When hiring a ghostwriter, you might be most concerned with what qualifications they should have. However, you may not need to be quite as concerned about their formal education and credentials as you are about their skill level in certain areas. This is because writing is not necessarily an art form that someone professionally trained for in college. Many good writers never … [Read more...]
Ghostwriting: 30 Smart Questions to Ask About Payment -Before- You Sign the Contract
Ghostwriting is a business. If you write a book or any other major project for a client, you are providing a service for which you deserve to be paid. While some ghostwriters accept an hourly fee, most arrive at some other arrangement with their clients regarding contracts, budgets, fees, benefits, expenses, and payment terms. What follows are 30 questions you should ask … [Read more...]
Review: Write a Book without Lifting a Finger
Do you think that those celebrities write their own autobiographies that everyone is dying to read? Maybe you didn’t even know that they liked to write. The truth is that they probably don’t. Many actors, athletes, politicians, business leaders and others use ghostwriters to write their books. if you have something to say but not the words to use, learn about hiring … [Read more...]
Tips on Becoming a Effective Ghostwriter
This is a follow-up to The Invisible Writer - The Art of Becoming a Ghost. 1) Can ghostwriting be handled remotely, or do you need to meet your client? Respondents agreed that it generally wasn't necessary to be able to meet one-on-one with your client. "I prefer to talk to people over the phone and to, with their permission, record the conversation," says Wayne Pollard. … [Read more...]
The Invisible Writer: The Art of Becoming a Ghost
The world is filled with people who have brilliant ideas, valuable information, or fascinating experiences to share -- but who lack the writing or communication skills to share them. Enter the ghostwriter -- the "invisible" writers among us who labor, not to make their own voices heard, but to enable others to make their voices heard. Ghostwriters make it possible for … [Read more...]
Ghostwriting Isn’t For Sissies: 6 Lessons I Learned the Hard Way
When I decided to become a ghostwriter, I was quite naïve. I had been writing professionally for close to four decades and freelancing for most of that time. I had written 12 nonfiction books on a range of topics. I had developed a workbook and taught many people how to write nonfiction books. I had even written an e-book called So, You Want To Be A Ghostwriter? I thought I … [Read more...]
What It Takes to Be a Ghostwriter
Do you have what it takes? Take this simple test, and find out. Do you have a special knack for crawling inside people’s heads? Can you understand what they really want to say? Are you able to speak in their voices? Can you distill a great deal of information into tight prose? Is one of your strengths translating feelings into words? Can you organize a complex … [Read more...]
Know When to Call a Ghostwriter
“Writing is the toughest thing I’ve ever done.” —Richard M. Nixon, 37th president of the United States. You do not have to be a writer to be an author. According to a recent New York Times article, “On any given week, up to a half of the books on any non-fiction best-seller list are written by someone other than the name on the book.” The reason is simple: being an … [Read more...]