Tag Archives: uk ghost writer

Writing is Medicine #2 (Acupuncture for the Mind).

August 29, 2016 By in The Ghostwriter Blog Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Many times we are drawn to the page. It happens in a persistent manner throughout our lives, sometimes at the most inconvenient times. It’s as if we are being pulled by an invisible attractor field. Many times we allow something to interfere with us connecting to that page. We rationalise the calling – the duty of writing and use reason to excuse ourselves from the obligation. Writing, after all, is not a priority—is it? We develop sophisticated well reasoned positions about why we can’t do it now and why we should not, and the voices begin…

It’s irresponsible, now that you have a child, a second child, a third, you just don’t have time—now that you have started a new job, have begun thinking about moving house. You’ll do it once you clear your overdraft, move out of your parents home and are free to explore your creativity. Only then will you do it. You’ll do it when you move into your own one-bed flat, once you have got that desk you have always pictured having and when the kids bugger off to uni. You’ll start writing your book then, because it’s not of ‘prime concern’ right now. Only then when everything is in position, will you accept the call – to connect to the page. Right?

When has writing ever been a concern? Why not just drift to the page like you were going to? Why are we making such a big deal out of it? I know what happened… something interfered with you connecting—it involved itself and barged its way into your flow, like venom it introduced itself, and like poison it lessened you. That may feel like a hard description but this is how incrementally cunning the mind is, it acts like a poison and is the enemy of the writer. The secret is to learn what it is. Only then, can we master it.

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Ghostwriter or copywriter? Now that’s a question.

August 16, 2016 By in The Ghostwriter Blog Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

If you’re reading this, you’re probably looking for a ghostwriter, or perhaps you’ve stumbled here because it’s the word ghostwriter that is interesting to you. More mysterious? You may be a freelance writer or someone researching ways to tell their life story. I shall attempt to write for both —

Which is which? The main distinction is that ghostwriters are completely invisible. They are the enigmatic wordsmiths of the trade – the ones who write books that you read—by famous celebs, fat cat politicians and king pins of the criminal underworld. Word on the street—some of the big authors now have their books ghostwritten. I didn’t believe it at first, but with an audience demanding two books a year from one person, decade in—decade out, and a publishing contract demanding it too, I can get my head around it. A lot of people do it. Why not?

If you want a book written and you are looking to hire a writer, do you want a ghostwriter for hire, or the more simple freelance writer… the copywriter? Answer: you want a ghostwriter who works with a copy-editor.

Most copywriters would love to one day work on an autobiographical project as a ghostwriter. Most ghostwriters that I know have at one time or another worked as copywriters—or written copy. If a copywriter is someone who is well skilled at working on different types of copy and a ghostwriter is someone who can write different kinds of books, is a ghostwriter then not someone who has simply upped their game? Reached for the bigger project? We are all freelance writers and a writer at any level, especially the published author will require a proofreader and copy-editor to ensure that their writing is error free. Proofreading and copy-editing can all sit under the copywriter job title—in a way—but when it comes to writing books, the author at work should be working with his or her—editor.  I even have a copy-editor proofread these blogs – somewhat late after they’ve been published I’ll add, and so for a period of time may even get published with errors inn.

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Writing is Medicine ‪#‬1

August 13, 2016 By in The Ghostwriter Blog Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

‘When we put the pen to paper, we articulate things in our life that we may have felt vague about. Before you write about something, somebody says, ‘How do you feel?’ and you say, ‘Oh, I feel okay.’ Then you write about it, and you discover you don’t feel okay.’—Julia Cameron.

In November, I will be celebrating my fourth year working as a ‘professional’ ghostwriter. In this time I have observed and learnt many things of our human condition. The most significant being, that it is rarely in balance.

With my work, what I have noticed is that a person will have something they need to wash themselves of, and atone for. Once they have done this, they appear more ‘free’. They have entered a type of—cleanse and after which, they feel much better. Writing I have witnessed—is a medicine. With my background as a personal trainer, healing and rehabilitation, I have taken an interest in medicine and I will attempt to combine that interest with my ability to write. Over these next few months I will publish a series of articles explaining the ways in which writing is healing, good for soul and in fact takes on all of the attributes a medicine does.

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Why is a ghostwriter fundamental to your business?

July 29, 2016 By in The Ghostwriter Blog Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In Dealing with Swindlers and Devils: Literature and Business Ethics, Christopher Michaelson writes that ‘One instrumental function of literature is to imitate life, thereby expanding our vision beyond our parochial interests; to see literature merely as a didactic instrument to serve business interests misses the point that literature should expand understanding, our sense of what in addition to business is interesting and valuable.’

I wanted to write a series of articles for business owners who are interested in writing books. I have always been drawn to the entrepreneurs of the world and in a way, I consider myself one and due to the stresses and the challenges of running a business or company, we often find ourselves too close to the action – too connected to the drama, when all we need to do, sometimes, is sit back – and write about it. I have begun to talk to business owners about why a ghostwriter is so fundamental to their business. To begin, the question here is wrong. Why is a book important to a business? This is the question. But to avoid disappointment, please turn back now if you are expecting a blog about ‘business’ perse. This article reminds us what words can do, what books can do. Understanding this helps encourage us to write our great works. So… why a book?

Preceding this question, what is a book? An object with images in it (letters) that link to form words. What are words? What is communication? Understanding what is happening when we are writing a book will help shine a light on these fundamentals, because what happens to a person when they write one can be nothing short of magic. Sometimes that’s what businesses need… a touch of magic. Sometimes what business owners are in need of is a new best friend. As Groucho Marx said, ‘Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.’

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