Writing Tip of the Day
Writing Tip of the Day
Random Thoughts on Ghostwriting
This week I had the pleasure and honor to speak on ghostwriting through the auspices of the Arizona Author’s Association. I closed with a few random thoughts on the subject I believe are worth sharing.
Tip #1. You’re Not the Author. You Only Write the Book. Your job as a ghostwriter is to represent your client and his position in a manner targeted specially to his specific audience. Ghostwriting isn’t the place to showcase your abilities in manipulating the English language.
Tip #2. KISS Your Author. In line with #1, Keep It (the language) Simple, Stupid. Most books for general audiences are written at an eighth-grade level. That includes business books. The reason is simple. Virtually everyone purchasing books in America has at least an eighth-grade education.
Tip #3. Make Sure the Price is Right. Ghostwriting fees are negotiable depending on economic conditions. When times are flush, it’s easier to hold out for a higher rate. When economic times are tough, smart ghostwriters are willing to negotiate rates. The bottom line regardless of the status of the economy is: How hungry are you right now?
Tip #4. If you hear the phrase, “I’m pretty famous for my memos around here, heh-heh,” – consider doubling your fee.
Tip #4a. If you hear the phrase, “I have a great idea for a book. You write it up and we’ll split the profits 5050,” - run away.
Tip #5. Your Client Must Know He is Part of the Project. Clients are known for saying, “Just get whatever you need on the Internet and put it all together for me.” My response to one such client (a good friend) was, “Then why do I need you?” During the initial interview make it very clear to your client that he will be actively involved in developing and supervision the book. You’ll do all the heavy lifting, but he will be actively involved from beginning to end.
Tip #6. You Don’t Have to Believe What Your Client Believes. I am reminded of the time Alex Haley, author of Roots? interviewed American Nazi Party leader George Lincoln Rockwell for Playboy Magazine. One of the benefits of ghostwriting is the opportunity for learning about people from all walks of life and of widely varying thoughts and beliefs.
Tip #7. Understand that at Some Point Things are Going to Go South. Cradle custard happens. You won’t have much of an inkling up front as to what might (emphasis on might) happen, just stay on top of the situation and be ready to respond quickly and appropriately to, “Oh…crap!’
Tip #8. Clients Should Pay as They Go. Always get an initial payment for any ghostwriting project. Once a client has money invested in the project, he is committed to that project. It’s easy to bail out if he doesn’t. If a client does bail on you, make sure he’s paid up. If you don’t have a signed contract and a downpayment, you don’t have an agreement.
Tip #9. Avoid too much hand-holding. Ghostwriting clients are skittish. Sometimes it seems as though they want hourly updates. Set your own schedule for contacts My philosophy is to state upfront that I do not do a lot of hand-holding. I promise to keep the client updated regularly and to respond immediately to reasonable calls while explaining that it’s in his best interest for me to be writing rather than answering emails.
Tip #10.Honor an NDA. It is possible that you will be required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. If you do, honor it. You will be given potentially valuable information – a plant closing or a product breakthrough for example. Betray that trust and you could damage your client. Worse than that, you will certainly damage your reputation for integrity.
Tip #11. Know when to quit. I was hired by a client who wanted continual rewrites based on his “revelation” of a new direction. He had three “revelations” and to his credit, he paid for my time in rewriting. After the third rewrite I realized he was a “process guy” more interested in working on something than finishing something. Regardless of his willingness to pay-as-you-go, I prefer to work with serious people who want to complete their work. I politely told my client that clearly I wasn’t delivering what he wanted – I lied – and that he should find another writer more suited to his needs. We parted company on good terms and I went on to work for authors who actually wanted to publish.
Quote of the Week: “He who doesn’t lose his wits over certain things has no wits to lose.” Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Recommended Reading: 90+ Days of Promoting Your Book Online by Angela Hoy and Richard Hoy
YouTube/Podcast Appearances: Coast-To-Coast AM With George Noory; Tuesday Night Bri; Monster’s Lounge; Sasquatch Paranormal Podcast; Afraid of Nothing; Patricia Monna Talks with Pendulum Dowser Dan Baldwin; Journey Through the Gate: Old West Spirits with Dan Baldwin; Journey Through the Gate: Dan Baldwin Author/Psychic in the Superstition Mountains; House of Mystery Radio Show on NBC: Dan Baldwin Psychic Detective; House of Mystery Radio Show on NBC: The Psychic Detective Guidebook; Horsefly Chronicles with Julia & Phillip Siracusa: Dan Baldwin & George Sewell; Watchers Talk: Is It Possible to Communicate with the Departed?; X2RS: Speaking with Spirits of the Old West; Andy de Codes: Dan Baldwin; Vincent Zandri from The Writer’s Life Episode 851: Dan Baldwin; Rob McConnell Show: Dan Baldwin – The Psychic Detective Guidebook; Dangerous Thoughts; Generation X Paranormal, Generation X Paranormal; Typical Skeptic; Strategies for Living; Conflict Radio, The Energy That Surrounds Us; Shifting Paradigms in Medicine; A Trek Within; Digging Up Dillinger;
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