Monday, June 07, 2021

Ghostwriting an Introduction

 

Blog post updated 17/07/21.

Introduction

Recognition is the thing most writers want from their writing career, to know that people will go out of their way to find their books makes a difference.  

But what if you were writing in someone else's name?

Would that matter to you?

Most experts in the publishing arena say that 80% of books on The New York Times bestseller list are written by ghostwriters.

The market for ghostwriting means more than writing a book for a celebrity these days, it also includes normal everyday people, big corporations and literary agents, to name a few, to write their books.

Ghostwriting no longer belongs to writing books for celebrities and the rich but also blog posts, articles, content marketing, white papers, and some people even require others to write content for their social media posts.

Which means million dollar corporations are willing to spend millions of dollars paying other people to write their social media posts.

Maybe you're a newbie and are looking for some lucrative writing niches to start on, or a freelancer who wants to branch out, either way there's a profitable market out there for the taking.

Why Do People Hire Ghostwriters

If you're a skilled writer, it's pretty fair to say that people will pay good money for your services.

Here are 8 really good reasons why people will give you work as a ghostwriter:

They Don't Have Any Writing Skills

Writing isn't everybody's forte, so people will start looking for someone proficient enough to do the job for them.

In some cases their English may not be the best, and they find it difficult to express their thoughts onto paper.  Or maybe it's the opposite and their use of English isn't plain enough for the average person to understand.  There may be someone who wants a story written but has no idea how to start developing that idea and nurturing it into a readable story.

As a ghostwriter you'll come across people from every field of life whether it be a professional sports person, actor or banker.  They're all looking to hire someone with writing expertise who can understand the message they want to put across in their book.

There Aren't Enough Hours in the Day to Write a Book

A lot of people start out with good intentions but then discover they don't have it in them to finish it or even continue on with their story.  Or maybe their book is taking too long to finish, so rather than throwing in the towel they decide to hire a real ghostwriter who will finish what they started doing.

Some circumstances may be out of the hands of authors and they require an extra set of hands to finish their book, in which case they need to hire a writer to do the work for them.

They Pander to Vanity

Being an author comes with a certain amount of prestige, and the urge to impress others.  People like the fact that they can tell their nearest and dearest that they've written a book.  Others may want to add an extra feather to their bow and give their career an extra shiny veneer, so writing a book can open lots of doors to new opportunities that weren't there before.

They Do It For the Money

People invent new and inventive pen names to novels that are written by people that don't actually exist.  All of these novels are written by lots of ghostwriters to help 'Authors' stay on top of the search engine algorithm.  That in turn gives them continuous exposure, and helps them sell more books.

 So it's a win-win situation for all parties involved.

They Do It for Marketing and Promotion Purposes

Free ebooks are great marketing tools that are given out to valuable clients full of free advice.  You can also add newsletter articles, social media posts and blog posts into that category too.

Sometimes Social Interaction Needs a Real Writer

Ghostwriting isn't just about writing books, but also includes personal times and moments in people's lives that require speeches, or songs.  Both of these things can be written by professionals who know how to bring thoughts and feelings to the surface and make them sound beautiful.

Not Everyone's a Writer

People are busy today, and if they're not already into writing, they put it at the bottom of their list of things 'to do'.  This is why it's much easier to pay someone else to write for them.

There's a huge difference between producing a memo and writing a blog post or book.  A lot of business people sometimes look for writers to do all three of these things.  But most will call upon  a ghostwriter to write their next book.  

It takes years of learning and honing your writing skills, and that can often include writing books that essentially fail when they're first published.  Writing is a skill that takes more than six months to master, and most people don't have that kind of time or patience.

They Need Someone to Build Their Brand

Brand awareness is big business these days, and plenty of companies are turning to ghostwriters to get their brand out there.  They use content such as blog posts, brochures, ebooks or articles to get their brand message to their audience.

People Don't Like Looking Deeply Inside of Themselves

Writing can be really isolating if you're not used to it, or don't have the passion for it.  This can be a hindrance to a lot of extroverted people.

Self-examination isn't an easy thing to do when you're putting a magnifying glass on your own life.  A ghostwriter's job is to draw out the feelings of the author, while still having empathy and impartiality to the project.

The Subject Maybe Too Close to Home

Often when an individual starts writing a manuscript they fill it full of details that are of little interest to the audience, or they think the readers may have a certain amount of knowledge already about the subject. 

The job of a ghostwriter is to use their own writing skills to bring out that emotion in a way that captivates the reader.

The Author Doesn't Know How to Show the Right Emotion in Their Book

Experienced ghostwriters will always be right from the author's point of view and know what is required and what will resonate with the audience.  Turning the mundane into something exciting and captivating.

Most Authors Don't Have the Willpower to Finish a Book


It takes a lot of energy to start and finish a book.  The enthusiastic start quickly leads to tedium, then the end never comes, and the manuscript is buried somewhere never to be seen again.

The Ghostwriter Can Create a Professional Book

People rely on professional ghostwriters because they know they can trust in their abilities, and get a book that's written properly, with the content and length promised in their book proposal.

Some Final Thoughts

The first thought that comes to mind when ghostwriting is mentioned is that most ghostwriter's only write fiction, but this isn't the case.  Ghostwriting comes in many different forms from blog posts, to social media posts, fiction books, nonfiction books, newsletters, articles, and much much more.

It's pretty clear to see the world needs ghostwriters. 

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