Ghostwriting 101: A Novice’s Guide to Ghostwriting
If you’re hearing the term “ghostwriting” for the first time, you can be excused for thinking that it is about writing ghost stories.
Well, we have best-selling books about ghosts, but writing about the paranormal isn’t exactly what we call ghostwriting.
What Is Ghostwriting?
In simple terms, ghostwriting is the process of creating content for someone else without expecting any credit for the work.
A surprising number of professionals and companies need high quality content for their websites, but can’t or don’t want to put in the hard work. Ghostwriting is one of the content writing services that they can hire to get customized content.
Note that ghostwriting is not limited to website content only. Ghostwriting can be adapted for blogs, social media campaigns, and public communication.
What’s the point of writing if someone else takes credit for it?
Reasons Why Writers Consider Becoming Ghostwriters?
Why would a writer let someone else take credit for the blood sweat and tears they poured into creating high quality content?
Well, the following are some of the reasons why some writers take up the ghostwriting career:
1. For the money, of course
I don’t mean there aren’t people who do it as a passion, hobby, or something of the sort (though I’ve never met one). I mean that the reason most of us are doing it is because it makes decent money.
Ghostwriters can make some serious cash even with the rise in competition. This is because clients pay more to forego perks of notoriety such as showcasing talent and building reputation.
According to PayScale, the average base hourly rate of fulltime ghostwriters is $30 per hour, so a professional ghost writer can easily make up to six figures per year.
Nevertheless, the pay varies depending on factors such as the type of ghostwriting, experience, and the clients.
For most ghostwriters, the writing career typically starts slow, and picks up as time goes by as they gain additional experience.
2. Ghostwriting is liberating
Some writers just need anonymity to be the best version of themselves. Writing anonymously for others or under an alias gives them just that.
The freedom to take on any personality and voice without being called a fraud is quite liberating. It is like acting without a camera, allowing you to handle all types of topics and subjects, even those considered taboo, such as sex, drugs, cults, etc.
3. It can help writers form meaningful relationships
Depending on the type of ghostwriting they engage in, freelance ghostwriters may find themselves working closely with clients and other people versed in the subject they are covering.
Interviewing them gives a ghost writer valuable insights into the field, and helps them build close relationships with those they are interviewing.
A ghost writer could also find themselves working with other ghostwriters, forming relationships that could help them branch out and advance. If they would need some advice or a favor in future, these connections could be quite meaningful.
4. It involves less work
If you were creating a post, piece, or business book all by yourself, you have to promote it on multiple channels using various marketing tools.
As a ghost writer, you only have to create a piece that the client will like and move on to the next without worrying about any aspect of content marketing.
It also involves less work because some clients provide you with all the keywords and research materials you need. This saves you the time you would have spent researching.
Ghostwriting Tips for Aspiring Ghostwriters
If you think you are cut out for the challenges and rewards of ghostwriting, you may be wondering how to start. It is quite simple, mostly involving building and honing the necessary skills in the following ways.
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Read often
Reading often helps you build necessary writing skills, such as taking on different writing styles, perspectives, and tones.
Exposing yourself to different types of literature and media builds a strong writing foundation that allows you to handle different types of ghostwriting projects, earning you more money consistently.
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Become a freelancer
You need freelancing skills to be successful as a ghost writer. As a freelance writer you will create content for various channels and publications, engage in proposal, email, grant, proposal, and blog writing among others.
Doing this will build your content creation skills, and you can use your freelancing clients to get your ghostwriting clients later on.
The high-quality content you create as a freelancer strengthens your profile, and makes it easy to find ghostwriting gigs.
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Create different types of content
When you are freelancing, you shouldn’t limit yourself to a certain type of content. The more types of content you can write, the more skills you build and the more marketable you become.
Writing content such as fiction, blog posts, romance, business, etc., helps you build valuable ghostwriting skills.
It also gives you the critical skill of simply expressing complex ideas and technical jargon.
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Create a strong writing portfolio
A portfolio proves to prospective clients that you know how to create content. To make your writing portfolio strong, you need to collect and compile a sample of the awesome content you created as a freelancer.
Include different types of content such as long-form, short-form, memoirs, etc., to showcase your flexibility and expertise.
How Ghostwriters Find Clients?
Through marketing.
Ghostwriters have to find their own work, more so beginners. To start getting gigs, you need to let people know you are a ghost writer and are available for work. There are several ways you can market your ghostwriting job. They include:
- Creating guest posts about ghostwriting and link to your profile or ghostwriting website.
- Mentioning it in all your social media posts and profiles.
- If you're a freelancer, you can pitch to existing clients.
- Cold pitch to startups and small business owners
- Advertise on freelance job boards.
As you are marketing, remember to market not only your writing skills, but also your ability to portray the voice and ideas of the potential clients. Make them comfortable you can provide the content they require and they will contract you.
Ghostwriting Saves Brands a Ton of Precious Time: But it Isn’t for Everyone
Even though individuals and companies are turning to ghostwriters to write their content, ghostwriting may not be for you if:
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You worry about the ethicality of ghostwriting
It is near impossible to reach a consensus regarding the ethicality of ghostwriting. Some professional writers and readers believe ghostwriting is ethical practice while others believe it is not.
Some even think it depends on whether the client gives the ghostwriter the ideas, title, and outline, or they let them come up with the subject and outline.
Ethical or not, people are out there making money from it. By some estimates, as many as 60 percent of the non-fiction bestselling books are ghostwritten.
If you believe it is not ethical, then the idea of hiring a ghostwriting service provider might be too far-fetched for you.
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You don’t like taking credit for someone else’ work
To be honest, it can sting a little when you see someone take all the credit for something you poured your blood, sweat, and tears into. Even seasoned ghostwriters find themselves craving the attention and recognition for their work.
If you are opposed to the idea of taking credit for other people’s work, then ghostwriting might not sit well with you.
What Type of Ghostwriter Should You Hire?
If you are all for ghostwriting, there is no better way of getting your content written expertly than having a professional ghost writer write it for you.
If you need an amazing book written, then a ghost writer who’s skilled in writing books will be ideal.
If you want website content written, the services of a professional website content writer will come in handy. So, the type of ghost writer you should hire depends on the type of project at hand.
Luckily, there are professional ghostwriters for all types of text, including books, articles, speeches, blog posts, book proposals, and so forth. They are paid to write on behalf of their clients, and they cannot publicly share the text or admit to writing it.
Are You In Need of Professional Ghostwriting Services? An Experienced Ghostwriter is One Click Away!
When it comes to ghostwriting, it takes time to improve one’s skills. So, if you have any writing projects, you can save yourself the time and effort by hiring a professional ghost writer.
Acting as one of the most dependable online writing service providers, Zoey Writers provides professional ghostwriting services throughout the year.
Whether it is a fictional/non-fictional book you need help in writing or a personalized speech you intend to deliver at a special event, we are more than happy to offer the ghost writer services you are looking for.
We have full-time ghostwriters who write awesome online content, from blog posts to articles and everything in between.
Our team of writers have years of experience writing amazing content for all types of organizations and individuals, so we can ghostwrite content that achieves its objectives, no matter the subject or industry.
Reach out to us today to talk to us about your ghostwriting projects and to learn more about our ghostwriting services.
