GHOSTWRITERS
IN DISGUISE
You don’t have to be a writer to
be published
By Henry DeVries
If writing for you is, as a late New York
Times sportswriter put it, “easy . . . you just sit
down at a typewriter and open a vein,” then the tourniquet
for you may be a ghostwriter or collaborator.
Getting published is an important variable
in the marketing success quotient. Don’t let the excuse
that you’re not a good writer prevent you from earning
a byline. What is essential and can never be farmed out,
however, is your ability to present quality information and
ideas. Your material should spark an “ah ha” in
your readers and ignite them to reach greater heights. If
you can prompt someone else to succeed, then you will have
too.
There is a plethora of professional writers
who are eager to find good ghostwriting assignments. Finding
them just takes understanding of how such writers get their
work. A good place to start is with a professional writers’ association
in your community. The library, bookstores, university English
or journalism departments or your local paper may know of
the writers’ organizations in your town. If not, chances
are a local public relations, marketing or advertising agency
may know.
Literary agents are another good source
for writers. Some agencies may give you the name of several
writers who can help you polish your prose into a marketable
work that the agent would then try to sell. Journalism departments
at colleges and universities may employ professors who write
for consumer magazines and books, or a professor may refer
you to a prize student.
Writers don’t come cheap. You may
be lucky to find a good, hungry writer who is trying to break
into magazines or book publishing who is willing to work
on the come. But, typically, you’ll get to work that
way only once with that author. Any writer who earns his
or her living writing soon discovers that while he or she
is writing for nothing, you, the expert, are earning a living
in your field. You have an income and a book. The writer
has only a byline. Recognizing that writing is a profession
only if he or she can earn a living, a good writer will charge
an hourly or project fee to ghostwrite or collaborate. Fees
vary, but an average hourly rate ranges between $50 and $200.
Magazine articles may be written for as little as a few hundred
to as much as several thousand dollars. And book proposals’ flat
fees can reach as high as $5,000 to $8,000.
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Copyright© New Client Marketing Institute
2000 – 2003. You may reprint this article in any publication
or Web site as long as you credit Henry DeVries as the author
and include his Web site address, www.henrydevries.com.
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