7 Tips to Becoming a Business Ghostwriter - CareerAlley

7 Tips to Becoming a Business Ghostwriter - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. The ghostwriting niche is an especially lucrative one. Look into business ghostwriting and thats where youll find most of the money. Companies will spend thousands of dollars just to find the right business ghostwriter for them. They are desperate to put out a publication that meets their high standards. If you want to be an expert in this niche, follow these seven tips. Understand the Industry Understand that there are some big differences between business ghostwriting and every other form of ghostwriting. Just like there is a difference between ghostwriting and co-writing. For a start, you are working for a company not an individual. Secondly, you are likely writing a book exclusively to meet the needs of a highly targeted audience. Your writing must be tighter and your level of professionalism higher than it ever has before. To this end, you should market yourself only in the areas where you are knowledgeable. You may have marketed yourself as a jack of all trades as a freelance writer, but a lack of expertise and experience will show through during a business ghostwriting interview. Think about what you are good at and what you could bring to a business. Pick a Niche Within a Niche Every business ghostwriter will have strengths and weaknesses. Since business is so diverse, you have to pick a niche and settle on it. You cant create publications for both a bank and a small modern art business, for example. The needs are so different that it would not only be hard to market yourself, but actually meeting the needs of both audiences is more hassle than its worth. Have Your References in Check When a company is spending so much of its budget on one thing, you need references ready to go. While the budding author will likely have few problems working alongside a new or inexperienced ghostwriter, companies go through a strict auditing process. Form a Schedule This may not be a problem for you, but if you are the sort of writer who likes to work as the crow flies you can forget about it. A schedule is essential for success in business ghostwriting. You will be expected to produce regular progress reports and hold meetings with various project managers. There are many tools for making up schedules. You can find these for desktops, smartphones, or you can stick to a paper calendar sitting above your desk. Just remember that you wont always have the freedom to dictate your schedule. Most companies do work with writers to find a mutually convenient time for meetings and deadlines, but the chances are there is going to be some compromise. Become a Better Professional Even though you might work at home in your pajamas, this isnt going to fly during the Skype call with the marketing team. You may be a freelancer, but you will be expected to meet their expectations when it comes to professionalism. This is where you need discipline and willingness to compromise on the way you work. Meet Tighter Deadlines Everyone knows that the most successful ghostwriters are able to meet tight deadlines. Its not uncommon to start a project and have to meet an objective to release a milestone payment, for example. Business ghostwriters need to train themselves to stick to tighter deadlines. The way many writers maximize their incomes in the business ghostwriting world is to obtain performance-related bonuses. Bonuses are usually awarded based on a writers ability to meet specific deadlines. This is where a big portion of their income comes from. Can you work with the discipline needed to stick to these tight deadlines? Have the Time Business ghostwriting is a steadily growing industry because organizations are only just realizing the value a ghostwritten publication can hold. Writers are realizing that becoming a business ghostwriter is lucrative too. Companies are finding they have to deal with an increasing number of potential ghostwriters. This is why the interview process is continuing to get longer and becoming cutthroat. To maximize your chances of landing that initial crucial gig, we recommend sticking to conventional ghostwriting and using the rest of your time to work on transitioning into the business ghostwriting world. This will take time, but once you get a foothold theres nothing to stop you from making an impression on the industry of today and tomorrow. We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+ Visit Joeys profile on Pinterest. 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