There are two questions that come up more than any other when I talk to writers about breaking into ghostwriting. The first is: how do I get clients? The second is: how do I show them samples of my work if everything I do is confidential? I find these questions frustrating, because you definitely already know the answers to them. No, really, you do. And
One of the biggest benefits of indie publishing is the freedom it allows authors to assemble the perfect team to develop and represent their books. That includes bringing in the right editors. But what kind of editing help do you really need? You probably know that copyeditors and proofreaders can help you catch things like spelling and grammatical errors. But what about consistency and making
Lori Widmer is a fellow business writer, and one of my “go-to gals” for all conversations business or writing-related. On her Words on the Page blog, Lori encourages new and experienced writing professionals alike to realize their worth and strive for something better. Lori inspires freelance writers to pull themselves up out of the low pay rut, and to do so through better marketing and networking. Her e-book, Marketing
In our interview with Lori Widmer of Words on the Page about marketing your freelance writing services, Lori emphasized the importance of building relationships and following up with prospects. If you’re one of the many writers who are uncomfortable with the idea of marketing from a direct sales perspective, thinking about marketing in terms of relationships can help you ease into a more effective marketing strategy.
There are only a handful of freelance writing colleagues that I turn to on a regular basis to bounce ideas around. Lori Widmer is one of those writers. And one issue where I wouldn’t hesitate to consult her for advice is freelance marketing. Lori comes from a business writing background, but also pursues creative writing projects (currently focusing on poetry). She knows how to adapt
Repeat business is, in my opinion, the secret to a successful ghostwriting career. There are two reasons for this: 1. When you’re ghostwriting, you may find that you get fewer referrals since most clients don’t tell other professionals that they used your services. 2. With lengthier projects, you may not be able to take on as many clients at one time, meaning you have fewer
Whether you maintain a blog as a way to market your freelance writing services, as a way to maintain an author presence, or as its own business model, tying your blog to your larger social media presence is vital. That includes giving blog readers the opportunity to share your posts on their favorite social networks. And it involves telling readers how they can connect with
Recently we’ve been talking a lot about writing books, including Karen Wiesner’s recent release on writing fiction series. Today I’d like to delve a bit further into the decision we make as authors between pursuing a one-off novel versus looking for series potential. Both have their place. So let’s look at the pros and cons of both. Here are some of the most obvious upsides
If you want to increase the number of ghostwriting projects you take on, there are five essential guidelines that I believe you must follow. If you don’t, you will probably see your business fail. Does that sound harsh? Good, it should. Because you owe it to yourself and your clients to do this thing right so that you can keep invisibly typing far into the
Normally I post my quarterly business goals and plans at the beginning of each quarter, and I try to post a follow-up in the next update to let you know how I did. Plans always unexpectedly change in one way or another, but this past quarter might have been the worst. As you might know, I took off for an extended leave of several months
Interview on nonfiction book indexing with Virginia C. McGuire Have you ever considered writing a nonfiction book? Whether your goal is simply to be a published author in a certain niche or you want to publish a book to promote your overall freelance writing business, your book might need an index. How do you create a nonfiction book index? Can you (and should you) do