How to Start a Ghostwriting Career

What do ex-presidents, rock stars, celebrities, and athletes have in common? Besides the fame and fortune derived from careers that made them a household word, there's no shortage of them who have found yet another wellspring of success in penning their memoirs. The secret, though, is that many of them have neither the time nor the talent to expend on a project as demanding as a book and have, thus, engaged the services of a special kind of silent partner: a ghostwriter. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to be the "voice" of someone else and be paid well to keep your participation a secret, here's how to get started.

Things You'll Need

• Excellent writing skills
• A computer
• Internet access
• A telephone
• A tape recorder

Instructions

1. Assess your areas of expertise as a writer. Even if you have never had anything published, you probably have a feel for what kind of writing you enjoy the most and which best shows off your creativity and organizational skills. While ghostwriting doesn't require a degree or a credential, your prospective clients are going to want to review samples of your work in order to make an informed decision. Likewise, the investment of time and research that you're going to be putting into a ghostwriting project for someone else necessitates that you have an affinity for the subject matter and will be as excited to work on it everyday as you would a project of your own.

2. Acquire publishing credits in your area of expertise. This is especially important if you plan someday to attract major clients or work for a ghostwriting agency as opposed to just working for yourself. If, for instance, your focus is to ghostwrite romance novels, you will have more credibility to a prospective client if you have actually broken into this market yourself and been published. If your interest is nonfiction, you'll want to have a portfolio of scholarly samples from journals, trade magazines, and university presses and demonstrate that you have established yourself as an expert on a specific subject or in a particular field. If you're interested in ghosting autobiographies, any hands-on experience you can get interviewing people for the local media in your community will be invaluable. Last but not least is to consider what your prior employment experiences have taught you and how these can be applied to your areas of specialization as a ghostwriter. Let's say, for example, that you recently retired from a career in law enforcement as a detective. Your insider knowledge about crimes, criminals and investigative techniques would be a plus for someone who wants to hire you to write a mystery novel. Likewise, a favorite hobby that has made you an expert (i.e., cooking, wilderness survival, antiques) will lend authenticity to a book that embraces these elements in the plot.

3. Consult a lawyer to draft a standard contract for you. In a perfect world, we could simply shake hands with our clients, write a fabulous book for them, and expect a fat paycheck in return. Unfortunately, people can be incredibly fickle if they're not required to commit to a promise in writing. A contract not only protects your interests insofar as getting reimbursed for all of your hard work but also provides assurance to the client that you, the writer, aren't going to take the money, run away laughing maniacally, and never type a single sentence. Briefly, the contract should set forth the payment terms, deadlines, ownership, confidentiality, rewrite conditions, and particulars insofar as what happens if, for example, the client or the writer should meet with an unfortunate demise before the book is completed.

4. Advertise your services. The best way to start is to design a professional looking website that introduces your background, briefly describes the types of projects that you handle (i,.e., novels, screenplays, children's fiction, memoirs), and provides samples of your writing style. Fees should be listed on an hourly, per page or per project basis. It's important to clarify what you charge because, quite frankly, you'd be amazed at how many people have the expectation that you will write everything for them for free and then share in a percentage of the sale. Ghostwriting doesn't work that way. Nor should you be expected to act as your client's agent once the book is finished. Explain to him that acting as his agent is a conflict of interest; specifically, in order to tell a prospective editor how you happen to know the client, you'd need to divulge that you know him because you're the one who actually wrote the book.

5. Design and order business cards, postcards and stationery that will include your new ghostwriting website. On-line print shop companies such as Vista Print are great in this regard because you can present a professional image for only a nominal investment. Keep in mind that your website may not get a lot of traffic at the start but that word of mouth and steady self-marketing on your part will soon bring clients to your door. If you don't already have a blog, now is a good time to start one and tell people what you're doing. It's also a good time to start making yourself visible on CraigsList and writing-related websites by posting a notice that you're a ghostwriter and directing people to where they can learn more about your work. Though it can get pricey, ads in trade magazines such as "Writer's Digest", "Writer's Journal" and "The Writer" are always a good place to make new clients aware of your services.

6. Seek out prospective clients on both a local and national level. Let's say, for example, that you read a human interest story in the newspaper about a couple in your neighborhood who have been foster parents to 37 children. Now there's an interesting concept for a book! Drop them a letter (in c/o the newspaper if you can't find their street address), comment on their experiences, and query whether they've ever considered writing a book. Enclose your business card and invite them to call you at their convenience. At the same time, start judiciously trolling Internet ads posted by individuals who want to write their memoirs or who have ideas for a how-to book but want to work with a professional author. Hey, that's you! Furthermore, the majority of ghostwriting is done by writers in their own homes so geography shouldn't inhibit you from contacting anyone in the world who sounds interesting. If you are going to be penning their memoirs, a telephone, a tape recorder, and email are usually all you'll need to get the ball rolling.

7. Respect deadlines! In your zeal to get established, don't take on more projects than you can reasonably handle. Your client is counting on you to not only do a great job but also to deliver it within an agreed upon timeframe. It is also critical to establish from the outset how involved the client is going to be in the review of chapters in progress. This varies from client to client.

Tips & Warnings

• The secret to being a successful ghostwriter is to be something of a chameleon. No matter what your own writing style is, it's important to capture the essence and tone of the person for whom you are writing. This can be gleaned from phone conversations, emails and, in some cases, reading things that they have already written themselves.

• Have a thorough understanding of the project's target market before you proceed.

• Don't be shy about making recommendations that would make the book more marketable. Realize, though, that the client has the final word and that arguing a point to death isn't going to win you any favors.

• Always remember that you are under no obligation to take on a ghostwriting project if your instincts are warning you that it's a bad idea or that the client is going to be difficult. No amount of money is worth the aggravation.

Resources

• The Penn Group
• Vista Print
• Elance
• The Ghost in the Machine