About Frank
The story worth telling is usually the true one.
Frank Ball is an author, Bible teacher and writing coach. For decades he has helped people uncover what they were made to say — and then say it in a way that lasts.
The short version
A long career in business. A second one in words.
Frank was born in Manhattan, Kansas, in 1945 and has been a Texan since 1954 — Houston first, then Fort Worth. He spent forty years in business and technology, working his way through a long list of jobs and titles while spending his nights and weekends in biblical research, teaching, preaching and counseling.
In the 1990s he left the technology he loved for the writing he had always avoided, convinced that God was redirecting him. He began writing part-time in 1996 and went full-time about ten years later. Since then he has written and published books, edited and coached other authors, taught workshops, led critique groups, and kept teaching Scripture wherever people would listen.
Today he is still writing, still publishing, still mentoring writers, and still developing The Discussion Bible — a project built on the conviction that Scripture is one continuous story worth reading straight through.
What Frank does
Four kinds of work, one purpose.
Author
Books that make Scripture readable
Frank is the author of Eyewitness: The Life of Christ Told in One Story, Born Blind, Storytelling at Its Best, Acts of the Messengers, Romans, God’s Plan and the growing Discussion Bible. His aim is always the same: get out of the way so the story can be heard.
Explore the books →Writer & Editor
Coaching other people’s books into print
Ghostwriting, editing, manuscript critique and one-on-one coaching. Frank has spent years pushing other authors across the finish line, line by line.
Writing services →Speaker & Teacher
Workshops, churches, conferences
Frank teaches writers how to tell true stories well, and teaches churches why the story of Scripture still holds. He has led critique groups, workshops and conference sessions for decades.
Speaking topics →Bible Teacher
Forty years in the text
Nights and weekends of biblical research, teaching, preaching and counseling shaped everything he writes — and led to The Discussion Bible, a project still in development.
The Discussion Bible →
Why stories matter
Truth told as a story is truth people keep.
Frank came to writing late and reluctantly, and what changed his mind was watching what a well-told story does to a listener. Explanation informs. Story convinces. That is why he wrote the Gospels as one continuous account instead of four overlapping ones, and why he pushes every writer he coaches to stop summarizing and start showing.
“Well-crafted stories deliver an experience of truth.”
He believes every life is a story God is still writing, including the parts nobody would have chosen — the detours, the loss, the hospital rooms. Especially those.
What others say
In other people’s words.
“Frank Ball is one of the most gracious people I’ve ever met. His concern for others and time spent helping writers improve their craft and communicate their message is a perfect example of a servant leader. Any pastor or ministry needing help developing their story would be fortunate for the opportunity to work with Frank.”
Athena Dean Holtz
Publisher, Redemption Press
“Servant leader describes Frank best. He moved me beyond my comfort zone from a reluctant writer to a contributor with Chicken Soup for the Soul, two other anthology books as well as blogging for Christian Communicators and Go with Vision. Frank consistently walks the extra mile besides those who call upon him.”
Carolyn K. Knefely
Christian Communicators
“If you know Frank, you already know what he provides. If not, then you need to connect with him. He works more than anybody on this planet and calls it vacation. His book, Eyewitness: The Life of Christ Told in One Story, is a definite read.”
Brad Ball
Author of The Art of the Entrepreneur
A life behind the writing
Twenty-three jobs, forty years in business, one calling.
Kansas in 1945. Part-time work at twelve. Four decades of technology and management. Thirty-seven years married to Kay. Three sons, seven grandchildren, and a cancer year that turned oncology waiting rooms into a mission field. The long version is worth the time.
Have a story worth telling?
Frank works with writers one-on-one and speaks to groups of every size. Start the conversation.