Message from Mary Anne
Greetings:
My initial efforts to launch an association for ghost writers has resulted in a number of learning experiences, ah-ha realizations and even a few duh-I-should-have-thought-of-that smacks on the forehead for me. Except for giving myself a mild headache, I’ve appreciated everything I’ve learned so far, and the feedback I’ve received from a number of you.
What makes total sense to me is the wait-and-see approach that many of you are taking regarding your decision to join the IAPGW. Although both the need for and interest level in a ghost writers’ association exist, and the newsletter list grows steadily, charter membership has been sluggish. And I get the reasons why:
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The association is only a few weeks old. Who knows if it will still exist in three months, much less a year from now?
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While some of you have “known” me for years via WriteSuccess (http://writesuccess.com), others of you have just recently met me via Twitter or some such. Building trust takes time.
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Although I’ve mentioned upcoming teleclasses and adding new benefits, you haven’t seen those yet. You might join the IAPGW once you see more value added to it.
- Some of you are just waiting to see if other people join first.
All of these make total sense to me. And yet I am really eager to get this association off the ground—both as a service to members, and as a place where potential clients can find or post jobs for ghost writers. So, in order to begin building the IAPGW into the thriving, professional association and resource that I envision it to be, I’ve decided to 1) extend the charter membership drive deadline so that I can continue to spread the word that the IAPGW exists, and 2) make becoming a charter member even more appealing and less risky. In regard to the latter, here goes:
To everyone who joins the International Association of Professional Ghost Writers at either the professional or associate level by March 1, 2010:
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I will offer a full one year, no questions asked refund if you find that membership in the IAPGW is not for you;
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If. however, you decide to renew next year, you can do so for one additional year at charter membership rates ($75 for professional level and $45 for associate level, instead of the standard rates of $125 and $75 respectively);
- After the charter membership drive ends, I will open up a partner program only to charter members for a six-month period, in which you’ll be able earn referral fees for new members that you bring to the IAPGW. Only charter members will be eligible for this program until first of September.
These added benefits for charter members, plus the benefits listed on the site, plus my undying determination to make this the number one resource for ghost writers worldwide, are all yours—but only if you join before the first of March. This is a one-time introductory offer. So hop on over to http://iapgw.org right now and join at whichever level suits you, before you get too busy doing something else. I’ll meet you there. 
To your success,
Mary Anne Hahn
IAPGW Executive Director
Featured Article:
Should Ghost Writers Specialize?
By Mary Anne Hahn © 2010
Especially when first starting out, many writers lean towards wanting to be all things to all people. Like walking Walmarts, we think that offering the widest variety of services at the lowest possible prices is the fastest, surest way to get clients beating a path to our door.
And while it’s true that there are a lot of bargain hunters out there looking for pennies-on-the-dollar ghost written articles, ebooks and more, those of us who pursue (or want to pursue) ghost writing careers need to stop and think: what quality of life do we want to live, and what quality of writing do we want to offer? Do we really want to chase willy-nilly after every job post we see, like desperate lemmings in search of the latest food supply, or do we want to create professional reputations for ourselves and our writing?
Specialization can help us keep the willy-nillyness to a minimum, while providing us with the potential to earn top dollar for our work. After all, specialists in any field have the advantage over generalists, in that they can usually claim greater expertise and guarantee a higher quality of work. The same holds true for ghost writers.
What kinds of ways can ghost writers specialize? There are primarily three categories for specialization:
By target client base. You can decide that you want to write solely for celebrities (or, even more specifically, for famous athletes, musicians, pop culture stars or politicians). You can build a ghost writing career around writing for CEOs, doctors, scientists, war veterans, world travelers, or people who have overcome great odds. For every profession, hobby or lifestyle, there are people out there who want to share their stories and experiences.
By subject matter. Ghost writers come in many forms; some specialize in medical ghost writing, others in ghost writing about business. There are ghost writers with specialties in history, religion, politics, the environment and psychology. Others specialize in providing the voice for a specific culture or subculture. Again, even within a subject the stories are limitless and ever-changing.
By writing specialty. Last but not least, you can specialize in the types of writing services you provide. You can stick solely to article writing, or writing autobiographies, or speechwriting; you can establish a reputation as a top how-to book, memoir or family history writer. Or you can tout your blogging ability or offer to ghost tweets on Twitter. Good, reliable writers are needed for all of these.
If you really want to create a niche specialty, you can combine elements from the above categories—solely write memoirs for aging celebrities, for example, or articles for CEOs. The variety and availability of potential specialties are limited only by your own imagination, persistence and drive. It’s better than the willy-nilly route any day.
January IAPGW Poll results
What do you think is the #1 most important benefit IAPGW could provide to you?
Information how how to become a ghost writer (50%)
Information on how to market my ghost writing business (42%)
Ghost writing job leads (38%)
Interviews of successful ghost writers and how they became successful (8%)
February Poll – What kind(s) of ghost writing do you do/are you interested in doing?
Go to http://iapgw.org to post your responses!
Upcoming Events
The first IAPGW teleclass will be held in February. Stay tuned for details!
http://iapgw.org.
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Message from Mary Anne
Greetings:
I am absolutely thrilled to welcome you to this inaugural issue of “Invisible Ink,” and to the official launch of the International Association of Professional Ghost Writers.
Ever since I realized that no one organization truly existed for those of us who write for those who can’t (or just don’t), I felt that creating a ghost writers’ association was simply something I was called to do. I wanted to create a way for people who need us to find us, as well as a place where writers who want to pursue ghost writing careers can learn how to do so. For the better part of a year I plotted, planned, worked, procrastinated, moved forward, backslid, sought encouragement, studied other associations and worked some more until…here we are, week one of the IAPGW.
