How to Get Paid to Write Books

Since 2011, I've helped almost six million people become better writers. But when I talk to people about what gets in the way of their writing, they say things like:

I just don't have enough time to write consistently.

Or

I don't have an audience or platform to actually get a book published.

Or

I still need more practice at writing before I can write something I'm proud of.

Or

The publishing industry is falling apart right now. There's no chance for a new, unproven writer like me to get their book published.

Or

I would like to make a living as a writer, but I'm starting to think it will never happen.

Or

I've tried freelancing, but juggling a lot of clients is really hard and getting enough work to make ends meet is almost impossible. Plus, I really just want to write something meaningful.

These comments don't come from beginners who have only been writing for a few weeks. I've heard this from people who have already written a few books, people who have been published by literary magazines, people who already have a following of hundreds or even thousands of readers.

Perhaps you too are worried that all those doubts you had about writing were true, those doubts that tell you you'll never be able to make it as a writer. Perhaps the criticisms from family or friends that writing is a bad career choice are finally getting to you.

But here's what I've noticed about successful writers:

Successful Writers Practice

You're already aware of how much practice it takes to become a successful writer. If Malcolm Gladwell is right, then you can expect to be practicing for as many as 10,000 hours.

It's up to you to figure out how to find those hours.

One common route to becoming a writer is to steal hours away from your life, taking time away from your family and your sleep. You can get up at 5 AM to work on your writing before anyone else is awake. You can fill your lunch hour with writing. You can stay up until 2 AM working on your novel.

It's a hard lifestyle, but writers throughout history have done it. I've done it. You might even be doing it right now.

But stealing hours away from your life so you can fuel your writing practice can often lead to one thing:

exhaustion.

Writing a book is tiring enough on its own, let alone if you have to convince yourself to get up at 5 AM to do it or stay up until 2 AM.

So then how do successful writers do it?

Let's do a quick copyedit to our earlier statement that successful writers practice, because here's what I've found works even better:

Successful Writers GET PAID to Practice

“The best way to achieve a goal is to devote 100 percent of your time and energy to it,” said Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory.

Think about it, wouldn't it be better if practicing writing was your day job?

Wouldn't it you be able to focus more on your writing if you wrote from 9 AM to 5 PM rather than early in the morning before you leave for work?

How much faster could you get those 10,000 hours of practice and become the writer you want to be?

Think of how many years you would save?

While you think about that, let me tell you my story:

Five years ago, I was sitting across from a friend who was the CEO of a large nonprofit. I was in the middle of another novel that wasn't working out and had just moved to a new city and was looking for a job.

“Why don't you take a look at my book,” said my friend. “You could edit it for a few months as you look for a job.”

It sounded perfect. Get paid to work on a book? But as I looked at the manuscript, I realized it needed more than a heavy edit. It needed a full rewrite. So, I decided to write the first chapter, and then pitch the idea of being his ghostwriter to my boss.

I was asking him to trust me with his voice, his reputation, his legacy.

This wasn't just another writing job. I wanted to be entrusted with his life. I waited, nervous he would say no, terrified he would say yes.

He said go for it.

Before long, I was spending my days reading books as research, writing from a coffee shop, and getting paid for it. It was a dream come true.

It took about five hundred hours, but after four months, I finished my first book.

My name wasn't on the cover, but I was finally an author. After years of trying, I had finally done it.

Ghostwriting is about so much more than getting paid to write.

After that first project, I realized ghostwriting is the best practice you could have to become a writer:

• Ghostwriting allows you to get paid to practice
• Ghostwriting gives you deadlines and accountability
• Ghostwriting provides much-needed feedback, and often training
• Ghostwriting helps you enter the professional writing sphere
• Ghostwriting gives you time to prove yourself as a writer without having a platform or publishing credentials of your own
• Ghostwriting gives you the opportunity to share others' stories and help them find their voice

Ghostwriting was about so much more than just getting paid to write a book.

In fact, I actually believe ghostwriting is the best way to start your career as a writer. It was that first ghostwriting project that allowed me to begin a full-time career as a writer and that ultimately led me to be able to accomplish many of own writing dreams. 

Plus, the perks can be pretty amazing. Over the last five years, I've had amazing experiences ghostwriting. I've held long interviews with a client on rooftop in southern Spain, done impromptu writing sessions in the executive club of a German airport, flown to Jordan and Cyprus to record a client's work, and been able to write from cities all over the country, from Santa Barbara to Nashville to Atlanta.

But honestly, the perks pale in comparison to the actual work, which has been some of the most rewarding work I've ever done. It's a privileged experience to talk with someone who has been working at the top of their field for thirty years and hearing the parts of their story that they don't share with anyone else.

