It’s hard sometimes to talk about being a ghost writer, mainly because I’m not allowed to. In a lot of cases, I can’t discuss the work I’ve done, even when it involves a book being on the New York Times best seller list for twenty weeks – because I’m not supposed to have written that book. However, I get a lot of satisfaction from my work, and I make decent money from it as well. So no worries!
The life of a ghost writer can be intensive, but it’s honest. You have to know a lot about your subject matter, but you don’t have to be an expert on absolutely everything – Internet research takes care of that – and it helps to be a grammar, spelling and syntax expert, too. Again, useful programs can help you with spelling and grammar, such as the mistake checker in Word, but you need to know your English (or whatever language you work in) to get the syntax right, in most cases.
If you want to become a ghost writer, I would suggest that you get a degree of some kind in English, preferably a dual degree in English literature and general English, and maybe a degree in business as well. You also will need to get some of your work published, maybe some articles at first as those are fairly easy to publish, and try to get at least one published book out under your own name, too.
I learn from every project I undertake as a ghost writer, every time. I have helped out on self help books that taught me better living strategies, business books that taught me how to conduct my business better, medical books that taught me about my body, brain and their functions, and history books that showed me important events in a brand new light. Ghost writing is a wonderful job, and I get to help out on so many worthwhile and important book and screenplay projects. So I really don’t mind the fact that I can’t mention to others what I’m doing. I very much enjoy doing it!
Lastly, the money helps, but I tend to charge less than most ghost writers for our team’s efforts and for my own work, which nowadays is mostly copy editing and proof reading. I am careful to avoid plagiarism, academic content writing (student papers) and “hate” materials, but other than that I’m willing to take on almost anything. Send us your projects – we are always here for you!
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2 Comments
Interesting…but on the other hand if a book I dearly love ends up not being written by the name on the cover, still makes me uncomfortable, as if I am being a fan of the wrong person. Or I am appreciating the wrong person.
And if the work is a bestseller, it strikes me as skewed that the wrong people are getting credit.
I don’t think my ego could handle the life of a ghost writer.