(www.thegoldenpencil.com)
Hi Anne,
I wonder how you demonstrate that you can write well, when everything you write is “authored” by someone else?
I am updating my resume after a year of ghost-writing for a medical communications company, but I can’t figure out how I can showcase my work without stepping on the “author’s” toes. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
MW
Hello MW,
It can be a puzzle can’t it? A couple of things come to mind.
First, how did you demonstrate to this client that you could write? Sounds like you might have some credits you can claim before you started ghosting.
Next, I ask …read more

(www.thegoldenpencil.com)
I came close to firing a client yesterday. It’s been a rocky relationship from the beginning, which was back in the beginning of February.
I’ve been ghostwriting for a number of years, and I have a rough process I’ve found usually works. It goes more or less like this:

First we do a Visioning which I do on an individual basis for ghostwriting clients.
Next I help the client create a 10 Word Purpose for their book.
We follow this with a Working Table of contents.

Once these three elements are in place, the ghostwriting usually goes fairly well. I should have stopped when the …read more

Darn! It’s cloudy and chilly here in San Diego – and it’s been like this for several days. Okay, I’m a total weather wuss… but the gloom makes me want to go to bed with a novel, not write. At least I think I can blame the weather.
Well, there’s another truth here too. The chapter I need to be working on is, frankly, boring to me at the moment. On the whole, the project is interesting, but I’m feeling sort of stuck and definitely uninspired.
What I will do is write… for at least an hour. What do you do when …read more

I chuckled when I saw the headline over at Common Sense PR – Tip: You Can’t Push a Rope. Although the post is more or less aimed at working in/with corporate environments, it’s certainly also true in the freelance writing business.
Eric points out that it may be the wrong time – I can’t count the number of potential clients who have contacted me and then disappeared. Some of them have probably found other writers, but for many, it simply wasn’t the right time to hire a writer. That’s fine with me, and sometimes those clients surface later, sometimes a lot …read more

Maybe it’s because I’m known for having a firm grasp on the obvious, but I’m reminded today that some days are more productive than others. Today, in addition to the job list and it’s newsletter and blog entry, I’ve done a writing coaching session, edited a friend’s article, and talked with someone about marketing. I also completed a chapter for a client and did some editing on two more.
Whew!
Of course the dishes aren’t done and the studio is awash in papers, but those things are easily fixed.
I think, however, first, I’m going to fix a fresh cup of coffee and …read more

Over at Writing With Vision, I’ve posted the first part of a two-part series that talks about ghostwriting.
Although it’s aimed at people considering hiring a ghost, my hunch is many freelancers will find it interesting as well.
Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing – a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision – for those who want to get a book written.

This morning I did a serious edit of the first two chapters of a ghostwriting project and wrote about 750 words on chapter 3. My client is going on vacation Friday and I was really tempted to see if I couldn’t get another 500 words or so written.
But as I started, I found it impossible to concentrate. The truth is I’ve spent a good four hours of solid writing/editing work… which is about all I can handle in a single day. I know from experience that if I push past that two things will happen:

The writing won’t be much good, …read more

I’ve been working on the new ghostwriting project. It’s felt like I was going very slowly, with lots of distractions and many games of solitaire.
If you’d asked, I would have guessed I’d managed to write about 600 words. When I ran the word count, I was surprised and delighted to discover the piece is over 1,700 words!
Not a bad day’s work… or part of the day. I’ve done some other writing today too – and the jobs, and the newsletter… but this was my major project and I’m happy with the way it turned out.
Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance …read more