Writing

Marketers: What Writers Charge for Ghostwriting a Book

Posted by M. Sharon Baker
Marketers: What Writers Charge for Ghostwriting a Book

Several sales and marketing people I know are writing or publishing a book, or thinking about it. For example:Ardaths book jacket

Everyone Writes bookjacket Some are writing books for marketing reasons while others felt a strong desire to share their knowledge. (These aren’t eBooks; they are books from 100 to 300 pages or more.) All of the authors above wrote or are writing their own books.

But many times, people are too busy or lack the confidence and expertise to dump the millions of ideas swirling in their heads onto paper, organize them in a logical way, and tell a compelling story. So they look for ghostwriters. I was approached last year by two prospects wishing to write a book, one went with another writer while the other is still pondering whether he wants to tackle such a project or not.

What does it cost to Ghostwrite a Book?

A great unknown for many wishing to write a book but knowing they need help is how much writers charge for ghostwriting a book. Many are unrealistic and often don’t know it will cost thousands of dollars.

How much it costs really depends upon the length of the book, how much collaboration there will be, how much research needs to be done, whether you have a publisher on the hook or whether you’ll be self-publishing it yourself, and so much more.

This morning, Ed Gandia of High Income Business Writing, posted an interview with veteran ghostwriter Derek Lewis, who is coming out with his own book: The Business Book Bible: Everything You Need to Know to Write a Good Business Book. In the podcast, Derek revealed going rates for ghost writing books:

  • Newer ghostwriters charge about $25,000 for a full-length manuscript.The business book bible
  • Professionals start somewhere between $35,000 to $55,000.
  • Publishers tend to pay ghostwriters between $50,000 to $80,000
  • Veteran ghostwriters charge $75,000 to more than $100,000
  • Those writing for celebrities charge $120,000 and up.

Derek shared many tips for writing business books. You can listen to the podcast on Ed’s site. You can also learn more about professional ghostwriting fees in Derek’s book, publishing soon, or in a post Derek wrote on his website.

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Content Marketing/Marketing/Writing

Why You Should Hire a Freelance Writer for Content Marketing

Posted by M. Sharon Baker

I have received several calls in the past few days from callers asking why they should hire a freelance writer and what the benefits are of doing so.

After one call, I created a quick proposal for a prospect to help convince her boss that hiring a freelance writer to help with content marketing was the right way to go.colored pencils in can msb

Here are 9 benefits I mentioned:

  1. While you may hate to write, freelance writers are passionate about writing and love it, which means they skip procrastination, fits and starts, and the constant rewriting that comes when you dislike the task.
  2. They free you up to concentrate on business development, strategy and the many marketing tasks you love to do.
  3. They cost less than hiring a full-time marketing writer. The freelancer writer is an independent contractor paying his or her own taxes.
  4. Veteran freelance writers have a system to produce written materials and adhere to a project schedule with little hand holding. Many can also manage your project.
  5. Freelance writers bring a fresh outside perspective, one that helps them think more like your audience. They aren’t steeped in your internal jargon or tied to ingrained marketing approaches.
  6. Freelance writers have an uncanny ability to understand, reach and engage audiences with their writing so they can help you better target your audience.
  7. Because they work with multiple clients, a veteran freelance writer brings knowledge gained at other firms and best practices, which can move your company forward faster. They can suggest ideas, improvements and channels that make your marketing materials stand out and demand attention.
  8. Finding a writer with industry expertise who is also knowledgeable about content marketing gives you a leg up on your competition. You don’t have to spend as much time learning about the new ways of marketing or spend as much time bringing the writer up to speed on your industry.
  9. Freelance Writers help you avoid falling behind. There is a cost when you do nothing: Marketing is changing rapidly. Today, B2B customers are two-thirds through the buying cycle before they engage a salesperson. That means they are doing research and seeking answers to questions before they are on your radar screen. Without fresh, helpful and thought-leadership content, you are falling behind your competition and losing customers.

Here’s a shorter answer: Hiring a freelance writer is a great way to create a steady stream of content on a variety of topics on a timely basis without having to add a full-time employee.

Can you think of other benefits of hiring freelance writers? Please share them in the comments.

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Journalism/Writing

Freelance Journalist Wins 4 WA Press Association Awards

Posted by M. Sharon Baker

Once in a blue moon, I find I need to write a press release about myself. Here’s the latest, which I’m writing for my local newspaper.

 Freelance Journalist Wins WA Press Association Awards

Freelance Journalist M. Sharon Baker won four awards from the Washington Press Association for her online and magazine work.MSFT The One That Started snip (415x527)

The Anacortes resident won two First Place awards, a Second and a Third from the WPA, which is an organization of Washington State professional communicators including print and online journalists, public relations practitioners and students in these fields.

Baker won:

  • First Place, Features, food for “Seattle’s Pizza Wars”, a story about the growth of startup MOD Pizza and other new pizzerias that plan national rollouts, which ran in the March 2013 issue of Seattle Business.

 

 

  • Second Place General News for “Startup Generates Electricity from HVAC System Thanks to UW Design, Testing” for the University of Washington’s magazine, The Trend in Engineering.

 

  • Third Place Business/Technology for “The One that Started It All:,” a story on Microsoft Corp.’s efforts to help startups for ID8Nation’s Seattle digital magazine.

 

A former reporter with The Skagit Valley Herald, The Puget Sound Business Journal, and the defunct Journal American of Bellevue, Baker has been an independent journalist since 2001. Her recent work appears in Nation’s Restaurant News, Alaska Airlines magazine and Seattle Business, among other publications.

Baker is also a freelance content writer who helps companies connect with customers by writing case studies, white papers, web copy and other marketing materials.

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Public Relations/Writing

Do You Have Questions About Contributed Articles?

Posted by M. Sharon Baker

We’re fresh off the free call hosted by Carol Tice at the Freelance Writers Den, and I understand that a lot of our listeners are not yet members of the Den.

So, if you have additional questions about contributed articles, please feel free to ask them in the comments below and I’ll answer as soon as I can.

Please note, I won’t be answering too many specific questions about press releases, retainers, or public relations as these are all topics I’ll be sharing information about in the upcoming Bootcamp, which is a real steal –especially since you also get to join the den free for the first month. (And the Den is currently closed to everyone else.)

 

 

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So, What can I tell you about contributed articles?  Ask away and I’ll try to help as much as I can.

 

 

 

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