Ghost Writer for Hire

It’s always so interesting to explain to people just what it is that I do. They all have the same question: “What do people pay you to write?” And I never quite know how to answer it. I usually start out with, “Well, we write a lot of web content.” Some people get it, and some people don’t. “We write a lot of e-books, too.” Many times this is followed by an explanation of just what an e-book is. Again, they may or may not “get” it. The one thing that my friends and family rarely understand is the concept of ghost writing.

Ghost writing is basically where you do all of the work and get none of the glory. On the other hand, you do get PAID. Someone comes to you with their idea and has you do the research and writing for the project. In exchange for the agreed-upon fee, the client gets to use the work in any way he sees fit. Generally, this means that he will put his name on it. There is no hint that you actually wrote the piece at all.

Ghost writing is extremely common for freelance writers, but it has a hint of weirdness to it. It’s so strange to me that I can put my time and effort into writing a piece, and then someone else’s name will go on it. Oftentimes, the person I’m writing for is staging himself as an “expert” in whatever field the e-book, report, or article is about. Despite this status, however, the client rarely, if ever, offers any actual expertise to the project.

Of the work Tamara and I do, the majority is ghost writing. Sometimes the client puts his name on the project. Sometimes no name is attached. Rarely do we get the byline. If you’ve gone into freelance writing to become famous, ghost writing is not the path for you. We got into freelance writing because we want to make a living from home while doing something we truly enjoy. Therefore, ghost writing works for us. There are some down sides, of course, but the money is good, and we get to learn so many things. We’ve ghost written on everything from cooking to termites, and each project is interesting in its own way.

We are a little particular about what projects we will take, however. Both the subject and the client come into the decision for us. For example, we did decide to turn down an e-book project on accounting practices for small businesses. It was to be written for an accountant who would then put his or her name on it. Tamara and I talked it over and quickly realized that we would be in over our heads with that particular project. While our research skills are excellent (if I do say so myself), we felt like we wouldn’t necessarily be able to do the project justice, and we therefore turned it down.

It also makes samples a bit tricky. If a potential client wanted to see a sample of an e-book we wrote, we might not actually have the right to show it to him. After all, someone else owns the material, and they are taking credit for it.

I’ve been asking around a bit about how to navigate this particular process, and I’d be curious about what the other freelance writers around here think.