You’ve probably heard or read these quotes before: “There’s no end to education.” “Learning is a lifelong process.” “Everything is a learning experience.” I, too, learn as I go. In ghostwriting, there are plenty of opportunities to learn and grow. Here are some lessons I’ve learned. Don’t take any project if you’re not enthusiastic about…
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Almost whenever I research ghostwriting topics for my next post, my search engine spits out subjects I’m not asking for. Most common are the ethics of ghostwriting. I’ve written before about how ghostwriting is here to stay and how it’s ethically acceptable to hire somebody to write words for you. Here are some other ethics-related…
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Last week, I wrote about three reasons publishing is its own challenging animal. Now, here are three more reasons (with apologies to James Carville): It’s the book, stupid In simple terms, the manuscript sucks. The difficult part sometimes lies in why. Not every publisher states the reasons for rejecting your work. The larger the publisher,…
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Too many people don’t realize how difficult the publishing game really is. Recently, a woman in Alabama reached out to me because she wanted a book ghostwritten. If I could choose a title for her book, it would be All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Prison. It sounded really fascinating. Then I…
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Last week, I wrote about two things a ghostwriter can do to help build a brand. Here are four more: Develop a professional website. A ghostwriter can write the copy on the website, giving prospects a solid first look at your writing ability (and, yes, I wrote my website). Not only that, but your website…
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I wanted this post to be about brands. I researched “Personal Branding for Ghostwriters: How to Stand Out in a Saturated Market” and found numerous articles about using a ghostwriter to build a personal brand. But there was very little about a ghostwriter building a brand. That didn’t work. So, I dug into my memories. …
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Before COVID, client and ghostwriter met face to face much more often. Now, thanks to that pesky, annoying virus, there are many more electronic and distant ways for ghostwriters to interact with clients and do the important job of telling their compelling stories. I get 99% of my job leads from search engine optimization (SEO),…
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I recently was reminded that I am a ghostwriter. You might think, Well, no shit, Sherlock! I prefer to look at it like the old aftershave commercials from the 1970s, “Thanks, I needed that.” And I have my business advisor to thank. I have many standard fee requests in my contracts. Besides the dollar amount,…
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There is a battle between AI and ghostwriters going on. On one side, there is the ghostwriter. Ghostwriting is a craft. It takes practice, knowledge, skill, and experience to be able to pull a client’s story out of their head and get it onto a page while maintaining their voice, tone, style, and facts of…
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When it comes to contracts, I believe both sides should have protections. The prospect needs to feel like the story is his/her/their property, that they have the rights to it and own it at all times. That also means the prospect has final say over the title, that he/she/they can terminate the project early under…
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