Ghostwriters Anonymous

Informações:

Sinopsis

For those who give a literary voice to the world

Episodios

  • GWA # 11 - Ghostwriting 101 Part 9

    29/08/2008

    Answering Listener’s Questions. Welcome to Ghostwriters Anonymous, the podcast for those who give a literary voice to the world. I am your host, Alaina Burnett. Today in the last episode of the Ghostwriting 101 series I will be answering your questions.Thank you for the questions you all have sent in. All of them were great so I am including each of them in today’s broadcast. So, let’s get started! (1) This is from Mark in San Antonio, Texas. “Can a ghostwriter also publish their own work?”Absolutely! I have dreams of being a published author myself. Most of the people who get involved in ghostwriting have the desire to get their own voices out there. Moreover, there is nothing wrong with doing both at the same time. It’s not an easy industry to break into, so it’s a good thing to have the ability to bring in money as you work on your own projects. And it’s a blessing to be able to use your writing talents to bring in that money as you work to get your name out there! If anything, I think it is

  • GWA # 10 - Ghostwriting 101 Part 8

    25/07/2008

    Formatting manuscripts and the editing process. Welcome to Ghostwriters Anonymous, the podcast for those who give a literary voice to the world. I am your host, Alaina Burnett. In today’s episode of the Ghostwriting 101 series I will be talking about the editing process.However, before we get to that I would like to add a little “p.s.” to our discussion on the writing process. The way you format and structure your manuscript is important. I always provide two versions of a manuscript to my clients, both standardized and stylized.The standardized version is formatted the way a publisher or agent would want to see it. There are countless websites out there that will give you all of the details (just Google “standard manuscript format”), but some of the specifics are Courier font, 12 point font size, plain 8.5x11 white paper, don’t justify the text, etc. While there are some agents and publishers that request something different like Times New Roman font, the vast majority want the manuscript in the standard for

  • GWA #9 - Ghostwriting 101 Part 7

    05/07/2008

    Taking on the author’s voice and the writing process. Welcome to Ghostwriters Anonymous, the podcast for those who give a literary voice to the world. I am your host, Alaina Burnett. In today’s episode of the Ghostwriting 101 series I will be talking about how to take on the author’s voice and how to begin the writing process.Now, before I go any further I want to talk about something I neglected to mention in last week’s episode on interviewing. Look at your blueprint and decide how you’re going to break up your interviews. It’s not like you’re going to have your author talk you through the entire book in one sitting, so separate the meetings by chapters, parts, or any other way that makes sense to you. Then, after each meeting make sure to make your transcript and go ahead and get writing. That way if you need more information on a certain topic, you can ask for more detail at the next meeting. You can also show your client what you have completed at each meeting so they can make sure it’s coming together t

  • GWA #8 - Ghostwriting 101 Part 6

    28/06/2008

    Conducting client interviews. So, you know the old saying “when it rains it pours”? That’s definitely how I feel right now. Last Monday a hard drive on my nice new computer decided to fail. Luckily I had time to get most of my files that I hadn’t transferred over to my external hard drive. As you can probably tell from the lack of music, the intro was not one of those files. So, next week you’ll be hearing some brand new music. To cut a long story short, I didn’t get my computer back until last Friday and I had a lot of work to catch up on. So, once again I have to apologize for leaving you all hanging. Trusting that no other catastrophes are going to take place in the near future, we should be back on schedule now.So, let’s get to business. I decided that I was trying to cram way too much into this short little podcast so I am dividing up the next topic. Today we will be talking about conducting interviews. Next week I’ll be discussing the writing process and how to take on the author’s voice.First, let’s ta

  • GWA #7 - Special Episode #1

    14/06/2008

    Dealing with trauma or grief. I’m taking a bit of a detour from the Ghostwriting 101 series this week, but we’ll be back on schedule next week with a discussion on how to conduct interviews, how to begin the writing process, and how to take on the author’s voice.So, where do I begin? Back in April my Mom started feeling ill and she thought she just had the flu. Well, weeks went by and she was only getting worse so I finally convinced her to go to the doctor. Well, the doctor immediately sent her to the hospital and the doctors in the emergency room immediately began to prepare her for surgery. It turned out that she did not have the flu and actually had a blockage in her intestine. She ended up spending 5 days in the hospital.She’s doing very well now and is taking it easy as that nice 5 inch incision from her belly button up heals. This was easily the most traumatic thing I have ever gone through. My Mom is not just my Mom…she’s my best friend. I knew what to expect as far as what she would be going

