Are you an accomplished fiction writer who is looking to reinvent yourself? Or are you a new writer who wants to carve a niche of your own in an intensely competitive arena? Did you know that “ghost-writing” could prove to be a lucrative career option for you whether or not you are armed with experience?
To begin with let me say that writers adept at fiction writing do have an edge as ghost-writers. This is primarily because they have the knack of bringing people, places, events and relationships to life and that is what most clients looking for ghost-writers really want. But there is no reason why new entrants cannot give it a shot, however you will have to deal with obscurity la lack of recognition for your work most of the time. Why you ask? Well, that’s because people hire ghost-writers to convert their ideas into articles or books; this way the book is released in their name without the effort of having to actually write it themselves.
Ghost-writing is not something that would appeal to someone who is looking for visibility. During times of recession though what matters is bringing in the cash to pay the mortgage and bills so looking for labels isn’t really the most economic choice one has to make. What matters is getting paid for what you do and enjoying yourself while you’re at it. Besides, since you are a “ghost” visibility is not in line with the job description too!
Here is how you can gain from this lucrative career opportunity:
- Starting off as a ghost-writer online is a quicker way to get noticed and earn credits. Simply post some of your articles online and get them rated within a few days to kick start your career.
- Variety is the spice of life so make sure that you have a judicious mix of articles on different topics. Remember each client and his requirements differ so it is really up to you to ensure that you put across your ability to dabble in different lines of work.
- Organization is the key to success in any field so organize your work as per clients or subject. This will be an absolute time saver when it comes to looking for articles and will make tweaking your work to suit client needs so easy.
- The best part about ghost-writing is that you can choose to make it a full time career or a part time one. There is nothing wrong in using ghost-writing to meet your expenses while you pen your book or collection of articles or short stories for that matter.
- Networking is the key to increasing your visibility as a ghost writer so go ahead spread the word around. All it takes is an email or an update on your profile on your professional networking site.
- You could consider setting up a small business website for your ghost-writing services. Considering the number of people who want to get stuff written you will find that the returns are for more than the investment in this case.
- Be professional and ensure the highest quality of work is delivered that too on time.
- Confidentiality is the hallmark of a successful ghost-writer and if you want to make a successful career as one then never compromise on it. Using a client’s name as a reference without his or her permission should be unthinkable.
With a large number of companies looking to outsource work to India, ghost-writing aspirants here have a lot to smile about. The range of work being outsourced includes blogs, articles, travelogues, books, e-books, instruction guides and much more. A quick online search throws up jobs that pay 4-8 USD for 300-350 words written, which is a good amount to work for. Writematch on Chillifreeze is one of the reliable places online where you could land that plum ghost-writing assignment. So you see your foray in to ghost-writing could be a couple of mouse clicks away!
Happy ghost-writing!
- Mariam Noronha
Please Note: Chillibreeze does not endorse techniques or views mentioned in the articles here. The articles listed here are provided as reference material for writers as a support service.
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