Ghostwriting And You: Whoring Your Creative Inkstick For Someone Else's Gain

Are you a writer who keeps busy by way of penning other peoples' ideas for them? Do you find yourself giving away your talents for less than what they are worth? I used to believe that ghostwriting was a great way to make money for myself, but then inquiries became more complex and demanding. The gears of my inner world began turning and then I had an epiphany...

"What in God's name am I doing?!"

It's one thing to write a short story or edit someone's work and add some needed flair for a quick and easy gig. But the whole ball game changes when someone wants you to write a beautiful, detailed Fantasy novel for them. You open up the floodgates of your magical mind-pen and spill oceans of your creative life force onto hundreds of pages. You finally finish the project and feel a great sense of accomplishment and then, suddenly, it hits you... "Someone else's name is going on this book."

You just spent a solid two to four weeks writing a beautiful story for the world to enjoy and nobody is ever allowed to know that you wrote it! To put it mildly, you are selling yourself short. Cutting yourself off at the knees, leaving yourself at the perfect height for anyone with a month's rent to buy your valuable services for a pittance compared to the potential sum to be made if you advertised and sold it on Amazon, even if just as an e-book.

Have some self-respect and believe in your ability. I would rather write something great and perfect it and wait a year to release it than write something in a month and the client be raking in triple or even much higher if it catches word of mouth like wildfire. At least I get credit for my work, build my portfolio, and gain recognition for my well placed creative efforts.

Intellectual property is a tremendously valuable asset. Especially in the world of writing. Something you wrote in your early twenties and protected with copyright could net you tons of cash in the long term. If a niche opens up and demand increases then perhaps it could make you wealthy with the right marketing later on in life. Just because something doesn't explode into a best-seller overnight doesn't mean it will never become one.

Protect your projects like a newborn baby. Be willing to destroy anyone who steals your efforts and tries to profit from them. People don't succeed by giving away all their best products. They leverage it and stack up residual income over the long term. Even if you are a sub-par writer; Having a hundred sorry-ass ebooks that bring ten sales each per month will bring you a thousand dollars at only taking in a dollar per download.

I know I come across as harsh and cold but at least I speak the truth. I hope that my growing list of readers are gaining the "tough love" style of literary wisdom I impart via StrikeWrite. Sometimes, stabbing people with the tines of honesty trumps massaging them with the sweet cream of warm fuzzies.

By Christopher Storm

Defining Inspiration: Capturing Your Inner Magi

We all live in a world of definitions and labels. The main problem is that most everyone follows societies' "norm" when it comes to stereotypes, labels, and how we are coerced into believing what something must mean. I am here to tell you that the only rules in life are the ones you place on yourself. Too many writers have succumbed to the pressure of not finding their unique voice. It is my firm belief that this is due to how people keep themselves closed in with a pool of sharks symbolizing the few ways they believe inspiration can come to them.

The notorious "writers block" is nothing more than this very concept gone to extremes. When we writers allow others to define the world we live in and the rules we are supposed to live by, along with the descriptions given to us by the iron hand of life; it closes us in and forces us to feel as if there is no hope in creating something magnificent. If you are to become successful in the world that is creation via words, you must be sure to dive into the pool of sharks carrying a harpoon and a ladder. Writing is fun but it also will eat you alive if you don't get a hold of your primal instincts.

I have never experienced true writers block. I have experienced the death throes of procrastination, but only because I may not have been as excited about my current project as when I embarked upon its genesis. If you do not attack your ideas with vigor and assassination instinct then they will run away and find someone else to bless with the power of the magi.

Ideas are to be fed and nurtured once captured. The only way to afford yourself the toll of keeping such precious animals is to steel your will to succeed. This is done by belief. The steadfast belief that you are already a stellar depiction of your best talents. Fuck what other people say. If you know your value then keep at it. The material will come once you convince yourself that you are great. That you and your magi have already woven worlds of great wonder and brilliance.

We all are wizards. Magicians. Weavers of dreams and lands untold. Some have a natural way in doing so. Some were meant to be more on the physical side of life. Creating harmony in other ways. The rules only apply to people who are too afraid to keep them in their own little space while we do what the hell we want. As long as nobody else gets hurt then no other rule or "norm" applies.

So, grab hold of your inner magician. Force him or her to open their mind and show you your true potential. If society tells you that cigarettes or coffee are no good for you and you want to smoke 3 packs a day and down a liter of coffee to finish your manuscript then do it! If someone tells you that you are crazy to go to the laundry-mat at 4 a.m and work on your dreams, then flip them off, grab your notebooks and pens and get crackin'.

How you find your inspiration is just as limitless as how you write your characters or worlds. It only matters that you do, in fact, find it. It's best to release anything you've been told about the writing process if they haven't served you. Do things in odd ways and create your own writing exercises. Flex your writing brain any way you can dream up. Good material will come when it is meant to. Ease up on routines if you need to. Back away from your project and start another one for a while. Do anything and everything differently and then unique material will flow from you like a geyser and crash into the world with such ferocity that every creative corporation out there will be willing to sell their soul to be a part of your team on your way to global notoriety.

The final piece of advice I can and will always give anyone who wants to write for a living is this. If you have been barely getting by for ages and never found your way to the top or at least a fair amount of success then it is time to revisit your motivation. Are you beginning to hate what you used to love? Have you tried stepping outside your comfort genre? Is there a place you have always wanted to travel but never found the time to do so? If you approach such questions honestly then you owe it to yourself to be honest about what you do. If your heart beats slower than it used to and excitement has fled for the hills then it comes down to two choices. Shake it up or hang it up. Life is too short to live miserably and not take chances. There is nothing wrong with stopping what you used to love. We all go through processes of great change. The rigors of life sometimes show us things that we need to take heed and bask in its symbolism.


If your magi has grown old and lost its lust for creation and all you have been doing is bleeding it so dry that all which comes out is the dust of defeat and the webs of denial then it is time to allow it to be at peace so that you yourself can find peace of mind and live life in other ways. Never hang it up unless you have exhausted all your options. Sometimes the way to best be inspired is to venture into the jungle of the unknown, armed with the sharp wand of wisdom from days past. Just be sure to bring that ladder of willpower from the pool in case the panther of carnage smells your uncertainty...

By Christopher Storm