Francine Brevetti | Founder | Legend Crafter

About the Founder

I am a San Francisco native who started her journalism career in New York in the late 1970s with America’s oldest daily, The Journal of Commerce. I covered finance and foreign trade for this Knight-Ridder publication.

From 1985 to 1997 I worked as a freelance business journalist in Hong Kong, contributing to US, UK, Australian, and Asian English-language dailies, and magazines. I covered mostly finance, foreign trade, shipping, and travel when Hong Kong was anticipating its return to the sovereignty of the People’s Republic of China.

During that time I wrote Welcome to China, a guidebook commissioned by the China National Tourism Administration. 

I intended to stay in Hong Kong for a year, but the imminent change of sovereignty was too compelling for a journalist to leave undocumented. So I stayed, watched, and reported on the transition for the next 12 years.

In 1997, I returned to San Francisco where I still live. I secured a commission to write the history of America’s oldest Italian restaurant, Fior d’Italia. The Fabulous Fior — over 100 Years in an Italian Kitchen sold well and is now out of print. A second edition, The Fabulous Fior — over 125 Years in an Italian Kitchen, with three new chapters including the history of the San Remo Hotel where the restaurant is situated. This version is available on Kindle or Nook. 

From 1998 to 2008 I worked as a business reporter for the Oakland Tribune, covering entrepreneurship, personal technology, banking, and the Port of Oakland. This era saw a blossoming of entrepreneurship in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was my privilege to be at the front door of this development and chronicle the opening – and failure – of so many startups.

It reminded me of my time in Hong Kong when I reported on Western companies attempting to find a foothold in the mainland and the challenges they faced.

I have been ghostwriting clients’ nonfiction books ever since, including their accounts of their businesses, biographies or family histories, and even their philosophies and art. I occasionally conduct workshops that guide people to write their own.

For several years, I contributed to the newsletter of the Italian Consulate in San Francisco, called Italifornian, on articles of interest to Italians and Italian Americans. in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I speak Italian – fluently but imperfectly – some French (lived in Bordeaux as a college student when French was my major) and I study Mandarin and Cantonese.

My interest in and passion for the Italian and Chinese cultures has not waned.

Services Offered

Nonfiction writing, books, websites, promotional materials. I specialize in business writing, personal or family stories, art or philosophy. I excel at business profiles. 

I also help clients who want to write a nonfiction book themselves. I coach them through the process – offering stimulus, suggestions, research, and establishing goalposts.

I also offer copy-writing and editing — not just line editing grammar and punctuation – but also developmental editing where I critique the structure and flow of the narrative. I edit fiction besides nonfiction.

Target Audience

I want to write for individuals who feel compelled to write their story. They must be willing to invest the time and resources to collaborate. I also serve corporations that want to write their history or need promotional material.

Contact and Free Consultation

Contact me at 415-397-7830 or write me at Francine@francinebrevetti.com for a free 20-minute consultation.

​Favorite Quote

“Start writing, no matter what.
The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.”

― Louis L’Amour

Testimonials

“Francine has been a God-send in helping put together my book. She’s indefatigable in helping organize, clarify and express ideas in a way that’s reader friendly and flows naturally. Her patience, kindness and hard work have helped push the project along to completion in a timely manner. Highly recommended.”
David Dulany
Tenbound

“Francine has been a friend and associate for almost twenty years. After an extensive search for the right person to document the history of Fior d’ Italia we chose Francine. She shined. Francine is not only a great writer but she was extremely diligent in her research for the book. While working on “The Fabulous Fior” Francine helped us in other areas. She assisted us in our marketing, promotion and newsletter. Her ability to clearly communicate was very valuable to us.

Based on our experience with Francine and having observed her working with others I can highly recommend Francine. Her dedication to a project, diligent research and ability to write in a way that makes what could be a dry subject come to life and make it very interesting to the reader makes Francine very valuable and unique. Francine, in my opinion, is a professional’s professional.”
Bob Larive
Owner Fior d’ Italia (1990-2012)