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