Category Archives: writing

Don’t Be Afraid of a Ghost(Writer)

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Part One: Whose Voice Is It, Anyway?

Most people are naturally scared of ghosts. Unfortunately, some businesspeople are naturally scared of ghostwriters as well. Are you?

Some professionals think:

  1. If I use a ghostwriter, will the work sound like mine?
  2. If someone ghostwrites my material, is it my work or theirs?
  3. Is using a ghostwriter ethical?

Believe me when I tell you, there is no need to be scared of ghosts. Ghostwriting is an excellent way for you as a business professional to get your story out there for the world to see. Your followers will see your expertise, you’ll position yourself as an expert in your industry—all with the help of someone who writes in your voice! What could be better?

Over the next several weeks, we are going to examine some of the most common misconceptions of ghostwriting in more detail. Once you’ve read these, you’ll never be afraid of ghostwriting again!

Are you ready? Here comes the number one misconception.

Ghostwriters get paid to write for you.

This is untrue. As a ghostwriter, I don’t write FOR you, I write AS you. You could ask me to put together a book about your business philosophy, and I could probably study you and learn about you online and do just that. But it wouldn’t be YOUR work.

Instead, if I’m going to write AS you, I’m going to get to know you. We go through a process of interviews together. I ask all kinds of questions, and I learn all about what makes you tick. I record these interviews so that I can listen to them over and over again. The more I listen, the more I learn about you. Perhaps a certain expression that you like to use comes out a lot. Or your ideas about a particular subject become very clear. If I’m going to write about your business philosophy, I need to know you, and why this philosophy is so pertinent to your success.

In other words, I’m writing in your voice. When this piece is finished, you won’t believe that you didn’t write it yourself, because it will sound exactly like you would write or speak.

Ready to learn more? Let’s talk. Reach out to me at sue@suetoth.com and we’ll set up some time to talk.

Coming Next: Who owns the material a ghostwriter writes?

 

You CAN Write a Book!

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Okay, so you’ve made the decision. You want to write a book. You know you need to write a book. It’s been floating around in your head for a long time, and you know all of the good things that will happen to you and your business if you write a book (and if you don’t, check out this blog post to find out what they are).

Yeah, this is great! I’m going to be a published author! My book is going to be out in six months! These are your thoughts as you sit down at your computer, all ready to get started.

A day later, you have your first two sentences…okay, so maybe nine months, you think. Maybe this is going to take a little longer than I thought.

When a week has passed, and you only have the first page of your book done, you start to think that maybe this book idea isn’t such a great one anyway. Why do I really need this? What was I thinking, that I could write a book?

You’ve got book paralysis. It’s a completely normal reaction to the idea of writing a book, and fortunately, it’s very curable. You don’t have to stare at a blank computer screen.

A book doesn’t have to start completely from scratch. Let’s look at some other ways you can get started:

  1. Blog posts: Do you have blog posts on your website? Why not take them and turn them into the start of a book? You can organize them into chapters and fill in the blanks where needed.
  2. Articles: Have you written articles for industry publications? These can also be the start of a great book.
  3. Work with a writer or book coach: This is a great way to get your book to come from a dream in your head to a reality on paper. A book coach can help you to get your thoughts out, provide you with a writing schedule, set time to work with you on a weekly or monthly basis, and provide encouragement.

A ghostwriter can work with you by interviewing you and pulling your thoughts out of you. The book is yours because the ideas are yours. It’s just that you’re getting the help you need to get your ideas out of your head and onto the paper.

See, it’s not so hard. And it can be done in that six-month time frame that you had at the beginning of the project.

Are you ready to get that book started? Are you ready to make your dreams of being an author come true? Let me help. Let’s get together and talk about sending you on your way to authorship glory. Reach out to me at sue@suetoth.com and we’ll get started!

How to Get People to Actually Read Your Blog

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Every time you sit down to write a blog or e-newsletter, you feel like you’re walking into a torture chamber. You spend valuable time each week or month agonizing over the “right” words for your piece. So, is it working for you? Is your blog getting you a loyal following? Are you getting phone calls, emails, or most importantly, clients as a result of your blog? If not, you’re doing it wrong. Here’s how to make sure your blog is actually working for you.

  1. Do you know who you’re talking to? WHO do you want to share your voice with–the exact person who needs to hear what you have to say? Create a message that’s relevant to only them. That’s when they will pay attention.
  2. Are you helping your readers take action? Organize your piece so it is easier for your readers to take those actions.  If you want them to sign up for your newsletter, make it easy for them to do that with a sign-up box in your blog. If you want them to call you, make sure your phone number is in a prominent place and is a clickable link for when people are using a mobile device to find you.
  3. Are you getting their attention? Humans have an extremely short attention span. Your headline has to grab them immediately or else they will not read further. Your headline also has to be great for Twitter or Facebook.
  4. Will they care? This is not about you. Let me repeat: this is NOT about you! Write content that your readers will care about. It has to be relevant to their needs, and talking about yourself isn’t relevant. What can you do for them? How can you solve their problems? That’s where your content needs to go.
  5. Are you committed to your blog or e-newsletter? You need to get on a schedule. This is how you build a following. If you start writing on the first of every month, your readers will start looking for your content on the first of the month. If you suddenly skip a month or two, your readers will wonder where you went. They may go elsewhere to find content if they can’t find yours. Get on a schedule and keep to it.
  6. Are you engaging with your readers? Do you get comments on your piece? If so, reply to them! Make sure that readers know that there is a real person behind the writing. A simple thank you to a compliment will go a long way toward developing loyal followers. If you’re not getting comments, you need to ask for them! Ask a question or two, or invite readers to share a story or a solution to a problem. This will invite comments, and then you can respond.
  1. Are you paying attention? You’ll want to use analytics to learn about the health of your blog or newsletter. These are free services. Get them and use them!

Do you need help starting or maintaining your blog or e-newsletter? Call me. I can help. Contact me at sue@suetoth.com or call me at 973-362-5382 and we’ll get started.