by Amanda on March 8, 2010
A question that I often get asked is, “what is ghostwriting?” You really would be surprised at the amount of people who actually think that I spend my days writing about ghosts.
According to the dictionary, a ghost writer is:
–noun
a person who writes one or numerous speeches, books, articles, etc., for another person who is named as or presumed to be the author.
Most people assume that ghost writers only write novels and biographies for celebrities but this is not the case. The ghostwriting industry has really developed and this is partly due to the internet. Ghost writers today do a lot more than write novels although I must admit; this is still where the big money is to be made.
There are often times when ghostwriting and freelance writing overlap. This is especially true when it comes to writing for the internet. In fact most of the freelance writing jobs that are advertised are in fact ghostwriting jobs. Your clients want you to write articles, website content, sales pages, ebooks or more and they want you to hand over the copyright for this on receipt of payment. You are not getting any credit for this work and therefore it really should be classified as ghostwriting.
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by Amanda on February 25, 2010
I have a wonderful guest post for everyone today. It is from Mary Anne Hahn and I’m sure you will love it. Mary Anne is the person behind the International Association of Ghost Writers and this article is all about what you should have on your ghostwriting services website. I hope you enjoy it.
Web Site “Must Haves” for Ghost Writers
© 2010 by Mary Anne Hahn
These days, it pretty much goes without saying: your Web site is by far one of the most important tools in your ghost writing business arsenal. When done well, your site serves as a combination business card/brochure/showcase/order form/relationship builder. It might be the first impression you make on potential clients, or the most lasting one, so you want to get it right.
First of all, unless you possess highly proficient site building skills, you should consider hiring someone to build it for you. I didn’t with my own ghost writing site, and regret that—so much so that I will be having that site entirely redone in the near future. While things like WordPress, site builders and site templates have become increasingly sophisticated and easier for amateurs to use, they don’t hold a candle to what an experienced Web designer can do for you. From choosing eye-catching colors and graphics to hooking up plugins and widgets, a professional site designer can handle everything from developing a logo to setting up an online payment processing account.
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by Amanda on February 18, 2010
Freelance writing forums are great. You can pick up so much information and tips you wouldn’t believe. Even if you don’t join, browsing these fourms on a daily basis is a great idea. They allow you to keep up with what is going on, what freelance writers are complaining about, you can get freelance writing jobs, and much more.
I have compiled a list of 12 freelance writing forums for you to take a look at. I have deliberately left out the warrior forum which I know has a section for writes and the main reason for this is that I’m sure like me you will find it very frustrating. There are freelance writers on this forum offering their services and they get a lot of replies too but because my rates are not $5 or less for a 500 word article I don’t post there. I could post my services there but with so many low bids it would be a waste of time. You are of course free to check it out if you wish. $5 could be a lot to you in your local currency but in Euro it is only about €3.60.
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by Amanda on February 16, 2010
Today I am delighted to bring you a guest article by copywriter Michel Fortin. This article is titled Superior Value Equals Superior Sales and I’m sure there is some information that you can use in your freelance writing business.
Without further ado, I give you Michel Fortin.
Superior Value Equals Superior Sales By Michel Fortin
If your car needed repair work, would you go to a garage that offers free estimates? You likely would. Today, most garages offer them.
Not only has it become a customary practice, but also everyone expects a free estimate from mechanics.
However, here’s an interesting scenario. Let’s say your car broke down at the worst possible time, and you are in a terrible hurry. (If you’re like most people these days, you are.) Plus, you specifically wanted a free estimate.
If you had to choose a garage quickly, which garage would you choose? Would you go to the one you only think that offers free estimates? Or would you go to the one you know for sure that does? Especially if you don’t have much time?
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by Amanda on February 10, 2010
I just came across an excellent website for writers today. It was totally by pure chance and through a link in an email I was reading. The email was the Daily Notes From The Universe that I receive and I’m sure many of you are family with these Tuts. Anyway at the bottom of the email was a note that said.