  • GWA #6 - Ghostwriting 101 Part 5

    10/05/2008

    In today’s episode of our Ghostwriting 101 series we will be talking about the writing process. Now obviously, a topic like this can’t be covered in one podcast so I will start with a discussion on what every ghostwriter needs before beginning a book project: a blueprint.A blueprint is basically a collection of the information you’ll need in order to work on the project. Of course the information you need will depend on how involved your client is going to be during the writing process and the genre of the book. If your client is going to stay involved, you can be much more flexible when putting together the blueprint and writing the book. However, if your client plans on having you write the rough draft completely on your own, it is essential that you gather as much information as you can.I have three sections in my blueprints. First, I talk to my clients about the purpose of their book. Why are they are writing it? What do they want the reader to walk away knowing or understanding?Secondly, I talk to them a

  • GWA #5 - Ghostwriting 101 Part 4

    02/05/2008

    In today’s episode of our Ghostwriting 101 series we will be talking about how to promote yourself and find clients.The first step is to find your niche. Take some time and think about the things that you love to do, the books you love to read, the television shows or movies you love to watch, etc. This will aid you in figuring out what kind of clients you should seek out. For me, I have found that my niche is Christian writers, specifically pastors. All of the writers I have worked with so far have fallen into that category. However, I also have a secondary niche because of my bachelor’s degree in politics and interest in history. Any client looking for a fiction or non-fiction book about politics or history would fit in perfectly for me. So, don’t be afraid to have several specialties.However, you should find one main niche that you will focus most of your attention to. So, if you find yourself watching countless reruns of Law & Order, consider specializing in writing crime dramas or non-fiction crimina

  • GWA #4 - Ghostwriting 101 Part 3

    26/04/2008

    Today we will be continuing our Ghostwriting 101 series with a discussion about contracts. We will talk why they are important and the basic things that every contract should include.I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a contract with every client, no matter how small the project is. I don’t know a single ghostwriter who will work without one. Think of the contract as protection. It will shelter you from being taken advantage of. No matter how well you know your client or how trustworthy you think they are, a contract is essential.I personally have not had to take a client to court, but I have friends in the business who have. If they had not signed a contract before beginning the project, it is likely that they would not have been paid for their services.There are contract templates that can be purchased online, but many ghostwriters go to a lawyer to have them draft a standardized contract that can be used for each client. Some ghostwriters I know have even written their contracts on their ow

  • GWA #3 - Ghostwriting 101 Part 2

    19/04/2008

    Today we will be continuing our Ghostwriting 101 series with a discussion on how much ghostwriters should charge and the things every ghostwriter should know before accepting clients.One of the first questions that people ask me when they say they are considering becoming a ghostwriter is how much they should charge. It’s especially difficult for people who are just starting out because they don’t want to charge so much that they don’t get clients, but don’t want to charge so little that they are not being properly compensated. There are a few basic ways that you can charge your clients. You can either come up with a set price list, for example $20,000 for a book, regardless of the details of the project or you can charge per page, per hour, or per word.I personally use the “per page, per hour, per word model.” When writing a book, I charge anywhere from $50 to $100 a page, depending on the project. If a client comes to me with a partially completed manuscript, the price is closer to $50 a page. The reason fo

  • GWA #2 - Ghostwriting 101 Part 1

    12/04/2008

    In this first episode of the Ghostwriting 101 series I will be discussing what ghostwriters are and what they do. I think the best way to begin is to give you an example of someone who isn’t a ghostwriter. A ghostwriter is not…I repeat…IS NOT…a person who writes about ghosts! Now of course if you become a ghostwriter and are hired by a client who pays you to write a story about ghosts, well, then you would be a ghostwriter writing about ghosts. But I cannot stress enough that ghostwriters are not necessarily fascinated with haunted houses, cemeteries, etc. You have no idea how many times I have had to explain that. If you decide to become a ghostwriter you will inevitably have this conversation pretty much every time you introduce yourself to a group of people. And of course be ready for the jokes. “You’re a ghostwriter…but I can see you!” Or “wow, I’ve never met a ghost before, yet alone one who can write!” Be prepared because it never fails. Whenever I go to a gathering of any kind and tell people what I do

  • Introductions

    05/04/2008

    Welcome to Ghostwriters Anonymous, the podcast for those who give a literary voice to the world. I am your host Alaina Burnett. In this inaugural episode of the podcast I will be introducing myself and giving you a rundown of what to expect in future episodes.So, let’s get to it. I’m sure some of you are thinking, who is this person and why should I listen to what she has to say? Well, this is where things get a bit interesting because I cannot give you the same kind of resume that others can. This is for an obvious reason…I’m a ghostwriter! I lurk behind the scenes, toiling on book after book, while the people who pay me get the credit. I sign confidentiality agreements with all of my authors, so sadly the best I can do is tell you that I have 1 book that has been published, 1 that is about to go to press, 2 in production, and 4 in negotiation. That’s not bad for a relative newbie.After graduating from college in 2006 I immediately began to make plans for my first novel. You see, when I’m writing in my own v