Ghostwriting can be a very profitable career if you follow a few tips and essentials when applying for writing jobs and working with clients. This will ensure they are happy and give you good reviews, which in turn will lead to more jobs and more money.
Here are some tips you need to know about how to become a successful ghostwriter.
1. Applying for Jobs
Use popular freelance sites. Be picky. Only apply for things you can write well about or are genuinely interested in. It’s much better to specialize in a particular topic.
2. Read Each Job Listing Carefully
If anything is vague or sounds suspicious, pass on it. Chances are there will be plenty of other listings that will be clearer and created by people who genuinely want to hire a ghostwriter.
3. Check the Reviews for the Clients
See how many listings they created, versus people they hired. If they hired very few people, something is fishy.
4. NEVER Give Customized Free Article/s
This is against the terms of service in most marketplaces and is a scam to get free content out of eager writers. By all means put together an impressive portfolio of your work, such as blog posts and articles, but never work for free.
5. Communicate with the Client before Starting
Make sure everything is clear. You don’t want to waste time going back and forth or being told you have misunderstood something.
6. Beware of Scope Creep
This can happen when a client starts to ask for more and more things that the original agreement did not include. You might give in once if it is not going to be a great hardship to fulfill the request, but if there is a major change or too many requests, it is best to rewrite the agreement and adjust the pay accordingly.
7. Stay in Regular Communication with the Client for Longer Projects
If you are undertaking to write a book, for example, a quick note at the end of each day or two telling them how things are progressing should reassure them and keep you on the right track.
8. Be Clear about Their Style and Tone
If you are ghostwriting for a website or a person, try to keep your writing consistent with their style and tone. This is especially important if you are ghostwriting an autobiography for a client.
9. Don’t be Afraid to Ask for More Information
If you are writing anything in-depth or highly personal, don’t be afraid to ask questions. But do be sensitive regarding privacy. If they hesitate to answer, don’t push.
10. Treat All Information You Receive as Confidential
Even if you are not asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement or a non-compete clause, treat everything you are told or given with the utmost security-consciousness. If you’re not sure something should go in the work, ask, and abide by their answer.
11. Create a Regular Schedule
The schedule will usually include applying for jobs, writing, and administrative tasks such as invoicing, email and so on. It is important to continue looking for work even when you have gigs.
12. Remember That You Are Running a Real Business
Ghostwriting is a real career, a real service business that is in high demand. There are many potential clients out there looking for people like you to create content for them. Keep track of all your paperwork such as receipts in a filing cabinet or accordion file, and organize all of your work-related to each project in a separate folder – named something logical so you can find your work easily.
Ghostwriting can be an enjoyable and lucrative career. Follow these tips to become successful in your venture.
How to Find Ghostwriting Gigs – How to become a successful writer
There are several ways to find good ghostwriter gigs online. It’s just a question of how long you wish the content to be, what topics you want to write about, and how much money you want to earn.
Length of Content
The length of content will determine how much work needs to be done and how much a ghostwriter can expect to be paid. The most common projects advertised include:
* Blog posts
* Articles
* Sales copy
* Non-fiction books
* Fiction books (occasionally)
The longer the content, the higher the pay in most cases. Some will pay by the word, such as two cents per word. Other clients will be willing to factor in things like having to do research, formatting the book for the Kindle eBook reader, and so on.
Writing is the most important aspect of what a ghostwriter does, but if you can offer these kinds of added extras as well, you can make the most of every project you secure.
The Topics You Want to Write About
When you are first starting, chances are you will end up writing about a wide variety of topics. However, over time you will most likely start to specialize in certain topics, such as finance, self-help or health.
This helps you make the most of the research you will often have to do to complete a project. You will soon find many reliable websites you can refer to over and over again as you take on new assignments.
Keep an updated list of URLs so you can turn around your projects faster and faster, boosting your per-hour income.
How Much Money You Want to Earn
Some people become a ghostwriter as a second job, working freelance in exchange for some extra cash. Others aspire to be a full-time writer, which means being very organized and efficient.
It is a juggling act between getting new projects, and working on the ones you have been hired for. If you are the type of person who procrastinates or has trouble managing their time, this could seriously limit the amount of money you can earn.
Getting Gigs
Freelance marketplaces are the easiest places to get gigs. It is just a question of how much you will get paid.
* Fiverr.com, as the name suggests, is a site where freelancers are paid $5 in most cases for short projects. This will usually represent one article of 250 to 500 words. If you want to charge more, your samples should show you have something special to offer.
* Upwork.com is one of the most popular freelance marketplaces. It will take time to go through all of the jobs listed. They take a percentage of what you earn from each gig, ranging from 5% to 20%.
* Guru.com is a popular technology-related site that has also opened up to writing gigs.
* Freelancer.com is an easy-to-use site you can connect to via your Facebook account.
* PeoplePerHour.com is a UK-based company with a wide variety of freelance gigs.
* Toptal.com, which stands for Top Talent, claims they are an exclusive site with the best freelancers. Most of the subjects are related to website design, but you might be able to find clients looking for content as well.
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