Have you ever wondered how your favorite rapper who even has trouble spelling words, writes an impressive autobiography?  How did some famous writers publish a 12 series of books, in the span of few mere years?

Then let me tell you that you’re not alone, and in fact, it might even come off as a surprise to you that there are countless of books that weren’t written by their original author.

So, before I dive right into this abyss of mystery, let me ask you a few questions. Are you an individual who has a knack for writing? Does the idea of taking a hidden career path, by landing a long-term job that pays well and is also fun to do, sound too good to be true? Well, then I welcome you to the secret society of ghostwriting.

Every day you’ll wake up feeling empowered ready to take down a new adventure and build long-lasting relationships with your clients.

In this article, we’ll explore, the hidden world of ghostwriting and how you can turn it into a side or even a main hustle that makes you a lot of money.

What is Ghostwriting?

While the general public has only recently become enlightened about the world of ghostwriting, but it has existed since the inception of the written language. The most popular example being the Bible. It was written as a whole by several different authors as in ancient times concepts such as copyrights and intellectual property didn’t exist. So, the Bible which is the oldest known testaments doesn’t really have a single author.

By now the idea of what ghostwriting is might have been a little clear. So, as perceived by its name, it’s the art of writing a piece of written work whether it’s an article, book, autobiography, or anything that involves writing for someone else, without taking the credit.

For example, in the world of digital content marketing, many brands hire several freelancer writers to write content for them, and the brands add their name to that content, instead of the ghostwriter’s name.

Many people have pursued ghostwriting as a profession and they not only make a handsome amount of money annually, but they also get to be a part of so many interesting stories.

Ghostwriting is not about fame; for most writers, it’s about bringing ideas to life and making dreams come true for others, while earning a substantial amount. So, its not a good cause without an effect.  

Why do we call it Ghostwriting and are Ghostwriters illegal?

Well, to begin with, the word ghost in front of writing stems from the notion that the true identity of the person who actually wrote the piece of writing remains a mystery. In essence, the public never discovers the true identity of the actual writer.

If you want to pursue ghostwriting as a career path, you’ll be offering several writing-related services such as writing articles, speeches, blogs, scripts and books, according to the liking of your employer, without having your name associated to it in any way. It’s a job that pays well and if you hate the spot light, this might be the perfect fit for you.

Now, let’s look at whether its legal or not. Ghostwriting is absolutely legal, because it considered just like outsourcing an employee for any other service, such as building your website, graphic designing, building software, and more.

Secondly, in order to avoid issues such as copyrights and rights to intellectual property, both the parties typically sign a mutually agreed upon contract. In essence, Ghostwriting is legal and one of the most paying jobs that a lot of people don’t really know about.

How to Become a Ghostwriter? – Ghostwriting Explained in a Nutshell

Even if you’re proficient at writing and can write well-structured stories and content, you still need to learn how to promote and showcase your skills.

Most importantly, you need to build experience by writing in a way where you can put yourself in the shoes of others, catering to the needs and requirements of the clients.

Here are six steps to set you on the path to becoming a ghostwriter:

1.Read regularly to enhance and deepen your knowledge

Make reading your best friend. As a ghostwriter, you need to know a variety of different topics and subjects. You also need to learn the art of writing in a variety of different styles (how something is expressed or performed) and tones (The overall mood or tone of a piece of writing).

In other words, you need to be able to adapt your writing to suit numerous situations, audiences, or preferences. Because as a ghostwriter sometimes you may need to write material ranging from writing for a mere article to writing full-blown modern literature.

So, ghostwriting aspirers enlighten themselves with a plethora of knowledge.

2.Start building relevant experience by freelancing

The best way to kickstart your journey of becoming a high-earning ghostwriter is to step into the real market and develop an understanding.

By writing you not only polish your skills, but you also learn a lot about what your readers enjoy reading in particular. As a freelance writer, you can write detailed descriptions for e-commerce products, write articles for various magazines, curate content for blog posts, write assignments, and more.

This way you’ll improve your writing skills immensely and also learn to market your skills, by collaborating with a range of different clients and gaining real-time feedback.

Most importantly, the highest-paying ghostwriters are the ones with the most experience.

3.Learn how to walk in the shoes of your employer

As a ghostwriter you may be writing content for a company that makes magazines. So, you need to be able to differentiate how you can write in a way that matches the style of your company.

You must be able to adjust your writing style according to the likings of your employer. For example, imagine you are writing a blog post for a person that’s really famous and he travels all around the world. So if you want to tell the story to the readers of your blog, you need to copy the voice of the owner.

4.Build a Strong Portfolio

In order to stand out and work for companies that are well-known or for famous individuals, you need to have a strong portfolio first. As a portfolio displays the record of all the previous projects the ghostwriter has worked on, and also their skills and expertise. Building a portfolio will also help you to land a job in any niche of your choice.

