Comments on: Why Would Anyone Want to Be a Ghostwriter?

By: New Social Media

New Social Media — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 23:11:15 +0000

Great article. If this secret gets out, many people are going to be improving their writing skills.

Thanks – Theresa

By: Justin C

Justin C — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 07:24:42 +0000

Thanks a lot for this article. I’ve never heard of ghostwriting before. I need to look more into this since I think I would really enjoy this form of work.

Creative writing, exploring, and what you really want to pursue. Credit is one thing, but experience is another. Experience is better than credit in the beginning of a journey. Later both experience and credit can be obtained which would be relevant and provocative in an industry where every word is a landscape with time to accelerate.

@QuotesForWriters tweeted, I read, I followed. Now, I will follow you on twitter to see if I can pick up more tips, and see where I can start. @philantropie on Twitter. (Figured I would mention my alias)

Thanks. Appreciate the post.

By: On Being a Ghostwriter

On Being a Ghostwriter — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:16:28 +0000

[...] ask the question who wants to be a ghostwriter as a somewhat rhetorical inquiry. For anyone who loves to write, doesn’t mind rescinding the [...]

By: Sean

Sean — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:48:38 +0000

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).

By: Alisa Bowman

Alisa Bowman — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:34:08 +0000

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!

By: Sean

Sean — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:52:55 +0000

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.

By: Jennifer Blanchard

Jennifer Blanchard — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:13:56 +0000

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.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:47:29 +0000

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?

By: Jake

Jake — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:36:24 +0000

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.

By: janice

janice — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:48:48 +0000

@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!