Why Would Anyone Want to Be a Ghostwriter?
Be a Ghostwriter
Everyone has heard the term ghostwriter, but does everyone understand what it means to be a ghostwriter? Who uses ghostwriters and is there a stigma placed on their finished work?
Many people from every profession use ghostwriters and for the most part, they are a commonly accepted arm of the industry. A fair percentage of celebrities employ the work of ghostwriters when they have a pending book in production. This is an excellent example of why a ghostwriter’s services are needed.
Celebrities have an eager audience willing to pay good money to read whatever they may have to say, yet many celebrities do not possess the necessary skills to author their own book. By teaming with a quality ghostwriter, they are able to get their ideas and experiences down on the page without any of the tedious text entry.
Celebrities, politicians, authority figures, all have used the services of ghostwriters, but that’s not all. Some well known authors are even guilty of ghosting a few of their words. Take for example, V.C. Andrews, author of the trash camp classic, “Flowers in the Attic.” Her books still continue to have occasional releases, yet she passed away some time ago. How is this even possible?
Because every book with a V.C. Andrews byline that has been posthumously released has been authored by a ghostwriter. Even if the notes were originally from the desk of Ms. Andrews, the format and prose belong to another.
Without the credit, why would anyone want to be a ghostwriter?
Because ghostwriting can be extremely rewarding. It’s a singular career that offers the endless opportunity of new and exciting research and writing on various topics, some of which an author would never dream of themselves. If a writer loves to simply write and isn’t starved for attention or credit, being a ghostwriter can be an extremely lucrative way to make a living.
The top ghostwriters in this country are well into the six figures.
Of course it can take a while to develop a substantial client list, but ghostwriting is the perfect sort of job to smart small and aim large. It only takes a couple of clients to get started and you can do it in your spare time. Once you’re up and running with a few steady clients it is fairly simple to slip into full time professional writing.
How to be a ghostwriter is a different article altogether, but needless to say – a great ghostwriter will garner good repeat business and whispered word of mouth.
Of course, ghosting isn’t for everyone. If you desire credit, it’s definitely the wrong road to run down. However, if money trumps credit, get on the road to becoming a ghostwriter, it just might be the gig to keep you grinning.
Ghostwriter Dad
Be a Ghostwriter
10 Responses to “Why Would Anyone Want to Be a Ghostwriter?”
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Very cool artcile. I never really thought about how many celebs, politicians etc. actually hire ghostwriters to do their bidding.
And for me… I got news: money trumps credit!
*article… You know… I need to work on my commenting skills ;-)
@Bamboo
Please use your considerable influence with Sean to persuade him to get Ajax Comments Editor!
@Sean
I read a good book about ghostwriting last week and it was amazing how many crossovers there are between coaching and ghost writing. A lot of listening, for starters. Sitting back and being happy not to take public credit or reveal anything. Getting your own ego out of the way during the process while trusting and being secure in your skills. Wanting the best possible outcome for everyone concerned. Curiosity, lashings of curiosity. The ability to ask intuitive and insightful questions and read between the lines of the answers. Honing in on what’s most important. Entering new territories. Being brave enough dig deeper. Being very aware of tone and energy matching.
I used to do a bit of ghostwriting a long time ago, but back then, my ego was an unpredictable brat and my emerging voice, whatever you want to call it, made me want to have more freedom. Translating was a really happy medium for me. A way of being ‘me’ while focusing on making it possible for someone else’s voice and story be heard by more people. I enjoy editing , too.
I love seeing all your different writing styles and passions emerging in different places, Sean!
Some of my best gigs have been as a ghost writer. I’ve written tons of articles for high-level execs within the oil & gas industry and even wrote an award-winning article for someone who really shouldn’t have been hiring a ghostwriter in the first place. I’d love to get back into it. I’d love to get back into writing full stop. One of these days I’m going to find the gig that’ll take me there.
I found you via Twitter. I actually am interested in ghostwriting (I’m an editor now). Do you have any links or advice on getting started?
Nice topic. I am pretty much a full-time ghostwriter (that’s my full-time job right now, anyhow) for a company. I’m not a huge fan of it. Although I am pretty good at it, which is the main problem. I went to college to be a journalist and a writer, not a ghostwriter. When I spend tons of time working on something, I want my name to go on it, not someone else’s. I guess that’s why I started looking for side jobs–my blog, freelance writing–so that I could use my voice to write something for a change.
I do have to admit thou, at least for me, ghostwriting is a pretty easy job.
Bamboo: The Ajax plugin is on its way, for here and WD. I promise it’s on the list.
Janice: LOL, I spread my own voice more than enough. It’s nice to slip into the anonymity of a ghost writer every once in a while. Especially since the anonymity pays a LOT more than the recognition.
Jake: It’s a fantastic career as long as you don’t mind surrendering the credit. A single gig can keep you busy for months which is another cool aspect.
Wendy: Not off the top of my desktop, but that’s actually a great idea for a future post – a link roundup for posts on ghostwriting. I’ll add that and an advice post for getting started to my queue. Thanks Wendy!
Jennifer: If you’re good at weaving words, it is a solid and simple job, but you do have to surrender the credit. This doesn’t bother me, but that’s only because I treat it as the backdoor to my voice. I write with a byline, several hundred words a day, so getting paid to recede into the shadows is totally fine by me. If I had no other outlet however, I might not feel the same way.
I can’t believe I didn’t know about your site until today. I just did a presentation at ASJA about ghostwriting and we were all lamenting about how hard it is to find one another, since our names don’t always go on the books. We talked about starting some sort of co-op blog, so we could collectively offer advice and serve as a sort of virtual meeting spot for other ghosts. Anyway, I’m happy to see that you’ve already done the legwork!
It is a good profession. I never wanted to be a ghost writer when I grew up. I wanted to write for a newspaper, which I did do for a while. But ghost writing pays a lot more and has a lot more job security!
Hi Alisa! Well I’ll tell you what, why don’t we make this place it then? The site’s fairly new and up until last week I did very little to publicize it. It was designed as a niche site to gather search engine traffic for my ghostwriting business. It turns out though, I really enjoyed writing the posts and saw no reason why I couldn’t groom it as a legitimate site with one outstanding post a week. Spread the word. Meetings on Mondays (I think).