As this blog is about encouraging writers to write, I thought it might be a good idea to give some tips on how to build a solid working relationship with your ghostwriting clients.

Whether you’re ghostwriting a how-to book on business techniques or a personal account of someone’s life, it is important that you get to know your client. After all, you will be working with them for some time!

Some clients have very limited time. This might be why they are hiring you to ghostwrite for them! So, please understand that I’m not suggesting that you engage in endless chit chat. Your goal is to learn about your new writing partner, so that you can better serve them.

Find out what goals they have for this book. What prompted them to write it and why do they feel it is important to share this information with others?

Allow them to take the lead in the early conversations. Ask questions and let them know that you’re interested in the answers. Be genuine with them.

Whatever you do, don’t cut them off, thinking that your time is too valuable. Plan to spend whatever time is needed in the beginning to build a strong relationship.

Throughout the ghostwriting process you will be communicating back and forth frequently. Most conversations should be done via email, because it is good to have your client’s thoughts and ideas in writing.

Plus, it is important to have their approval for outlines, chapters and corrections in writing as well, so there are no miscommunications later.

However, once in a while, pick up the phone. It is good to hear their voice, and have them hear yours. Certain things just don’t communicate through email. A more personal touch is needed.

Make sure to maintain constant communication with your client throughout the project.  Send them chapters ahead of time, if possible. If you exceed their expectations, they are likely to hire you again.

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Before I take on any project I make sure that I believe in it, wholeheartedly. Yes, I make a living by ghostwriting, but if I lose my integrity, I’ll lose my passion as well as my voice.

Make sure that you don’t take on a client or a job that you can’t get behind. If you disagree with a client’s viewpoint, but take the project on because you need the money, you won’t be happy in the end. I’ve seen it happen to others, in various professions. The money is spent, but the guilt remains.

My overriding purpose in life is to help people. It’s what motivates me to work hard and succeed. Because I stand by that purpose, I make good money.

This doesn’t mean that everything I write must be happy-happy fairy tales. It’s the overall message that matters. Am I promoting violence? Pass. However there are ways to tell a tragic story where the reader has realizations that can help them in life.

It boils down to how the reader feels after they read your work. If they feel beaten up and depressed, unmotivated to do much in life, that isn’t helpful to them or the society. However, if they are eager to make improvements as a result of reading a book I’ve written, I have done my job.

Having said that, it’s vital that you don’t try to hit people over the head with a message. No one particularly cares for that. It’s insulting to the reader.

Allow your readers to make their own decisions simply based on the story you tell.

Only you can say which writing jobs to accept and which you should decline. Trust your instincts!

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There are many ideas that probably hit you every day that you should jot down somewhere.  Perhaps someone says something that tickles you or you suddenly get a brilliant idea for a new story.  Write it down immediately!  It might just be the start of researching a future project.

I recently purchased a little black notebook, where I keep ideas for haiku. Ideas hit me without warning and if I don’t write them down, I might lose that little snippet.  Even if is just a line, the way something strikes me, I write it down.

One example recently was watching children play on an abandoned boat on the beach.  It turned into this haiku:

children giggle
inside an abandoned boat –
hermit crabs

If you have that kernel of an idea, go ahead and open a Word doc now and start putting research information about it into that file.  It will help you create a future project.

I did this with one story.  All I had was the basic concept: mushrooms take over the world.  Then I started researching a bit about mushrooms, here and there, bit by bit.  Then as time went on, I’d come up with other ideas and stick them in that file.

When I sat down to write the story it didn’t take long.  I had done all my research and was prepared.

You can read that story here.

If you have any old ideas that are sitting there, untapped in your mind right now, start a new file on your computer.  Write those ideas down (don’t worry about editing), just get them out of your mind and onto a page.  Download all those old ideas and see if you are inspired to write a new story today.

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I talk to a lot of writers who don’t tell anyone that they write.  They would love to be a ghostwriter (write novels for others), but don’t know where to start.

It starts with simply telling people, “Did you know that I am a writer?”

Who do you tell?  Everyone!  Certainly tell your friends and family.  But really you need to let many people know that you can help them with their novels, articles or whatever they may need.

Yes, this article will be bleeding into sales tips.  That is because as a freelance writer you are a salesperson too.  Yes, you are.  Yes.  Yes.  (You can keep saying “No”, but you are if you’re self-employed without a sales staff)

So, with that in mind, how can anyone hire you if you’re sitting there thinking how nice it would be to write, but aren’t actually telling anyone that you’re a writer?

Let’s take this step by step.  Since you are a writer, you probably don’t mind email.  Try just emailing 10 people every day and letting them know that you are a writer.  Don’t make it a sales pitch, just write to 10 people and mention it.  You can ask if they know of anyone who needs a ghostwriter.

Of course you should promote that you’re a freelance writer on your social networking profiles.  Make sure to note your areas of expertise.

If you like to talk to people face to face, work on mentioning it to the next 10 people you see today.  Of course you don’t want to let it interfere with your primary work (if you are a paid employee), but if you’re dropping off your dry cleaning, mention it to the owner of the shop.  You never know.

You’ll find that many people out there are looking for help with writing.  Can they all afford to pay you?  No, but some can.

