Ghostwriting as a Career

What I mean is that ghost writers write literary work, just like they do journalistic works, professional speeches, websites, blogs, social media content, music, or any other texts. The reason we have the word ghost in front of writer is because the written work gets officially credited to the person or organization who hired the writer. In other cases, a ghost writer is credited as a collaborator, often as a second and not the leading writer.

Ghost writing is a very simple job. A writer is paid to write and they write; finish and klaar. However, to be able to make this money, you have to build a career. How do you do it?

An aspiring ghostwriter must have both the love and the zeal for writing. They must possess or have develop the ability to write. They should be able to market themselves and they must love to read.

I found myself in the field accidentally. I said so because it is a career path that I did not actively seek out to pursue. However, because I am an editor and head a publisher in a publishing company, I have had clients approach me to write for them. Recently, I have had readers of my books specifically asking that I write their book because they enjoyed reading mine. I have had immense pleasure ghostwriting.

The advantages of ghostwriting could be many, but let me give you a few by my experience; One, I have learnt and grown a lot. Ghostwriting has given me the pleasure to write on topics and fields that I normally wouldn’t on my own. Two, ghostwriting has earned me income while I still do my own things.  Three, once I finish a client’s project, I move on to the next, or to my own work, no strings attached. This is because I just write. I have no further responsibility like marketing of the piece, or all that. Four, ghostwriting is a field for those who are patient. I have learnt to be both patient and excited. Patience is a huge virtue in life. Fifth, if you create a career out of this and you are able to dive in and out of people’s worlds, be sure to flourish at your own pace. The last and best advantage is that I found that once you know what you are doing, you don’t need special qualifications to become a ghost writer.

Although ghostwriting is a field that grows the writer intellectually and financially, it is also a field where I find that one works so hard, but someone else takes credit. Secondly, another disadvantage is that as an author, you write for someone else. This means that you are not writing for yourself. Thirdly, the ghostwriting field is also a very competitive one in the sense that although there may not be too many ghost writers, there are very few people looking for their  services or willing to pay them for same. You see, it is difficult to see someone advertise themselves as a ghost writer, or to see someone publicly take credit for writing another person’s work. Fourthly, a drew back of this profession is that it could be psychologically daunting to write for someone and worse if the work is terrifying or uninteresting, or if the person is not good at giving details. I find myself daydreaming sometimes after writing a client’s story.

I am not sure if this is an advantage or a disadvantage, but let me share that what I personally experienced is that I have loved my clients. I have delivered to theirs and my satisfaction, but the strict deadlines often put a friction in our relationship where theirs is often too tight or mine seem to be choking them.

If my children or even clients ask me what one has to study to become a ghost writer. I try to refrain from using academic credentials, in fear of being judged as highly qualified. As such, I have always told them that a ghost writer has to have built their experience as a writer, then a freelance writer. That they would have written on a variety of content. I feel like they need to have mastered writing in different voices. It would really be good if a ghost writer has built a strong portfolio and is marketable. The beauty with every writer is that they have to read often. Ghost writers therefore should be those who read a lot, and those who read everything and anything. Not a difficult qualification, right?

If you are considering a career in ghostwriting or contemplating hiring one, it is good you note that ghostwriting is considered a form of plagiarism and an unethical behaviour in academia and could lead to jail term or destruction of both career and profile.