Do I have solid numbers to back up this assertion? No.

However, based on conversations with other ghostwriters, editors, and coaches, I’m very confident that behaving like a business owner will earn you more money than operating as a hobbyist or pure creative.

I speak from experience.

Many of you know that my dad was a fine artist — a painter. He was extremely talented, loved what he did, had famous friends, and was fortunate to land commissions for major corporations like DuPont and have his paintings hang in museums in the Middle Atlantic region.

As a pure creative, an artist, he was super successful.

As a businessperson, not so much.

In fact, I think I can safely say he bristled at the idea of being a business owner. He wanted to spend his days painting and sketching, not marketing, invoicing, or promoting his work. Consequently, his income stream was inconsistent.

Many ghostwriters approach their work the same way.

When they’re busy, they’re focused on completing their billable work, at the expense of any kind of marketing or networking. Only when their client work concludes do they look up and realize they have no new projects in the pipeline. That results in extremely lucrative months followed by extremely quiet months. It’s the stereotypical feast or famine cycle.

Businesses work hard to build a consistent income stream rather than one with peaks and valleys.

If you want to improve the consistency of your income and earn more money overall, here are some steps to turn your gig work into a business:

Set Up Business Systems

Since ghostwriters are effectively trading their time for money, the less time you can spend on billable work, the more profitable your work is. A $2,000 white paper is very lucrative when it takes you 10 hours and not so much when you have to spend 40.

One way to improve your efficiency so that you spend less time on tasks is to identify your typical work process, systematize it, and use your new standard process to cut down on your time investment.

That might look like having a client intake form on which you record all of your client’s information and contact details in one handy spot. Then you could have a list of standard research outlets you turn to for background information. You should have a time-tracking app or device to tally how much time you’re actually spending on the work. Some ghostwriters have an outline template they use to start structuring their work and invoice templates and standard verbiage for communicating next steps to clients.

The more you can systematize your process, the less time it will take and the more capacity you’ll have to take on more work. You’ll be more efficient.

You also appear more organized and professional.

Establish Boundaries Around Your Work

Boundaries also help you present an air of professionalism and success.

Communicate to prospects and clients when you are available, for example, and when you’re not. Having clients does not mean you have to be available to them 24 hours a day via phone, text, and email. Push back on anyone who expects that kind of access to you because you’re a business owner, and you get to decide when and how you work.

You should also set well-defined boundaries around the work you do for clients. Make it clear through your proposals, agreements, and communications what, exactly, they are paying for. Then remind them of your assigned task if they ask for more work from you without compensation. We call this “scope creep.”

Some clients think asking you to “quickly” review a blog post shouldn’t cost them anything, for example, because it’s only going to take you “a few minutes,” but the fact is that you could spend that time on billable tasks.

When you receive these types of extras, quote your client a fee and tell them when you can have it done before starting work if it wasn’t part of your original agreement.

Limiting your work to what you agreed to do will save you time, money, and headaches. It’s also how businesspeople behave. You’re a business owner, after all.

Track Your Numbers

The only way to accurately gauge whether your business is profitable is by monitoring every aspect of your work. The data you gather can help you set rates that reflect how much time and effort the work will require, as well as keeping tabs on the money you’re spending within your business.

Some of the best ways to do this are to set up Google Analytics on your website to better understand how much traffic you’re getting, use a time-tracking app or device to track how long tasks are actually taking you, and categorize your business expenses regularly to see where your money is going.

On the marketing side of your business, keep track of how many inquiries you receive each month, what your conversion rate is, which marketing channels are generating the most leads and clients, and how much you’re spending to generate that work.

The object is then to regularly review your numbers and make changes in your business to improve your lead generation and conversion ratios as well as your profitability. It’s harder to do that if you don’t know where your clients are coming from or which marketing tactics are working best for you.

Invest in Marketing

Unless you have a consistent stream of business from a referral network that keeps you constantly busy, I’d recommend that you look for ways to spread the word about your services. Businesses invest in marketing in order to attract more work.

Don’t live by the “Field of Dreams” approach that “if you build it, they will come.” They won’t unless they know who you are, what you do, and how they can find you. Make it easy.

But marketing doesn’t have to be expensive. You don’t need to spend thousands on roadside billboards or attempt to compete with major publishers and marketing agencies online with pricey SEO tactics.

No, you can start with simple tools like a separate business phone line with a greeting using your business name, a professional website with your business name as the URL, and a comprehensive LinkedIn profile. Make sure your outward-facing appearance is of a capable professional. And be sure it is easy for people to get in touch with you.

Some of the best tools include testimonials from previous clients and case studies of successful projects. If you have these types of examples, share them everywhere!

Then, you can spend time promoting your business, too. That might include exploring podcasts that your target client likely listens to, pursuing publicity to get your name and website into the public eye, and public speaking in front of target clients or sources of referral. None of these are expensive and can quickly raise your visibility and credibility.

Charge Market Rates

The trick with ghostwriting is that since every writing project is custom, it’s hard to determine what the “market rate” is for each task.

Based on what ghostwriting agencies have recently been offering, my guess is that charging $1/word is a general minimum for most writing tasks.

White papers, which are research-intensive, or articles requiring multiple interviews, could easily reach $2 or $3/word.

Books have the widest fee range and seem to pay anywhere from $25,000 to $150,000, on average, depending on the experience and track record of the writer.

The problem with trying to be the low-cost provider and undercut other ghostwriters is that you’re only hurting yourself. Charging too little means that you’ll be working longer hours just to get by. And if you’re juggling 8-10 projects at once, the quality of your work may suffer unless you’ve systematized your business. (I know a few ghostwriters who have been able to do this, so it’s possible, but they’ve been doing this for several years.)

Use those numbers you’ve started tracking to better understand how long a typical task takes you and then set a rate that more than pays for your time.

Also keep in mind the value to your client. For example, if you’re crafting a grant proposal that will net them $100,000 if they win it, you know the potential value is $100,000. Don’t undercharge.

Undercharging only makes you look like you are uninformed regarding market rates.

Diversify Your Income Streams

Although you may love ghostwriting and would prefer to spend all day on ghostwriting work, putting all of your eggs in one basket isn’t wise.

Business owners frequently create multiple income streams to reduce the impact if any one part of their business declines.

For ghostwriters, that might mean adding short-form work like website copy or LinkedIn thought leadership to your list of services to guard against a sudden decline in editing or book work. Offer a range of price points for your services so that clients who can’t afford, say, a book, may still be able to pay for a manuscript evaluation or editing on the back end.

You could also add content marketing, proofreading, indexing, and other editorial services to your price list.

Ghostwriters who can separate themselves from the work that they do understand that they are business owners.

The service they sell is writing, and in order to attract clients for that service, they invest in marketing to attract more work, they delegate tasks that are not the best use of their time, and they continuously try to improve their own skills to build an income source with longevity — a.k.a. a business.