was approached by Macmillan to write her first book, Soul Magic: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Mystics. She has since built a career helping others tell their stories while developing her own distinctive voice. Much of her work is influenced by themes of loss, belonging, resilience and transformation, inspired in part by the enduring impact of her late mother. Alongside her writing and consulting practice, Bell is currently preparing her next book, The Griever’s Dictionary, while continuing to engage with creative and spiritual communities on the island she calls her “forever place”.
What should a first-time author focus on more: craft, platform or persistence?
Putting on my literary agent hat, the answer is ideally all three. The days of getting published based on writing merit alone are, sadly, passed. Today, aspiring authors are expected to have talent, an audience hungry for that talent, and the persistence of an unrequited lover. That said, fiction authors can get away with less of a traditional platform than non-fiction authors in the traditional publishing world.
How has living in different countries shaped the themes or perspective of your writing?
Having been raised by a German mother and travelling abroad since being in the womb, the love and need for travel is definitely in my blood. Experiencing different cultures has made me more curious about everything, less certain about everything, and far more attuned to nuance in an increasingly polarized world—and all that inevitably turns up on the page. Nothing inspires me more than writing in a cafe in a new place; that feels like home to me. There is something about existing slightly outside of my own life that sharpens my awareness and opens my creative mind.
What surprised you most about the publishing world once you entered it professionally?
That brilliant writing alone doesn’t translate to prestige or success in regards to book deals. As both an author and an agent, I am now used to hearing things along the lines of “GORGEOUS writing—but we don’t know how to break it out into the market in a big book way.” It definitely breaks my heart and I hope for a revolution in the industry in that way as soon as possible.
How has ghostwriting informed your own authorial identity?
Ironically, it has sharpened it. Ghostwriting has been one of the most formative experiences for my own voice because it requires me to step outside it. I spend so much time inhabiting other people’s minds, cadence, and world view, that I’ve developed a kind of precision in understanding what voice actually is beyond the abstract.
At the same time, it’s forced me to get very clear on my own voice—and ultimately to protect it. When your job is to channel other people, there’s a real discipline in not accidentally giving away your own literary instincts, phrasing, and ideas. When I first started book ghostwriting I did give a lot of that away, and it didn’t sit well with me. It’s been a process of learning the boundary between elevating someone else’s story and handing over my own hard-won clarity, conviction and style. Now, when I return to my own writing, there’s a much stronger sense of authority in my own voice. I know who I am, I know what’s mine, I know how I sound, and I’m far more intentional about how I use it all.
What would you do differently if you were starting your writing career today?
I would have found a mentor, coach, or writing community way, way sooner. I am a lone wolf in general and writing in particular is a very solitudinous profession. It wasn’t and isn’t natural for me to seek out help or community. So I found my way in the industry totally alone—and eventually. I went the long way about it all. The publishing industry is a super mysterious one built on gatekeeping knowledge, and looking back I would have invested in learning the ropes sooner from someone who knew what they were talking about! That is why I am passionate about helping aspiring writers now—I want to offer the stuff I wish I had when I was starting out!
What distinguishes a manuscript that attracts agents or publishers from one that doesn’t?
What usually separates a promising manuscript from one that gets passed over is not actually that one writer has talent and another doesn’t. It’s often that one manuscript is more fully realized, more thought through, more polished. The writing always feels more confident, the central hook always clearer, the characters and pacing stronger. In other words, the author has taken this seriously, giving time, sweat, and definitely tears.
For nonfiction especially, agents are also looking for authority, a clear promise, and the ever-important trio: why you, why this, why now? As an agent specializing in nonfiction, I am after book concepts that combine strong writing with significant audience reach.
What do you hope readers feel after finishing one of your books?
First and foremost, I hope that people feel a sense of belonging when reading my own work—that someone else has been there, wherever there is, too. This is in particular the reason behind writing my second book The Griever’s Dictionary. I am writing the book I wish I had when my mom passed away and I felt devastatingly alone in the grieving process. I guess most of what I do, whether creating or educating or entertaining, is offer people the things I wish I had had in certain moments of my life. That is more or less my overall strategy at this point.
Written in Ritual Writing & Yoga Retreat, 30th June – 4th July, Sóller
Follow Arizona on Instagram: @_arizonabell and @litlabmallorca
What would you do differently if you were starting your writing career today?
I would have found a mentor, coach, or writing community way, way sooner. I am a lone wolf in general and writing in particular is a very solitudinous profession. It wasn’t and isn’t natural for me to seek out help or community. So I found my way in the industry totally alone—and eventually. I went the long way about it all. The publishing industry is a super mysterious one built on gatekeeping knowledge, and looking back I would have invested in learning the ropes sooner from someone who knew what they were talking about! That is why I am passionate about helping aspiring writers now—I want to offer the stuff I wish I had when I was starting out!
What distinguishes a manuscript that attracts agents or publishers from one that doesn’t?
What usually separates a promising manuscript from one that gets passed over is not actually that one writer has talent and another doesn’t. It’s often that one manuscript is more fully realized, more thought through, more polished. The writing always feels more confident, the central hook always clearer, the characters and pacing stronger. In other words, the author has taken this seriously, giving time, sweat, and definitely tears.
For nonfiction especially, agents are also looking for authority, a clear promise, and the ever-important trio: why you, why this, why now? As an agent specializing in nonfiction, I am after book concepts that combine strong writing with significant audience reach.
What do you hope readers feel after finishing one of your books?
First and foremost, I hope that people feel a sense of belonging when reading my own work—that someone else has been there, wherever there is, too. This is in particular the reason behind writing my second book The Griever’s Dictionary. I am writing the book I wish I had when my mom passed away and I felt devastatingly alone in the grieving process. I guess most of what I do, whether creating or educating or entertaining, is offer people the things I wish I had had in certain moments of my life. That is more or less my overall strategy at this point.
Written in Ritual Writing & Yoga Retreat, 30th June – 4th July, Sóller
Follow Arizona on Instagram: @_arizonabell and @litlabmallorca