WRITING TIPS
Ghostwriting 101
Lessons from Write a Must-Read by A J Harper
I have discovered that sharing tips and tricks and reading some noteworthy literature can go a long way in polishing one’s skill as a writer. With this end in view, I am starting a series of Writing 101 to provide helpful tips that I learned from A J Harper, the author of Write a Must-Read.
Why a Ghostwriter?
Like many others, I dug in as a ghostwriter to generate income from my writing as a side hustle. Ghostwriting gives you the means to get other people’s message across. You may wonder, if you are a good enough writer why don’t you publish your own book?
The answer is simple. Books are like brand names, while people would love to hear Anthony Blinken’s views on foreign policy, or Malala Yousafzai’s views on women empowerment, they are less likely to read an equally if not more compelling read by a non-public figure.
The next best thing would be transforming others’ book projects into reality and producing compelling reads that resonate with a wider audience. It generates decent income and can quench your thirst for writing.
Book as a business card?
When I started ghostwriting as a freelancer, I aimed to write captivating reads with strong messages and personal anecdotes. My main priority was to produce a quality work.
Turns out my clients had slightly different priorities — they wanted a quality product but they wanted it fast. They wanted to upgrade their status to a published author and were willing to sacrifice some quality as long as I met the deadlines.
The clients wanted to use their book as a business card. They included motivational speakers, spiritual healers, parenting specialists, business leaders, and entrepreneurs. The book was meant to boost their standing within their fields to give a boost to their businesses. Most of them had zero interest in generating any revenue from the book — heck they didn’t care whether anyone read it at all!
The result was a plethora of e-books and hardcovers destined to be seen only in bookstores or Amazon and never on a reader’s shelf.
A Book is Forever — write a good one!
At first, I did not mind. I was making decent money and I did not have to try as hard — all that mattered was delivering the book on time. But gradually, I have become wary of writing books that will stay in shining plaques and will lever find true love in a reader’s home.
Irrespective of what your intention is for publishing a book, I feel authors must give due attention to crafting quality work. The book is like a message in a bottle, once you toss it in the ocean, it’s not coming back.
You have a book out there with your name on it that has been sold or distributed, and there is no way of retrieving it back. People will read it (whether you hope for it or not), and if it is bullshit, your business or brand name will likely take a hit.
I am still in the ghostwriting business, but I make it a point to my clients that I will not compromise on the quality of the book that I am writing for them. I am surprised by how many clients I have been able to convince to avoid haste while publishing their books.
Books last an eternity — write them well!
Source:
A J Harper. Write a Must-Read. Page Two, 2022.
