For the last year I’ve been operating a ghostwriting business, I hired ghostwriters to provide content for my clients. The business got very busy VERY fast. It turned out that I was spending 90% of my time working on requests, editing content, and getting things back to the client.
Having to deal with being in and out of the hospital, the stress of it all made my decision pretty easy to let go of the ghostwriting business. I have a GEM here at Small Business Branding and I’d rather work hard at bringing valuable content and ideas to the readers here. The site that I owned “Get Content Results” is now owned by Anne Marie, one of my very close personal assistants.
Today I wanted to share with you some ideas on how to become a ghostwriter if this is something you’re interested in doing. You can also contact Anne Marie here to become a writer for her, just tell her that Vera sent you from SBB 😉
What is a Ghostwriter?
A ghostwriter is someone that gets paid to write for other people. Once a ghostwriter has written the article, book, speech, etc, and the customer has paid the ghostwriter, the customer then owns sole rights to it, can put their name on it and use it however they choose. The ghostwriter retains no rights and gets no public credit for the work.
If you are a skilled writer, proofreader, etc. ghostwriting could be just the business for you.
What skills are helpful?
To become a ghostwriter you need to have reading, writing, proofreading, communication and grammar skills. You also need strong researching skills as you often find yourself writing on topics that you have no personal expertise in.
What tools are needed?
Ghostwriters need to have a computer with a word processing application like Microsoft Word. You’ll need an internet connection and fax machine. Keep a good dictionary and thesaurus handy as well.
How do you get started?
To start a ghostwriting business you need a website. You can use a site builder or hire someone to build it for you. You will also need a really good reliable host. Your website needs to clearly define your services available, your rates, etc. The next step is to find some clients.
Take a little time to research your competition and find ways to stand out above them. Don’t expect to have a website up and running one day and the next to be swamped with work, that’s not reality, although there is a big demand for skilled ghost writers among the internet marketing community.
Online networking groups are a great way to get out there, advertise you, and start building some relationships. There are freelance sites that allow clients to post projects for you to bid on. Some of these sites require a paid membership from you to participate.
Building up your business will take time and a little elbow grease. If you have the desire to be your own boss, be home for your family then that motivation should keep you going even in the slow times.
Heh heh, having too much work to continue sound like a problem I’d have liked to suffer through during my Freelance days.
It sounds like there is pretty good income potential from ghostwriting if you are a competent writer and researcher. It’s really great that your business got so busy!
Many of the top names in internet marketing use ghost writers to create their products. They very seldom write their own, so you aren’t getting their knowledge. However, ghost writing is a very lucrative field.
Great article. I liked your tips, and now it may be something I consider taking up. I’ve been having good luck writing books and publishing on Amazon, but as writers, I think we can both agree that the more money the better, especially if it’s from writing.
Sincerely,
JInger Jarrett
This is a unique idea for me. It requires a great passion and hardwork to start with. Thanks Vera, for sharing this with us. forwarding it….
good idea. we can do this if we have many sites, or we are very busy to do it self
I would rather make use of a ghostwriting service than be a ghostwriter. Thanks
Ghostwriting is really great for places where content is needed to fill in “gaps” and but for places like blogs I think you really need to write your own content instead to connect withj your audience on a more personal level
I would never like to become ghostwriter but I don’t see anything wrong about it. It’s just a kind of deal where someone agrees to do all the hard work and other person is taking benefits and glory. It is just a deal like any other. Of course there is some kind of lie in here but… Intelligent people can tell when someone is not capable of writing a book by himself, sometimes they just don’t care – a product is a product. The same thing is going on with pop music. Someone else is writing songs and someone else is singing. And even more – someone is singing, and someone else pretends to sing (many cases). That is the world we live in.
I hire ghostwriters for content often. It saves me time and allows me to focus on other things that are important to my business.
Great point about not being swamp with work the next day. Over the years so many people I have spoken too thinks you can put up a website and all of sudden the money starts to come in. Be patient and work your passion and the money will come.