As their ghostwriter, you get to be in your clients inner circle. Some of my clients charge $300 or more per hour for their time, but as their ghostwriter, I get to learn everything about them, and I'm the one who gets paid for it.

Getting paid to become a better writer is possible, and I want to help you do it.

I had very little writing experience before I worked on my first ghostwriting project, and I've trained people who had even less and are now full-time writers. Honestly, in this case, the cliché is true, if I can do it, you can do it.

Because I want to equip you to become a successful, well-trained ghostwriter, so you can replace your income while focusing more on your writing than ever before. To do that, I've taken my best practices of how I built a successful ghostwriting business, as well as many of the secrets of the industry, into a new course.

Introducing Ghostwriter Pro…

Ghostwriter Pro was developed through trial and error and years of experience. I have personally helped dozens of writers write books, articles, and blog posts. I've been part of successful ghostwriting jobs and others that failed. (Because that's the only way to figure out how something really works.)

Ghostwriter Pro is the only online course that shows you how to get paid to practice your writing.

Here's how it's going to work:

In a seven-part video training, you'll get the step-by-step lessons you need to become a ghostwriter and complete your first project. I'll walk you through each part of my process. In fact, you'll learn everything I do in my own business.

You'll practice the exact strategies, tools, and processes that will help you:

• Find and book new clients
• Set the right price for your services
• Write a book that captures your client's unique voice
• Write contracts that protect your rights as well as the rights of your clients
• Learn the right questions to ask when interviewing clients
• Ask for and apply client's feedback throughout the book writing process
• Implement different software to aid collaborative writing
• Explore different project options with your clients

There are other courses that teach you how to be a freelance writer, but most have the following limitations: 

1. They don't teach ghostwriting. Ghostwriting is a secretive, exclusive world, and it's SO hard to find good information about it online. It's even harder to get a ghostwriter to share the actual process they use. Ghostwriter Pro shares exactly what I do to market my services and ghostwrite for my clients.
2. They don't help writers achieve their own goals. As a general rule, there are two kinds of writing courses: those that teach you to write commercially for other people, freelance writing courses, and those that teach you how to write for yourself, creative writing courses. This course is the only one that teaches how to use your freelance writing as practice for your creative writing.

When you enroll in Ghostwriter Pro, you're not only getting a complete system to become a ghostwriter, but also to use your ghostwriting as an apprenticeship to write your own work.

When you finish this course, you'll know how to…

Use your current network and the power of the internet to find and land  ghostwriting clients.

Get paid to write. I show you how to price your services, send invoices, and write contracts so you can get your new business up and running.

Write a book, article, or blog post your clients will love. Even you've never finished a book, I will break down the process and show you exactly how to go from first page to final draft.

Ghostwriter Pro is designed to be put to use right away. You will apply what you learn instantly through assignments and exercises so you can focus more on writing and building your ghostwriting business and less on learning useless facts.

Learn on your phone. Each lesson is available on both your computer and smartphone. You can even download the lessons to listen to in your car or on a run.

Unlimited access. Keep access to the course for a full year, including any updates and upgrades.

This is the Beta Version

I've never taught this course online before. In fact, I've only taught this material to a few other people. That's great news for prospective students, because for Beta students, I'm offering a few special incentives for your help in partnering with me on this course:

1. Half-Off the Full Price

As beta students, you will get half-off the full price of the course. That means you'll save hundreds of dollars while getting more personal attention from me.

2. Your Input Will Help Shape the Course

While I have content already planned out for Ghostwriter Pro, your direct input will directly shape what I teach. If you want to go deeper into one area, we'll do that. If you're struggling applying a lesson to your writing, we'll focus on it together.

3. Full Access to Upgrades and Improvements

Not only will you not have to pay full price for the course, you'll get any improvements and upgrades when I do launch the course.

Most of all, you'll be part of shaping a new program that will help writers step more fully into their vocation. How does that sound?

There are three other reasons you should take this course:

If you want to become a writer, this course is the help you've been looking for.

Ghostwriter Pro is the fastest, easiest way to build a lifestyle around writing.

I want to make sure this isn't just another online course about writing, but an investment in your career as a writer (and one that pays off quickly).

So I'm making this guarantee:

If you don't have a ghostwriting client within three months after taking this course, I'll have a one-on-one phone call with you to help you figure out what you need to do to start your ghostwriting business. My time is worth over $100 an hour, but you'll get it for no extra cost.

PLUS, if you do what I say and still don't have a ghostwriting client a year after taking this course, I'll give you a full refund.

In other words, I want to make sure this course is an investment that pays you back and more.

No other online course shows writers how to:

Find people who are desperate to get their message out into the world, and are willing and able to pay you for help

Easily capture your new client's main ideas and voice using the latest technology and processes

Finally do what you've always wanted to do and become a full-time writer