4 Tips to Start a Ghostwriting Career

Your writing talent could be a gateway to a lucrative career and no other niche promises the best rewards than ghostwriting. The role involves writing various content on someone else's behalf. It's not your name that gets shown on the byline, but you'll get paid for the work.

A career in ghostwriting isn’t for everyone because it takes skill and experience to draft something that doesn’t reflect your style. To come out successful and start earning big, you will have to learn the fundamentals that will lead to a fulfilling and lucrative career. In this guide, we look into a few things that can help you on your journey to becoming a ghostwriter:

1. Develop your writing flexibility

To be a ghostwriter, you should be bold enough to take on topics and writing styles you’re not familiar with. If you’re used to writing creative books and articles, you will have to learn how to write technically if the job requires writing technical manuals on things like home insulation.

One way you can train yourself to take on different styles is to read a great deal of creative and technical content. You can also try accepting various writing jobs so you can expose yourself to different approaches and become more familiar with the conventions of every type of writing.

2. Make it a habit to write every day

Your writing skills will get rusty if you don't make a habit out of daily writing. Rather than wait for a ghostwriting job to come in, take some time to do journaling or take up simple editing and writing tasks. You can also create a personal website or run a newsletter on platforms like Substack. These will not only get you into constant writing, but they are also a great way to promote your services.

3. Know how to begin a draft

Knowing how to start writing should come naturally if you're an experienced freelancer. Ghostwriting, however, is a different ball game. Once you have accepted a job, you will need to sit down with the person who hired you and ask them how you want to draft to look and sound.

You may also need to read the person's previous work and pay attention to the tone and style they employ. You should also brush up on your research skills, especially if you’re handling assignments with the goal of making your client sound authoritative.

4. Learn how to network with potential clients

Over the years, the ghostwriting niche has been saturated with freelance writers who think that the field is the easiest. You will have to go the extra mile if you want to stand out in such a highly saturated market. What's more, you can't wait for clients to come to you first, so you will have to take a more active approach to seeking out people who need your services.

Creating a profile on UpWork and Craigslist would help you build a presence, but if you want to get a client faster, use LinkedIn or Facebook to reach out. It will take a long time, but seeking out clients this way will help your ghostwriting career take off.

Endnote

Success doesn't come easily if you're new to the ghostwriting arena. However, if you're eager enough to use the tips above, then you will get more than just a hefty amount on PayPal as you get started.