I have such great plans for you and this association. I want to collect and develop resources that you can use to build your writing business. I plan to bring in guest speakers that will talk to us about how to find clients, become better ghost writers, break into new markets, get referrals, and a host of other relevant topics. Last but by no means least, I will diligently work to make this association a go-to place for potential clients to find out more about ghost writers in general and us in particular.
For those of you who might consider becoming IAPGW pioneers, I have a very special offer—rather than paying annual dues of $125 for Professional Level membership or $75 for Associate Level membership, I am opening up a charter membership of $75 for Professional and $45 for Associate to the first 50 people who join or until February 12, whichever comes first. Just go to the site at http://iapgw.org and click onto the “Join/Member Benefits” page to snag your charter membership.
Again, I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to welcome you as subscribers and potential members, and look forward to our journey together.
To your success,
Mary Anne Hahn
IAPGW Executive Director
Featured Article:
Ghost Writing: The Rodney Dangerfield of Writing?
By Mary Anne Hahn © 2010
Just in case you’re thinking “Rodney Who?” let me briefly explain: Dangerfield was a stand-up comedian whose most famous routine was built around the complaint, “I get no respect,” followed by quips that supported his claim. “I get no respect,” he’d say. “I told my psychiatrist that everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous, everyone hasn’t met me yet.” (Sorry, that just cracks me up!)
So what has this got to do with ghost writing? I sometimes think that, as a profession, ghost writing just doesn’t get the respect it deserves. For example, unlike journalists, copywriters, columnists, speech writers and fiction writers, a lot of people don’t know what ghost writers actually are.
True story: when I first signed onto Twitter, I also looked into some Twitter-related sites, using the tools I thought would get me the best exposure and connections. One of them was Twellow.com, a directory of Twitter accounts where you can list yourself under relevant categories. Seeing that they had no category for ghost writers, I suggested that they create one. A short time later, someone from Twellow emailed me to let me know that, thanks to my suggestion, they created a category called Paranormal Writers. I’m not kidding.
I met with similar incomprehension when I began to tell others about the IAPGW, or when I set about to line up member benefits. Not only did I find myself trying to explain the concept of launching an association, I had to go on to describe who the association would be for. Certainly the Horror Writers Association or the Screenwriters Federation of America never struggle with explaining their membership.
Then there are the occasional controversies that arise over whether or not someone famous has written his own blog entries, tweeted her own tweets or penned his or her own best seller. From John F. Kennedy to Kanye West, from Sarah Palin to Hillary Clinton, speculation regarding what has or hasn’t been ghost written ranges from the merely curious to outright derision. But anyone who has ever seriously sat down to write a book or blog on a consistent basis would completely understand why famous people, for whom writing is not their main source of income or celebrity, might choose to enlist the services of a real writer.
Ghost writing as a profession deserves all the respect and recognition that any other type of writing receives—perhaps even more so, with the unique challenges we face and skills that it takes to succeed. But it’s up to us to educate others on the important service we provide, and remind them of how many stories, and how much information, would never have seen the light of day without us.
Until then, maybe it’s not so bad to be the Rodney Dangerfield of writing. After all, he built up quite a formidable career by getting “no respect,” didn’t he?
New Member Welcome
Celeste Stewart Professional Level Member
– Temecula, CA, USA
Remember to check into charter membership—open to the first 50 members who join or until February 12, whichever comes first!
Upcoming Events
We are currently working on lining up members only guest speakers on topics ranging from marketing your ghost writing business to how to ghost write for celebrities. Stay tuned for details in upcoming issues of “Invisible Ink,” or on the home page at http://iapgw.org.
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Welcome to the official launch of the International Association of Professional Ghost Writers.
We are truly excited to provide a place that caters to the unique needs, challenges, goals and opportunities of both working and aspiring ghost writers around the globe. While the organization is currently in its infancy, our intention is to grow this into a viable and vibrant association where ghost writers can find job leads, share successes, and acquire the information needed to create steady, successful and lucrative ghost writing careers.
The IAPGW’s newsletter, Invisible Ink, is a free e-mail newsletter that will provide information on upcoming events, links and articles of interest to ghost writers, and member news and success stories. I invite you to take a moment subscribe using the sign up form on the right side of this page, and hope that you enjoy the free report, “The Ghost Writer’s Guide to Getting More Clients,” that comes with your subscription.
Below the newsletter box you’ll find the latest IAPGW poll; we plan to update these at least monthly, and perhaps even more frequently as we go and grow. Please cast your ballot, as the information you provide will enable us to shape the association in a way that best serves our members.
We continue to work hard to add more member benefits and line up telephone interviews and teleseminars that we’ll offer free to members (non-members will be able to access the calls, too, for a fee). And as our membership grows, we will aggressively promote the IAPGW as the place people can come to find ghost writers, as well as a place to post ghost writing jobs that only IAPGW members can access (this will enable clients to receive a manageable number of qualified applicants, as opposed to the tidal wave of e-mails they receive when they post a job on Craiglist or at one of the freelance job auction sites). Professional level members will have the added benefit of being listed on our member directory, with overviews of what services they provide, what client base(s) they serve, and links back to their own Web sites.
The annual membership dues are $125 for Professional Level Membership, and $75 for Associate Level Membership–but the first 50 people who join this new association can receive a full year of benefits at the charter membership rate of $75 for one year of Professional Level membership or $45 for one year of Associate Level membership.
Please look around the IAPGW site, and feel free to send me your feedback and suggestions via e-mail at MaryAnne@iapgw.org. I truly want the IAPGW to be a tremendous resource for ghost writers of all kinds, and at all experience levels.
Looking forward to connecting with and serving you,
Mary Anne Hahn
IAPGW Executive Director