Most people might not say it out loud, but putting together a string of words in a way that not only makes sense but is also impactful is an art in itself. Like any other art form, you cannot expect everyone to be adept at creating something beautiful or worthwhile. People who seemingly have a “way with words” are highly valued in today’s world, where content marketing and brand image creation are at their peak. Yet, not everyone would be able to produce eloquent pieces, and this is exactly where the underrated champions called “ghost writers” come in.
Ghostwriting is the method of writing for someone and getting paid for the same. The only caveat is, your name does not appear in the credits. Hence, the term “Ghostwriting” is used for such projects. You write for someone and the content gets published in their name.
At first glance, the concept might not be very alluring. Writing for someone, putting in all the work, and not even being acknowledged for it might seem wrong. However, ghostwriting is very popular and there are ample reasons for it.
It is a great way to earn a lucrative income, also it’s their idea that you work on. The original idea comes from them, a ghostwriter puts their thoughts into concrete sentences and write-ups.
Ghostwriting is a stable profession for a lot of people who make a living out of their talent to write for someone else by imbibing their voice, tone, and style in their writing.
If you have a flair for writing, you can learn about it in-depth by enrolling in a content writing course. A digital marketing course will give you all the benefits of learning about content writing and marketing, along with providing you the guidance to find the right clients for your ghostwriting job.
Today in this article, let’s look at the different aspects of ghostwriting and what a career in ghostwriting entails.
Types of Ghostwriting
1) Fiction
Fiction is one of the most common forms of content that is written by ghostwriters. A lot of people might have very good ideas for a story. But they might not have the skills or the acumen to put their thoughts into words and create a good fictional novel. This is where ghostwriting comes into play where writers with a flair for creative writing can weave a wonderful story around the idea presented by a person.
To write fiction (short stories, novels, novellas), you need a grasp over the language you are writing in and the ability to create characters that are relatable and can resonate with the reader. Fiction is also one of the most difficult forms of writing. You create an entire world out of nothing. It requires tremendous creativity, innovation, and an innate ability to write.
2) Articles
Many people hire ghostwriters to create articles for their businesses and brands. These articles are meant for the target readers so that they derive value from the writeups. The head of a business is not able to express or articulate their points, thoughts, and ideas into writing. They might have some very good ideas, suggestions for the target readers and consumers. In such cases, they might hire ghostwriters to write for them so that the message is communicated effectively to the people.
3) Autobiography
It might come as a surprise to many but a lot of the autobiographies are written by ghostwriters. Like every other ghostwriting project, it might be due to the lack of the ability to produce ideas into writing. Or, It simply might be a person who doesn’t really know how to paint a picture of himself through words. Writing an autobiography requires you to possess great communication skills. You are going to have to express your feelings, experiences, and how you lived your life in words.
However, ghostwriters will glean everything about this person and provide a more clear picture of that person’s life and experiences. Once a ghostwriter gets all the information about that particular person, they will adopt an objective view of that person. This will enable them to write more precisely and more truthfully the different events that have taken place in the person’s life.
4) Speeches
Whether it’s a corporate professional, a government official, a politician, or a celebrity they have to give speeches frequently and consistently to communicate the various developments in their respective fields.
The speeches have to more compelling and should have the ability to capture the attention of the people. Most of the time these professionals require the services of ghostwriters to create appealing speeches to drive the point effectively. Moreover, ghostwriters are adept at creating interesting writeups that help to communicate the ideas and thoughts of these people to the world at large.
5) Scripts
Scripts, and screenplays are forms of content that might require ghostwriting. There are multifaceted things to take care of while writing scripts and screenplays. Writing dialogues, characters, and determining angles for scenes and detailed direction takes a lot of time and skills. Ghostwriters for screenplays and scripts are heftily paid and they ensure that their work is top-notch and creativity is at its highest. Whether it is a movie, web show, tv show ghostwriters are much in demand.
6) Business Reports
If you ever go through the annual general meeting report, financial reports for a business organization you will notice how well organized, well structured it is along with impeccable writing and great flow of the topics covered. Businesses might recruit ghostwriters to write about different meetings, negotiations, developments, and changes happening in a company. The head of business organizations and departments might not be able to invest so much time and might not have the expertise to write such content efficiently.
