Ghostwriters write and make money from it. This is the most simplistic way to look at the profession of ghostwriting. A dynamic, enthusiastic ghostwriter looks at the big picture. How do I extend my participation in any writing assignment?
Let us look at a simple assignment. A ghostwriter is contracted to write an autobiography for a well-known and respected sportsman. This man has been a member of the American Davis cup lawn tennis team. The first job is to write his autobiography. Most writers would stop at that which will be the culmination of the assignment. The client would thank him, pay the contracted amount and move on. At this stage, how do you, as a writer, create more opportunities, quite simple.
The sportsman has not spent his money getting his autobiography written and then decided to put it on his shelf. He wants to get the manuscript published. For this, he has to write a sharp query letter and then approach agents and publishers. Here is an opportunity for you. You can offer to not only write the query letter but also research some prospective agents for him. I am sure he would bite. There are a few more things you can do here. Writing a jacket blurb, a synopsis, and promotion material can all add up to considerable writing effort. Since you have written the original work, it would be easier for you to coordinate your clients publishing efforts. Not only this. Once a client is published, it becomes a kind of addiction. Even if the autobiography were only mildly popular, you would soon be in business again, writing for this customer.
The Internet is a huge market for ghostwriters. There are millions of articles to be written. Web content development is a tremendous opportunity. Often, it happens that a ghostwriter is contracted to write content for a website. The contract can be extended to include a sales copy for the site and promotion. Due to the extreme obsession with search engine listing, rewrites for sister sites are in demand. Some webmasters have several websites with the same theme hosted on the Internet. Between themselves, rewrites, sales copy, and promotion can be one big project.
A ghostwriter has to take a holistic approach to writing. There are several opportunities, which arise from a single writing assignment.
