Guest Post: Tips For Getting Started As a Ghostwriter

By Wintress Odom

Although the practice of ghostwriting reaches back to antiquity when scribes toiled over papyrus scrolls, the ghostwriting industry is growing today more than ever—for a variety of reasons.

The rise in SEO, eBooks, self-publishing, and social media means that more and more people are looking to communicate their ideas, even when they don’t have the requisite time or writing skills. That’s where you, the aspiring ghostwriter, come in.

But how exactly do you get started? Below, find a crash course in all things wannbe ghostwriters should know.

What makes a good ghostwriter?

First: is ghostwriting a good fit for you?

This business isn’t for everybody. It’s very customer service oriented, which often surprises people. If you want to spend all your workdays tucked away, writing quietly, you might not be happy, or successful, as a ghostwriter.

If it’s hard for you to listen, I mean really, really listen to people for long periods of time, you might have trouble in this business.

If you chafe when asked to take a writing project in a direction you disagree with, ghostwriting might not be a good fit. Remember: as a ghostwriter, you’re hired for a very specific job—to put your client’s vision (not yours) onto paper. Or onto a screen.

On the other hand, if you’re a deep listener, good collaborator, and love bringing other people’s stories to life, ghostwriting might be just right.

If that’s the case, read on…

You’ll need a website

It’s obvious that if people can’t find you, it doesn’t matter how much skill and eagerness you have. Since the Internet is now where people usually look for help, a website is typically the way they find you. Having one of your own denotes professionalism, experience, and seriousness.

Even if you’re a technophobe, there are simple options for creating a website. Wix and Webador are good platforms for beginners. Tools like these can give your website all the details an average ghostwriter wants to include, and your site will look nice and will be free or almost free!

Another option is to exchange services with a web/graphic designer who needs some writing work done. You write content for them, they build your site on Squarespace or another good platform for beginners.

You don’t need a sophisticated website when you’re starting out. The most important thing is that you have some online presence that looks professional and shows your rates, services, and contact information. As you develop your business, you can hire a professional—or exchange services with one—and adjust your site accordingly.

…and a portfolio

The portfolio is a mainstay of any writer’s career, but for ghostwriters, building a portfolio is a thorny exercise. How can you build a portfolio if you can’t talk about your past work?

It’s a good question, but there are about as many solutions as there are ghostwriters.

If you ghostwrite posts for business websites, you can take a screenshot of the final post on each site. Put the shots in your portfolio with a message saying that you can provide earlier drafts upon request as proof that the work is yours.

It’s also possible to take low-paying jobs on Upwork and other similar sites to demonstrate your work ethic and experience, and in the process build a body of work.

Similarly, you can take advantage of clippings.me, a program that allows you to post samples, along with a brief profile, on a nice, professional-looking site. There are other similar sites, and they’re a good way to get some visibility until you have enough samples to build a full portfolio of your own.

You can also create mock projects: write up some articles, letters, excerpts of papers, short fiction pieces—whatever kind of ghostwriting work you’re hoping to do. As long as you make it clear that these are mock projects, they’re a good way to showcase your abilities without stepping on any real clients’ toes.

A last tried-and-true option I’ll mention is to volunteer to write content for nonprofit organizations. With their limited budgets, they’re always looking for free help, you’ll feel good about providing that help. Win-win.

As you find work or volunteer opportunities, ask your clients if they’d be comfortable with you including their project in your portfolio. It’s always worth checking, and a lot of people will say yes.

Be consistent, persistent, creative, and thorough. Before long, your portfolio will reflect your abilities and attract more clients.

Getting jobs

There are a lot of ways to find ghostwriting jobs. As you build your business, it might be a good idea to devote some energy to all these options, until you know what works best for you and your personality.

My first job-getting tip concerns the pitch. Pitching potential clients can be scary, but a cold pitch can work. Many writers find work when they pitch to an online writing platform and make an impression with an unsolicited email.

So don’t be shy! If you’re a strong writer and willing to put in the work, let people know. Ghostwriting is a valuable service, one that clients will gladly pay for—if they know you exist. Scour agency websites for their contact information, sign up for ghostwriting job alerts, and send your best pitches.