Just start telling people!  Today.  Practice saying, “I’m a writer!” and then let me know how it goes.

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When you tell a story you will need to create many characters.  Some are ones that might be your friends, but others will be people you wouldn’t even allow to step foot inside your home.  Some you might cross the street to avoid.

So, how do you write about someone you detest?

I see some authors make the mistake of separating themselves from these characters.  You can tell that the author desperately wants you to know that they don’t approve of their actions.  As a result the characters aren’t real and there is no way that the readers can become interested in the story.

Robert De Niro really drove this point home for me when he told a story about being on the set of Cape Fear.  Someone from wardrobe had asked him how he could play someone so terrible, so evil.  He asked her not to say that.  In order to play the part he had to not hate the character, but really get inside him and make him realistic.

When you write about a character you must know that character and what makes him or her tick.  You must write from that character’s viewpoint and have the dialogue match them.  Their actions must be what they would do and you must be consistent.

You may need to do some research.  Observe people, see how they behave.  Or watch movies or read books to see how other writers reveal a character.

In the end, if you create a story with believable characters, your readers will not be able to put your novel down!

Image via Wikipedia

A friend introduced me to a cool “Haiku Challenge” taking place on Twitter. @Baffled (a user there) started this concept. The idea is that you must write a Haiku each day around a word that he chooses.

For more information you can go to: http://haikuchallenge.tumblr.com/ .  You can also search “#haikuchallenge” on Twitter to see other entries.

I started playing a few days ago.  Here have been my contributions:

Word: "Pare"

leaves of many hues
pressed between worn white pages
pared from parent’s limb

Word: "dwarf"

tiny lions pounce
on fleeing prey that they dwarf
practicing their skill

Word: "barge"

winter winds barge in
swirling hail slams chunks from trees
chipmunks burrow in

Let me know if you play and feel free to submit your entries here in the comment section!

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If you are interested in branching out into freelance writing, but have no experience, consider volunteering your time to help out a group or individual.  Most people and organizations need well written articles for various purposes.

Your children’s school might be a good place to start.  Do they need a press release?  Work with them to create a few.  Treat it as though you are being paid, being professional through the entire process.  If you’ve never written one, research how to do so.

Do they have a newsletter?  Ask if you can report on a specific area of the school that interests you.  Or perhaps you can write a general piece on education.

How about your favorite non-profit organization?  They are usually under-staffed and cannot afford a professional writer.  They would probably welcome your help.

Check with your friends and see if they might need help as well.  Small business owners often need help with copywriting.  The word of mouth that you get from the results might bring new business your way.

These volunteer jobs will help you with future paid clients.  You can honestly say, “Why, yes, I’ve written press releases for organizations.”  Plus you can add these writing jobs to your resume.

Gain experience any way you can!  Enjoy the process.

Today is a good day to write!  Sure, tomorrow will also be a good day, but then again, when tomorrow rolls around, it will be “today”, won’t it?

The point is that you should write each day.  Any day that goes by is a missed opportunity.  That really applies to any area in life where you want to make progress.  In order to achieve your goals, you need to steadily work toward the completed product.

So, today, sit down and write something.  Even if you only have 20 minutes to write – start.  Outline your thoughts.  Write a few notes down.  Or just start writing the story, article or press release.

I’d like to hear from you!  What did you do?

(And no, writing your grocery list doesn’t count)

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When you write good dialogue, you know it because it is very easy to read.  It flows as a real conversation would.  The reader feels like they are eavesdropping on your character’s chit chat.

For instance if two young girls are talking in the mall, the conversation would not sound like this:

“Mary, I am so happy that you decided to join me today at the mall.”

“Becky, I too am so very happy that you are here.”

“Mary, did you see the boy at our school yesterday?”

“Becky, yes I did.  He was very handsome.”

OK, I won’t belabor the point here.  This is very boring dialogue and not at all how it would really sound in real life.  Here’s how it should sound:

“Mary, finally! You’re mom finally let you come?”

“Yeah, I had to promise to watch Billy later. Drag.”

“You’re telling me. Glad I’m an only child.”

“I’m so jealous.  Hey, did you catch the new hottie at school?”

“Who didn’t?  He’s Hottie McHott Hott for sure.”

Of course the slang changes from minute to minute, but some phrases would set the era for you nicely.  Also some expressions stick around for decades.

If this doesn’t come naturally for you, go to the mall and listen to people talking.  Just get a gist of how they really speak.  You’ll catch on what words they drop, how they use contractions, and what slang is popular.  It may surprise you!

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We all have our comfort zones.  Sometimes in many areas of life.  Today is a good day to do something new and different. 

Try out a new form of writing.  It might help you see things in a new light, allowing you to grow as a writer.

Are you a poet?  Try to write a non-fiction piece (sure, you can write about poetry, just not in verse).

Are you a copywriter?  Pen a short story.  Find a writing contest and enter, giving yourself a deadline.

Have you self-published a few books, but can’t seem to sell many?  Try your hand at writing a press release.  Heck, if you’re good enough at it, you might get hired to write them for others.

Do you write How-to books?  Try writing a Haiku (a Japanese form of poetry that is only 17 syllables).

Whatever your genre, try something different.  Shatter your comfort zones.