by Amanda Evans

Created on: December 15, 2008

If you asked me this question 10 years ago, I would have said that it takes an awful lot to be a ghostwriter. Today however, things have changed and being a ghostwriter isn't what it used to be. 10 years ago ghostwriters were hired to write novels and autobiographies for people and yes they still are today. The difference is however, that today ghostwriters are being hired for a lot more.

What Is A Ghostwriter?

Before discussing what it takes to become a ghostwriter, let me first explain exactly what a ghostwriter is. A ghostwriter is a writer who forgoes seeing their name in print for a payment instead. Basically put, you write and someone elses name goes on it.

So let's look at things a little more. Reading some of the other articles on this topic I was surprised to see that the top rated article stated that ghostwriting is unlikely to become a full time career. I disagree and as a full time ghostwriter am proof that this is untrue.
I'm not the only one either and there are so many of us that actually make a living as ghostwriters.

How did I become a ghostwriter? To be honest, I always wanted to write, it was my passion.
I also wanted to get paid for my writing which is what brought me to the internet. When I began searching about how to get paid for my writing it was all about writing for magazines and about query letters. That sounded like too much hard work to me and of course you weren't guaranteed payment either. After a little more searching and digging I discovered some websites where you could bid on writing jobs. This was more my thing and that was the start of my ghostwriting career.

With the internet there is an increasing demand for website content and more and more businesses are outsourcing this work to ghostwriters. As a ghostwriter you will need to be familiar with internet marketing terms and phrases and have a good knowledge of search engine optimization writing. This involves the use of keywords in your writing and is vital if you want to succeed.

Ghostwriting jobs are not what they used to be and in today's society ghostwriters are being hired to write all sorts of content including e-books, website content, sales pages, newsletters, blog posts, short stories, and more.

If you want to ghost write novels and books however, you have to have an excellent understanding of the English language, be able to sell yourself to your clients, and most importantly be able to write what your client wants and in the tone and style they require too.
This can be a difficult thing to accomplish especially when you consider that you could be writing on any topic and in any genre. You might have to write for a male client one week and a female client the next. You need to become their voice and this takes a great deal of talent and work.

If you don't mind passing up the opportunity to see your own name in print and prefer to receive payment instead then ghostwriting could be a career possibility that you might want to consider.

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