Notice I said “pitches,” not “pitch.” Writing a custom pitch for each client matters.Don’t just copy and paste one message to everyone. It’s important to do your homework and research each company so you’re familiar with what they do and genuinely feel like you can add value. Send a brief, to-the-point email stating your name, your interest, and your relevant experience to the HR manager or hiring manager. Even if you don’t get the job, you can add that person’s name to your ever-growing network.

Speaking of networks, yours may prove useful to you in the future by providing work that you don’t have to seek out. Prior clients may recommend you to potential new ones. Your Internet presence is also a network in itself—since potential clients are very likely to check out sites like LinkedIn to find a ghostwriter.

The name of this particular work-related social media platform is worth repeating. LinkedIn. It has proven valuable to many ghostwriters. Whether or not you end up finding clients through LinkedIn, staying active there is a good way to immerse yourself in the industry and learn about current issues and trends. Brush up your profile if you already have one or make one if you don’t.

Like anything else worth doing, there’s an art to building a LinkedIn profile. Be sure to complete every section, even if you don’t have much to say, as an incomplete profile sends the wrong message. Avoid buzzwords like “results-driven,” “innovative,” or “go-getter” (see this list for more examples) and anything that even sounds like it might be AI-generated. Common AI formulas, such as “X isn’t just Y—it’s A,  B, and C,” can make potential clients wary of your work, even if they don’t need to be. This article has more advice on making your writing as un-AI as possible.

Other useful sites for building your client base are FlexJobs, Upwork, Fiverr, All Things Freelancing, Guru, Constant Content, and BKA Content, to name a few. These sites share some similarities, but it’s worth checking out each one individually, as their focuses, fee structures, and client bases may differ.

No one path

When you’re just starting out, it can feel like everyone else was given the secret checklist for success, but there is really no one-size-fits-all road to ghostwriting achievement.

A couple of decades or so ago, websites were so new that clients often questioned their value. “The Yellow Pages have worked for us for 20 years,” they’d say. It was a reasonable argument at the time. Before long, though, websites would become crucial to building and maintaining businesses.

As the newspaper and magazine industries have evolved from print to digital, some of their former writers have turned to ghostwriting. Although they have ready-made portfolios of articles, they still sometimes need to sift through many options to find good-paying jobs.

Volunteering to write for a newsletter is another pathway to ghostwriting. As is taking copywriting courses and building a portfolio through low-paying jobs on sites like Upwork. With time and experience, you can raise your rates and level of clientele.

The work-at-home movement has allowed many ghostwriters to blend their family life and work quite seamlessly. It is a line of work that can fill your days with unique, interesting, and meaningful work.

Last words

Here is a final “grab bag” of tried-and-true tips:

• Go the extra mile. Offer ideas, such as crafting a social media post to go along with a blog post you wrote. Answer texts and emails promptly, even if it’s just to let the client know that you’ve seen the message. Stay calm under pressure. Clients will notice these things and remember you as someone who is easy to work with and who cares that their clients succeed.
• Pay close attention to client personalities, listening to what matters to them–to the ebb and flow of their speech and their expressions—then infuse those things into their projects. Being purposeful in studying your client ensures the writing takes on their voice rather than yours.
• Scour your existing network for opportunities. Take any work you can. Write that letter for your neighbor, or that resume for your aunt’s doofy boyfriend. If nothing else, you’ll be helping someone out and gaining experience.
• If a client, job, or platform seems too good to be true, there’s probably a reason.
• Look at time spent on an unpaid project as an opportunity to immerse yourself in the process and flow of the work. When you’re in a professional groove, you’ll look back and see that this time was more valuable than you realized.
• Finally, don’t be too proud or too gun-shy to ask for a second chance. My first ghostwriting job seemed like it was going to end badly when the client was unhappy with my work. I could have retreated but instead developed a thick skin and fixed my mistakes. I went back to the client, asked if I could try again, and worked more closely with him. In the end, I was able to deliver a quality product he was happy with.

Wintress Odom founded The Writers For Hire over 20 years ago after freelancing for several years as a copywriter and editor. She has a gift for organizing projects, an unrelenting need to root out inefficiencies, and a passion for solving business challenges through documentation. Her educational background includes graduating cum laude from Rice University in 2000, studying at Cologne Gymnasium in Germany, and graduating valedictorian from The Science Academy of South Texas.