Donald Haynes worked in the woods as a faller and bucker. He worked in lumber mills on the green and plainer chains and as off-bearer and pondman. He worked in gas stations and automotive parts houses. He was a warehouseman, a salesman and a janitor. He inspected trucks for the US Army. He stocked shelves and bagged and delivered groceries. He wrote a newsletter for a United Auto Workers local. He manned the counter in a liquor store. He sterilized equipment in a pharmaceutical house.
He earned a BA from the University of California, Berkeley; an MA from the University of Oregon; and a PhD from the University of Notre Dame. As a college professor he taught literature, primarily 20th Century American writing. He published scholarly and popular articles both regionally and nationally.
He founded and managed Haynes & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in all phases of corporate communication. As Executive Producer of a division in an NBC television affiliate, he built a national client list. As a partner in a video production house, he wrote dramatic scripts produced on video, most for use in national corporate retreats for CEOs and CFOs. In recent years most of his energy has been directed toward stories about the Land of Otherwhere.