We have a guest post today from Cristina Fugaru, a fellow copywriter and crazy Facebook fanatic! 
We met because I somehow ran across her website, fell in love with the design, and poked her gushing about it. We’ve been friends since. And she’s here today to give us the skinny on being a ghost(writer). 
I love what I do. And what I do is I write and occasionally ghostwrite. When I decided to start my career as a freelance writer/copywriter, I wasn’t very much aware of how ghostwriting works, what are the advantages and disadvantages of being a ghostwriter, how much does it pay or where do you find ghostwriting jobs. It sort of just happened.
When you are a ghostwriter, you agree/contract to write someone else’s story in a book, article, newsletter, blog posts or any other relevant media you can think of and most important, all credit is given to your client. After being the “voice” behind someone else’s story for quite a while, I’ve come to the conclusion that both individuals and companies hire ghostwriters for the following reasons: lack of time and lack of writing and organizing information skills.
As a ghostwriter, it’s your job to make the final product look like it has been written by your client and that’s why you need a set of skills in order to be able to tell the story right:
- be creative and flexible enough to adapt your unique style to what your client asks for;
- be discreet and act like a “ghost”; as a ghostwriter you are trading your writing skills and agree on receiving no recognition for your work;
- be able to work on your client’s outline;
- Most important, know how to listen, know what questions to ask and when to ask them because it is your job to understand the client’s story and then successfully recreate it.
Advantages of ghostwriting
Ghostwriting is a simple and easy way to make money.
I speak from experience when I say that at the beginning of a freelance writing career it’s easier to get ghostwriting projects and from my point of view this can be helpful for a beginner because it allows you to develop your skills and keep focus on writing. Plus, you may not yet have what it takes to come up with something that’s worth publishing so ghostwriting is the simpler way to get started.
You have complete access to the main (re)source of your project: the client itself.
You can easily obtain all the information you need by interviewing your client and listening to the complete story at once, but you’re also allowed to ask questions every time something crosses you mind. What I’m trying to say is that when you’re ghostwriting you benefit from not having to spend lots of time researching. This means more time for you to write and take on other freelance writing jobs.
Ghostwriting done right can be steady work and it’s easier to find.
Once you find a reliable client, all you have to do is concentrate on delivering accurate, original and quality content.
Of course, ghostwriting has its disadvantages as well.
Disadvantages of ghostwriting
Lack of attribution
For most writers (including me) attribution is extremely important. It’s natural to want official recognition for your writing and it’s also natural to feel a bit sad when someone else gets credit for your work.
Unable to use as portfolio samples
Once you’ve given up the copyright, you are not allowed to use the project as a sample of your work. This means no chance of enhancing your portfolio with a book or article you’ve ghost written.
Limited expression
There are times when ghostwriting does not allow you to express yourself and write as you’d naturally do; instead, you have to transform yourself into a different person; be able to mimic someone else’s style.
Possibly sacrificing personal principles
In order to be a successful ghostwriter, you may have to sacrifice personal creative principles in favor of the work. There will be times when the client will present you with nothing more than a title or topic idea and you’ll have to work from scratch. Or, in case of book ghostwriting, he may come to you with one or two chapter outlines and request that you mimic the writing style of another author. And you may not agree with all those requests because you might feel that they’re compromising your principles. So my advice is that if you don’t feel comfortable with taking on a ghostwriting project, simply say “no” and try to find one that’s suited for you.
In case your goal is to become a successful and well paid ghostwriter you have to try and balance things. Always sticking to your principles may get you to lose ghostwriting projects, much needed income and contacts. Think about what you are willing to do and what not, and carefully accept or reject ghostwriting offers.
A very important piece of advice, and something that’s true for freelance writers in general not just for ghostwriters, is choose your clients carefully, be professional, write creatively, pay attention to your client’s demands and under no circumstances work for free-you’re talented and your talent should be awarded!
I choose to end this guest post with a very important piece of advice given by veteran ghostwriter Clifford Thurlow during an interview:
Negotiate your name on to the cover. Some of my books have “with Clifford Thurlow” slipped inside on the verso page and it just doesn’t have the same thrill as seeing your by-line on the front of the book. On a practical level, I’d say make sure you have lots of spare batteries for your tape, write notes as well as taping, and don’t be afraid to ask awkward questions – questions, that is, about sex, money, business, drugs, alcohol and all those things that – whether we like it or not – fill the pages of best-sellers.
Now that I have expressed my likes and dislikes, I would like to ask you: do you think that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages or is it the other way around? Also, since I am aware that we all have different thoughts and opinions, I’m curious to know what other ghostwriters consider to be the advantages and disadvantages of ghostwriting.
Cristina Fugaru is a freelance copywriter, blogger, and occasionally ghostwriter living in Timisoara, Romania. She spends most of her time at her laptop writing, networking or developing marketing strategies. You can contact her via Facebook or simply visit her blog where you should leave a message petitioning her to join twitter.
Related posts: