Earn Money on Ghostwriting: Level Up your Writing Business as a Ghostwriter

Ghostwriting can be a great career if you are a talented writer who is full of ideas and good at analysis and at capturing the style and tone of various publications and of clients whom you'll be working with. However there are some things you should be clear about before starting to work as a ghostwriter.

What does Ghostwriter mean?

I think most of us know what a Ghostwriter is. As defined by Wikipedia, it’s:

“A person who is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other text that are officially credited to another person as the author.”

A writer who is paid to write articles, books, reports, stories, website material or other content that is officially credited to another person is called a Ghostwriter. A ghostwriter writes a piece of work, such as non-fiction or fiction, but does not put their name on it. Political leaders, celebrities, website owners, and executives typically Hire Ghostwriters to draft or edit their written material.

If you want to make money telling other people’s stories on the sly, you’ll have to be a good listener, a good researcher and a good writer. If you can do all that, you could make a living from this type of freelance work as a ghostwriter.

How do Ghostwriters work

Ghostwriters are paid to write for someone else and allow them to put their name on that. Ghostwriter is their secret weapon behind the scenes. There is a high demand for ghostwriters to provide a wide range of content, like blog posts, articles, non-fiction books, and even celebrity autobiographies. Websites perpetually want fresh and interesting content. Many of us dream of getting a best selling book, but simply don’t have the writing skills. You will satisfy all these needs and get paid doing something you like.

How to become a Ghostwriter?

• Gain experience: Ghostwriting is an excellent source of income and a great career alternative for an accomplished writer, it's certainly not an entry-level position. If you haven’t been published yourself, it’s unlikely you’re able to write to a publishable standard for someone else. Seriously, how are you able to write a book for someone else, in their voice, when you’ve never written one yourself? Better yet, write two or three. Shoot for a minimum of 50,000 words each so you get a sense for writing something that long dealing with the nuances of voice, narrative, flow, etc. This makes sense on two levels: firstly, you need to be able to market yourself as a successful and experienced writer to potential clients who will be paying you to write for them. Secondly, you’ll need the experience you’ve acquired so far to navigate through a ghostwriting project.
• Identify your niche: While it is great to experience with various things when starting out as a ghostwriter, most ghostwriters have a “niche”: a unique point. Are you working on lyrics for top bands? Do you write business books? Make sure to concentrate on one thing. while it’s tempting to want a broad ghostwriting portfolio, having a specialist field can make you an professional in that niche, and you're more likely to get better, high-quality ghostwriting work in that area.
• Ability to work on tight deadlines: As a ghostwriter, you have to gather a deep understanding of your client’s needs and expectations. At the beginning of a project, you’ll get brief descriptions of project, outlining complete guidelines, expectations, and deadlines. And deadlines you'll get, you can’t expect an entire publishing team to wait for you while you sit around waiting for inspiration to strike.

If you’re an experienced writer, you’ll already know how to establish a regular, hardworking rhythm that works for you. However, it’s necessary to keep in mind that a ghostwriting project isn't something that may be completed in your own time. Do you have enough self-discipline to visualize a project through over a long period of time? Some ghostwritten projects take a few years to write, and procrastination is all too simple when you think you have all that time to achieve it.

• Research and communication skills required: Ghostwriting isn't the simplest job in the world. It requires smart communication skills and extreme patience in some cases for you to be able to do the work. You’re required to be a listener and a researcher. This sounds simple, but if you happen to be working with an uncommunicative subject, then it will really feel like a bloodshed.

Ghostwriters not only write up the story but do the majority of the legwork. If it’s an autobiography, you’ll require a top-notch interview skills. For other non-fiction ghostwriting, you’ll most likely be researching away.

Quality research also provides you the opportunity to confirm the information that your client has given you. Doing this doesn’t mean that you just disbelieve whatever they’ve told you. You’re simply fact-checking and qualifying the information that you just have been given that is your job.

• Put your ego aside: Ghostwriting isn't about you. It’s about your client. It’s obvious that you need to be an excellent writer but you also need to be comfortable switching your writing style to encapsulate your client’s voice, even though you're thinking that yours is better.

As a ghostwriter, do you thought how do ghostwriters get credit? Your name won’t appear on the cover and the most you'll hope for is a thank you in the acknowledgements section, so there’s no area to enjoy dreams of seeing your name in print. You would possibly want to shout about your achievements but remember that you’re being paid to stay quiet.

If you can persuade your ego to step aside to put in the diligence for someone else, you'll gain publishing success and build a solid, skilled reputation through your ghostwritten work.

I am a qualified freelance content writer and graduated developer. I have experience in a wide range of industries, including technology, business, finance, and education. I have a keen eye for detail and a passion for writing, which I believe makes me an excellent candidate for any writing role. I am also a proficient developer, with experience in Python, Java, and HTML. If you are in need of any help, feel free to contact me.

Saad A. | Freelance Content Writer and Graduated Developer