In addition to ghostwriting, I also edit. My editing days go back to 1990 and my days working in newspapers, where the editing mantra was, “The fewer the words, the more powerful they are.” Once a manuscript is completed, it’s really important to have a neutral set of eyes look at it. I tell all…
Last week, I received a phone call and an email inquiry from a man looking for a ghostwriter. He is 93 years old and doesn’t have a lot of time to get his memoir out of his head and onto the page, so he wants to move quickly. He didn’t balk when I told him…
I’ve read some online reports that say ghostwriters remain relevant and in demand. The main reason can be explained in one word: Content. Everybody needs it. And it is seemingly everywhere all the time. It’s positively ubiquitous. I entered “types of content” into my search engine. Twenty-four different types came up. Seventeen of them require…
For me, ghostwriting is a most rewarding job. The work I do in telling somebody’s in-depth, compelling story — and then getting paid thousands of dollars to do it — is emotionally and financially gratifying. But like every other job out there, there are downsides. Here are some I have discovered. Scheduling conflicts — There’s…
There is a poem I remember reading in a prayer book: What does it really mean to “hear”? The person who attends a concert with a mind on business, Hears — but does not really hear. The person who walks amid the songs of birds And thinks only of what will be served for…
Nobody starts out wanting to be a ghostwriter. Something happens along the way that makes them want to pursue that vocation. For me, it came in stages. First, I was a journalist. I wrote for two Los Angeles daily newspapers, in the sports departments, and I discovered a gift for getting people to open up…
There must be a high degree of trust between ghostwriter and client. Each must recognize and respect the other’s talents. Like with a marriage, the relationship between ghostwriter and client has ups and downs, pitfalls and pleasures, risks and rewards. Either partner can throw things out of whack. Clients might typically try to take advantage…
I’ve previously written that between 50% and 90% of nonfiction books were ghostwritten. I’ve also found sources that say traditional publishing houses admit that 70% of all books were ghostwritten and 99% of celebrity-authored titles were. I’ve also previously written that if you see a “with” or “and” after the author’s name, followed by another…
So you want to write a book, or you want a work with a ghostwriter. You have a great story that you know would benefit a lot of people if they could just read your words. That would result in your dream of selling thousands of copies and making a living as a novelist. There…
One of my various ghostwriting services is telling the story of a company, product or service on its website. Too many company website product or service pages don’t tell the story of how the person reading the page will benefit from using that product or service. I have visited hundreds of small-business websites, and I’d…