7) Blogs
Blogs and blogging are a major source of disseminating useful, relevant, and important information to potential and existing customers. In this regard, big corporate organizations, as well as small & medium business houses, require ghostwriting to be able to carry out their marketing initiatives successfully.
Blog posts have to be engaging and filled with information. They have to be crisp leaving no ambiguity for the consumers. Entrepreneurs might not have the ability to put forth their ideas concretely. They need Ghostwriters to get the job done in such cases.
8) Newsletters
Digital marketers and business organizations might require ghostwriting to write newsletters to disseminate important information to their email subscribers and leads. These have to be informative, and compelling and should capture the attention of the readers.
9) Medical Reports and Documents
Medical professionals, researchers, and scientists might not be able to communicate the points thoroughly in medical reports. In these instances, they require the services of ghostwriters to create detailed reports, and articles on different medical topics. These might be disseminated to the medical fraternity as well as to the public for awareness.
10) Social Media
The attention span of consumers is very less. Therefore social media posts have to possess the traits of brevity, appeal, and clarity. Some celebrities, influencers, and business houses recruit ghostwriters to create and manage their social media handles.
While most people leverage their services, this is a realm of content creation that hasn’t received its due credit—the reason behind the same stems from a very simple fact. If your name is not on it, it is not considered yours. Many young ghostwriters do not know how to legally claim that a piece of writing is theirs without shelling out the name of the client. Furthermore, the procedure is neither simple nor quick. Perseverance, dedication, expertise, conviction, and promotion are all required to become a flourishing ghostwriter. Yet, with upcoming freelancing platforms like Write Right, Taletel, Pepper, and Upwork, things seem brighter and better than ever before for ghostwriters who wish to find more work.
Advantages of Ghostwriting
For Businesses
1) Time Efficient Method of Creating Content
When a business outsources its content to a ghostwriter, it helps to manage time more efficiently. They can concentrate on the other aspects without any distractions.
2) Professional Writers Do The Job Better
Professional writers will always be creative and will create content better than someone who does not have the skills to write like a pro writer.
3) You Don’t have to go through the rigorous process of research
Right from researching to collating the notes, everything is done by ghostwriters. This eliminates the efforts of carrying out extensive research by the person recruiting ghostwriting services.
4) You Know The Job will be done
This is reiterating the third point, with ghostwriters you have the assurance that you will get the job done without any hassles. Since there are monetary incentives, ghostwriters make the utmost effort of producing the copy error-free and within the specified time.
For Ghostwriters
1) The Pay Is Good
From the point of view of ghostwriters, this can be a very lucrative income where ghostwriters can earn and live a comfortable life writing for business and people from different industries and sectors.
2) No Legal Accountability
Since the content is not published in the name of the writer they have no accountability for the information provided. It is solely the responsibility of the business and the people involved to account for all the information and data conveyed in the articles.
3) In-Demand Skill Set
Today more and more businesses are foraying into the online domain and hence there is an increase in the demand for ghostwriters.
4) Ideal If You Don’t Want Publicity
Some writers might be so introverted that they might not like the publicity and prominence. For such people ghostwriting can be ideal because you will be paid handsomely and enjoy the privacy that they covet.
How to Become A Ghostwriter
1. Start your Blog and Website
Starting a Blog is the best way in which you can showcase your skills and get noticed by potential employers for ghostwriting projects.
2. Showcase your Writing Skills
You should create a portfolio of your works and distribute it on different digital media channels and social media platforms. You should also carefully tag your writeups for the different industries when you are posting them on these channels.
3. Decide On a Fee
Charge less when you are starting out. You can even work for free on a few projects to build your credibility. Once you gain experience, you can be firm about the money you want to charge for your work. Until then keep it flexible even if you don’t work for free.
4. Network
Today there are several channels on which you can network very well and get noticed by different industries that require the services of ghostwriters. You can also contact agents for assignments. Research and find out the people and industries which might require the services of a ghostwriter. Offer to help them with creating and editing some of their works.
Conclusion
You should be open to the idea of engaging with business houses, brands, and individuals in different professions to be able to display your talents and skills to get hired. Ghostwriting is an art, the art of writing for someone else and being able to communicate their ideas and thoughts with clarity. Once you get the hang of it and have a few projects in your portfolio you will start getting more clients and more lucrative jobs in this field.