Calling all creative writers, adventure seekers, and old souls….but mostly creative writers. Tune in tomorrow, February 11th at 10.30 AM EST, to hear Mike’s free LIVE INTERVIEW with the founder of the IACCW (International Association of Conscious & Creative Writers). Writing and manifesting tips will be the topic.
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by Amanda on February 9, 2010
As a freelance writer one of your most important tasks has to be managing your workload. You have to keep on top of deadlines and you need to be able to see what you have to do. The best way to do this is to have a to-do-list.
I am probably a little outdated in this approach as I prefer to use a good old fashioned pen and paper. I like to have my diary beside me as I work so that I can see exactly what needs to be done and mark it off as I do it. Every morning I sit down and write a list of the things that I need to get done that day. I normally mark them in order of priority which means client work comes first on my list.
I always make sure to mark deadline dates in my diary too and I do try my best to get any projects finished a day or two before the deadline which leaves me free to do any revisions if they are needed. This normally doesn’t happen which is great and it leaves me with some free time to research for future blog posts and do some additional job hunting and marketing.
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by Amanda on February 5, 2010
There are so many great ways that you can earn money writing on the web and in today’s post I want to focus on writing reviews. These could be book reviews, website reviews or product reviews. Depending on the length of the review you could earn up to $100 or more.
In my experience I have written reviews for products, seminars and a couple of books. All of these have paid different rates but usually anywhere from $20 upwards. Like I said, it will depend on the length of the review but most of the product or website reviews are in the region of 500 words or more. A book review is considerable more often reaching up to 2,000 words.
Review websites are huge on the internet and most of these are owned by affiliate marketers. They fill their websites with product reviews so that people can read a review of the product they are promoting. Most of these website owners are not writers and that is where you come in. If you are a active on any of the bidding websites you will probably have seen requests for reviews and whilst this may be a place for low bids at times you can still get at least $20 for a review on Elance.
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by Amanda on February 4, 2010
I am working on implementing some new changes to the site. Most of these will be new advertising models so hopefully they won’t interfere with your reading pleasure. I have introduced inline ads and I would be grateful for your feedback on these. If you find them annoying please do let me know. At the moment I am just trying them out and they are not a guaranteed permanent fixture. If they annoy my readers they will go so please leave your feedback on these.
Thanks everyone.
by Amanda on February 4, 2010
Today’s post as you probably guessed from the title is a little bit of self promotion. It is in fact a wonderful testimonial that I received from Roberta Griffin who purchased my Ghostwriting Uncovered manual. I have been corresponding with Roberta for a number of weeks now via email and Skype and I am delighted to say that she has secured two great jobs.
Here is what Roberta has to say about my e-book.
Trust Me When I Say, Read Amanda Evans’s Book Ghostwriting Uncovered
When I purchased Amanda Evans’s book, Ghostwriting Uncovered, I will admit that I was a bit apprehensive. You see for years now I had been searching for some way to make a living from writing. I wanted to become a freelance writer but I wasn’t sure how to go about things so I began my search for books on ghostwriting. Simple enough, right?
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by Amanda on February 3, 2010
When it comes to freelance writing there are a number of mistakes that are easy to make but that should be avoided. No matter what type of freelance writing or ghostwriting you do, you need to ensure that you avoid these mistakes if you want to get repeat business from your clients.
#1 Not Doing Proper Research
If you don’t carry out proper research it will show. Freelancers who write in a hurry or with limited research will turn out dull pieces. They might also produce articles that contain irrelevant information or information that is totally out of date. Most freelancers tend to use the web for their research and while this is great there are other options too. If you are using the web for your research then you need to steer clear of sites like Wikipedia for your research. You want to ensure that your research is accurate. You would be surprised by the amount of websites that contain inaccurate information. Make sure you do your research correctly or you could end up giving your client an article that contains irrelevant and incorrect information.
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