Are You a Ghostwriter?
One of the best jobs on the Internet just has to be ghostwriting. There’s a lot to like about this invisible career…no commuting, setting your own schedule, developing your own client list, developing your own creativity and getting paid for it, not having to “Dress For Success everyday.”
To some of you, this might sound like the perfect job straight from Heaven. Sometimes it is. Along with the benefits listed above, there’s a few negatives you have to deal with from time to time, like disappointed customers, clients changing the subject matter when the job is almost finished, those who will contest the payment with PayPal after you’ve submitted the finished product.
While all those glowing benefits will make you feel good and add to your bank account, the negatives can bring you down faster than a rock tossed off a cliff. Part of being a successful Ghostwriter is developing a positive mindset and good business practices based on impeccable customer service.
In the best of cases, disagreements will happen and most can be solved with a calm manner and strong customer service. Offer to rewrite the product and get a new list of requirements or improvements from your client. If a solution is not possible, the best remedy is to return the payment and cross that client off your list. Do not badmouth that ex-client on forums. Just move on to your next project.
Developing a ghostwriting mindset, however, is an entirely different thing. Without one, you will not be happy or that productive with your ghostwriting career. Sure, it is a worldwide dream of writing for customers on the computer in your bedroom and telling your boss goodbye. I had the same dream for years.
The first job I got scared me half to death. A friend I met on an Internet Marketing forum sent me an email almost a year ago and asked me if I would rewrite a few short PLR ebooks he had. I had just lost my job and was delighted to get the work. In a few minutes, reality set in.
I had no idea about rewriting anything. I have to admit that, at that morning, sitting at my computer in my pajamas, the only ghostwriting ability I could think of was correct spelling and passable grammar. I immediately made a pot of strong coffee and started looking for my bottle of Advil.
When I quit hyperventilating, I remembered that I had a dusty journalism degree and had written technical manuals for almost every company I ever worked for. So, I rewrote his short ebooks and, almost immediately had other requests for quotes.
Now, not quite a year later, I have eight solid clients and am building a new career and adding some virtual assistant and client admin duties to my income stream. None of this happened until I developed my own personal version of customer service. That’s the mindset I mentioned a few paragraphs back and here it is:
I deliver the project on the day I say I will deliver it. I will do extra research on my own if I think the article or ebook needs it. I always add a few more pages than the client asked for (Over Deliver). And I keep them updated on my progress and any confusions I have about what they actually want.
What I am saying here is that I spoil my clients rotten and it is working for me. If they are having a time crunch or emergency, I do my best to get out what they need. My clients and I trust each other and that has made all the difference.
So, are you a ghostwriter? If you can deal with an occasional irate customer, have a good sense of what customer service should be and will turn yourself inside out or stay up all night to deliver on time, your answer should be “Yes!”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pat Graham has spent most of her life writing something…national newsletters on genealogy mysteries and local history…technical manuals…an ebook, “Child Drug Addicts _ Are You Raising One?…and now as a ghostwriter for more than several successful Internet Marketers. If you need ghostwriting…articles, ebooks, ecourses…contact her at: ghostwriter1x@gmail.com
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