I started ghostwriting back in 2004 and to this day I still love what I do. How did I get started ghostwriting? It all started when I first got the internet. I had always wanted to be a writer and I began my quest by looking for different writing websites. I began submitting some of my poetry and short stories and received excellent feedback. More and more people were telling me that I should be getting paid for my writing and that was the beginning.
I first started looking at freelance writing websites but the thought of all the hard work submitting query letters and not being guaranteed acceptance for articles just wasn't what I wanted. I began searching "get paid to write" and I came across Elance. Once I looked at this website and some of the projects that were posted, I knew this was for me. All I had to do was bid for the jobs I wanted and if I got them I was guaranteed payment. I signed up immediately and the rest as they say is history.
Elance is one of many bidding websites where writers can go and bid on ghostwriting jobs. If you bid is accepted you complete the assignment and you get paid. It's a simple as that. When I started ghostwriting I couldn't believe that I was actually getting paid for writing. I loved it and best of all I was able to make the same amount ghostwriting as I was in my 9 to 5 job. It was perfect for me and when my son was born in 2006 I quit my day job and became a stay at home mom.
I know that this all sounds great but let me assure you that becoming a successful ghostwriter takes a lot of hard work and time too. If you choose to go down the route of bidding websites such as Elance.com, Getafreelance.com, or Guru.com, you are not guaranteed to get an assignment. You will be bidding for the job against many other potential winners so you need to be confident in your writing skills and be able to sell yourself.
If you think you have what it takes to become a ghostwriter there are a few necessities. You will need to set up a paypal account so that you can receive payment and many of the bidding websites require you to pay a monthly membership fee. There are plenty of free bidding websites such as Getafreelancer.com where you can bid on up to 15 projects per month without paying any fees. If you find that you are successful you can then upgrade to gold membership status for a small fee of $12. Getafreelancer.com is a very busy freelance website but a lot of the jobs on offer here expect you to work for next to nothing. Elance is a very professional bidding website and as a free member you will get three bids (called connects) per month. If you upgrade to a professional membership you get 20 connects per month for $9.95 and you can add additional connects for a small cost as you need them.
If you decide to pursue a ghostwriting career some of the assignments you might be asked to work on include, articles, website content, e-books, press releases, and even sales copy. You should familiarise yourself with SEO (search engine optimisation) techniques as this is what most of your potential clients will be looking for.
You should also be prepared to bid a lower amount when starting off so that you can get some assignments and get the much needed feedback and ratings in return. Once you have established yourself you can then start to increase your rates. As a general rule, you should charge no less than $2 per 100 words even if you are starting out. Article re-writes are a quick and easy job but don't be fooled into accepting anything less than $1 per 100 words for these.
There are plenty of people out there looking to have work done for little or no pay so you need to be aware of this. It is very hard to find ghostwriting rates anywhere on the internet as there is no standard fee schedule and each ghostwriter has their own fee schedule.
As a general rule, e-books, press releases, and sales pages are where the big money is and a press release of 400 words can earn you anything from $80 to $200. E-books can fetch anywhere from $7 to $15 per page. Sales pages are the real earners and for these you can earn anywhere from $500 to $10,000. If any of these high earners appeal to you then you will need to put in some study time and a lot of persistence.
When you bid on any jobs on any bidding website it is always advisable to choose as a means of payment. This ensures that you are safe from scammers. If you do have private clients you can accept payment via paypal but always ensure that you draw up a contract of works and have them sign it. It is also important that you client understands that copyright for any work that you do is yours until you receive full payment. Once this has been received the copyright is then transferred to them.
Building your reputation as a ghostwriter will take time and hard work but believe me it really is worth it in the end. I am now a stay at home mom, I work approximately 3 to 4 hours each day, and I take home on average $5,000 per month. I run my own ghostwriting blog and website and I help others become ghostwriters too. I am living my dream of being a paid writer and you can too if it's what you really want.