Ghostwriting, write-for-hire, whatever you want to call it – it sometimes gets a bad rap. To be honest, I’m not completely sure why, but I think it has something to do with a supposed lack of artistic integrity on the part of the writer, bad contracts & flat fees, and maybe even the fact that consumers aren’t aware of the arrangement behind the scenes.
But here’s what writing for hire has done for me:
2. Taught me to write to deadlines.
3. Allowed me to work closely with editors.
4. Offered time to focus on sentence-by-sentence structure as opposed to plot structure.
5. Helped me learn the mechanics of plot.
6. Legitimized my writing endeavors to friends and family.
7. Encouraged me to try different genres, different POVs, and different voices.
8. Made me feel more comfortable in my relationship with my agent.
9. Showed me firsthand the process from contract to finished book.
10. Improved my confidence.
Over the next few posts, I’ll address each of the points on this list in more detail. Other than that, I’m pleased to say, I met my deadline yesterday. At the 11th hour I realized I needed to combine two chapters because something had been bugging me. Ugh! I hate when things bug me. But you know, the feeling never goes away until you dig in and fix. So dig in I did and, hey, I got it done without throwing my computer at the wall. (I’m not gonna lie, there may have been a few tears.) Now, on to my deadline for the 29th! Here’s hoping I can finish that early.
[...] post, I’ll get back to what Ghostwriting Has Done For Me by talking about how taking on work-for-hire has legitimized my efforts to friends and family. But [...]
[...] I’ll take a couple of your questions and answer them and I’ll continue on my list of what ghostwriting has done for me! And what about you guys? How do you justify the time you take to improve your writing? Have you [...]