For instance, if you want to be hired to write novels and memoirs. You can show your long projects, such as those that contain anywhere from 60,000 to 70,000 words. Or if you want to work for an e-commerce company, you can show them all the articles and product descriptions you’ve written.

To sum it up, a portfolio gives the employer a view into your capabilities and skills.

5.Build a Network

You need to learn the art of networking and build a network of potential clients. To find work as a ghostwriter you’ll need to reach out to your business connections to find clients.

As ghostwriters often have to find work independently, they must market and showcase their skills online through posts on social media and by conducting job searches on various websites. As a ghostwriter, one can also reach out via email to various businesses. First, you’ll need to be active and consistently post on all your socials. Start by pinging the HR team of various companies to be on the road of building connections. LinkedIn, in particular, is an excellent platform to find potential clients and jobs. As you build a loyal client base, even if the number is in single digits, you’ll develop a strong network.  This, in turn, will open doors to various referral opportunities for you.

This is why, as mentioned above, it’s necessary to gain experience first. Not only do you improve your skills, but you also start networking and understanding the world of ghostwriting better—two essential ingredients to land a job and earn money through ghostwriting.

6.Become your own Editor

You need to learn how to experiment with your writing and come up with different variations in your writing style. Read various tips and tricks on how to improve your writing skills and come up with content that is both creative and interests your targeted audience. Explore various ways of using active voice over passive. Learn how to tell your message in a way that’s easily understandable and to the point.  You need to become your own editor and have fun while doing it.

How Much Can You Earn Through Ghostwriting?

Several writers aspire to become ghostwriters because this profession lets them demand more money for the work that they write. So, without further ado, let’s dive right into the question of how much money can ghostwriting actually make you.

The pay scale depends on various aspects such as skills, expertise, and most importantly experience. It’s obvious that an experienced individual will make far more money than a rookie ghostwriter who’s just starting out.  For instance, if you have a year’s experience you can demand more money for writing articles, books, blog posts, etc. So, like I said earlier you need to get your hand wet with ample experience if you want to turn this into a primary source of income that makes you more money than you can count.

If we look at the statistics on average, a ghostwriter can make anywhere between 10,000 dollars to 50,000 dollars for a book that is nonfiction or even for a memoir.

On the other hand, if you write articles or blog posts you can make anywhere between $150 – $500+.

To sum it up, the money you make can depend on your skills, word count, and lastly, the budget and goal of the client.

If you look at it, you can easily earn 150 dollars for one single article, and if you write novels, then you can write one novel and be set for months or even years to come. So, depending upon your experience you can make up to six figures.

On the other hand, ghostwriters who have exceptional skills and years of experience can earn from 100,000 dollars to 250,000 dollars per book, especially if they are writing for a popular figure or author.

Difference between Copywriting vs. Ghostwriting

The fact that in a way both the copywriters and ghostwriters don’t get any credit for their work can confuse people into thinking both of them are more or less the same careers.

However, the main difference lies in the project style and scope. On one hand, copywriters are typically

Given jobs related to marketing or advertising. For example, a copywriter will write content for a company or business, that promotes their product or service. A ghostwriter, on the other hand, works on projects such as writing books, song lyrics, journalism, magazines, Academic Papers, etc.

Some Real-Life Examples of Ghostwriting

 Books

• The Women in Me by Britney Spears and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, both of these books are very famous but were written by ghostwriters. These are just one of the few examples. Every year countless famous books are in actuality written by ghostwriters, who make six figures off of a single book.

Movies

• The famous Oscar-winning movie called “The Pianist” was written by a ghostwriter.

The movie industry is especially known for hiring ghostwriters to do their bidding. A freelancer can earn anywhere from 50,000 dollars to 75,000 dollars for a feature film. Moreover, for writing the script of a single 1-hour-long episode, they can make 4000 dollars and for 30 mins episode, they can earn about 2,200 dollars.

Hypothetically speaking, if you get hired to write scripts for a series, which typically air for years, you’ll be set for life.

Songs

• The sensational song “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber was also written by a ghostwriter.

Ghostwriters can typically earn anywhere between 10,000 dollars to 20,000 dollars in payment upfront, but for big-label projects, you can earn even more. Rappers on the other hand have to pay a hefty amount to their ghostwriter, usually 50,000 dollars per verse. So, if your passion is writing song lyrics, this could be an exciting opportunity to turn that passion into a money-making machine.

Conclusion- The bottom line of Ghostwriting

Ghostwriting is something you can turn from a side hustle to a main one that can make you set you up for life in the future.

You can start small and take baby steps by freelancing on websites such as Fiverr and Upwork. Then you need to find and work on different projects. This will help you to gain knowledge on a lot of topics and also improve your skills, lastly it will help you gain experience and build a portfolio

All you need for this is a working keyboard and you can take on the world from the comforts of your house (kitchen, garage, bedroom).

If you’re someone who’s looking for ways to make money online by freelancing from their home and has a writing talent, this could be your go to.

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