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Ghostwriting Business

by Emily Walker
10 replies
Hello all,

I've ghostwritten over forty fiction books for other authors and have made a very low income from it. I credit this with finding most of my clients on Upwork (very low payers) I've arranged some packages that I think will entice those who want to sell fiction but don't want to write it. I am looking for where to find clients. Facebook ads haven't worked and the freelance sites have people paying less than a cent a word. Thank you for any advice!
#business #ghostwriting
  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    Hi Emily,

    Draw the clients to you. Much easier, over the long haul

    I drew in freelance writing clients when it was one of my chief income streams by providing helpful content, commenting on other freelance writer blogs, by promoting other freelancers and by crafting a ghostwriting services page dripping with benefits.

    I ghostwrote a best selling eBook via this attraction approach and made thousands of dollars thru 1 client alone. The bigger bucks flow to you through the concept of attraction, versus looking for or chasing work. Be The Hunted, not The Hunter. Takes more effort, which weeds out the lower earning ghostwrters, allowing you to shine and make big bucks.
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    • Profile picture of the author Emily Walker
      That's good advice Ryan, thank you!
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
    Have you considered doing things a little differently since your results so far haven't gotten you to where you want to go?

    One way to potentially increase your income is to market your books yourself.

    It's not surefire - there are a lot of broke authors who can't figure out how to market their books but the possibilities are almost endless. For example, instead of getting paid once for one book, you can get paid many times for the same book - work once and get paid over and over.

    There are advantages to ghostwriting too. You get paid whether or not the book sells.

    And, even if you did decide to stick mostly to ghostwriting, there is nothing wrong with doing a couple books as your own. If nothing else, you'll learn more about the entire process which may help you with your ghostwriting clients.

    Mark
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  • Profile picture of the author ShayB
    How are you at writing non-fiction?

    Research questions people are asking, then write books to answer them.

    Don't know the answers? Interview people who do.

    IMHO, if you can write fiction, you should be able to write non-fiction. (Fiction is much harder for me. )

    Another option is to write PLR content (although you wouldn't use interviews for that).
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    • Profile picture of the author Emily Walker
      It's not my strength, but I can write non-fiction. Thanks for your answer.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    I have no idea If that 40 books equals 40 unique clients and no offense but unless OP has repeat buyers I doubt the buyers are making any money from the books either, otherwise the buyers would be coming back to the OP to write additional books.
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    You said Facebook ads haven't worked....

    How exactly did you advertise on FB?

    Have you tried split testing your ads?

    Have you also tried ad retargeting?
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  • Profile picture of the author Rose Anderson
    You can try running an ad in the Warrior for Hire section of this forum. You can then link to the ad in your signature.

    I admit that prices have dropped to crazy levels but there will still be a few people who are willing to pay better prices to get quality work. Not many, but some.

    You can also try Facebook job groups such as The Cult of Copy Job Board. Though it's for copywriters they also allow content writers to place requests for work. I found two wonderful clients through that group.

    As others have mentioned, consider publishing your own books on Kindle. It takes some work but it can be a nice change from working for clients and build some residual income. You do have to do some marketing.

    Rose
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Emily,

    If you've ghostwritten over 40 books but received a very low income from your efforts . . . IMO . . . you've positioned yourself in the marketplace in a poor way. As long as you are willing to "give away" your talent and time for a song, you're going to be stuck trying to compete on low price.

    Granted, it may not be easy to "command" higher prices, but if you work at it constantly, don't accept "Fiverr" prices, and if you do high quality work, over time you should become known for your style and output.

    Of course, we haven't seen your work and don't know the level of writing quality and research that goes into your projects . . . but if you do an above average job you should attract above average paying clients.

    Good luck to you,

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author affilorama-portal
    Have your own website and start promoting there. You can do a lot than promoting yourself in social media or getting clients from Upwork. I also suggest you join other freelancing sites other than Upwork such as Freelancer for example. I think there are also websites that are focused on writing gigs only.
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