A TALE OF TWO TRENDS FOR THE WRITING PROFESSION
Much like the media and publishing industries we are symbiotically connected to, the writing profession has undergone its own existential upheaval over the last several years — in our case what might be called a Dickensian disruption.
To many established journalists and authors, it seems like the worst of times. Thanks to the seismic shocks to the news media business model, thousands upon thousands of experienced reporters and editors have either been laid off or driven out by by the fallout from all the cost-cutting and related stresses. And due to the rapidly changing economics of book publishing, which have dramatically deflated the size of advances, a large share of writers who once made a living producing books can no longer do so.
Yet for our community of writers for hire — ghostwriters, speechwriters, content marketing pros — it seems like the best of times. The democratization of publishing across all platforms, combined with the massive premium being placed on thought leadership across most industries, has resulted in an explosion in demand for our services. And correspondingly, a major spike in compensation for our services, with a large share of ghostwriters earning six figures per book project.
We at Gotham Ghostwriters have had a front row seat to this tale of two trendlines. Not a week goes by where we don’t receive at least 2-3 emails from displaced journalists and dissatisfied authors who are eager and/or desperate to learn how to get into the ghosting game. They typically have heard through the writer grapevine that ghostwriting presents a great opportunity to leverage their skills and diversify their income, but they have no idea where to start.
That was the inspiration for GHOSTMASTERS, the new professional development program we launched last month. Instead of reactively trying to help writers navigate this evolving marketplace one by one, we thought we could better serve our community by proactively sharing our expertise in a series of online courses about how to launch and grow a ghostwriting practice that would be accessible to anyone in the world.
One of the things that makes GHOSTMASTERS unique is its singular focus on the business side of ghostwriting. We did a survey of the marketplace, and the few educational programs offered to aspiring ghosts are mostly craft-oriented – how to do the work. There was nothing primarily designed to help writers get into the field and step up their game. Our program was created to fill this void.
What truly sets GHOSTMASTERS apart is the masters part – the collection of leading experts in the field we have assembled to lead our classes. Unlike the few existing ghostwriting courses online, which are taught by individuals, our program is built like a university – Boo U, as we like to call it – with a diverse group of instructors who have developed best-in-class expertise in the different facets of running a successful ghostwriting practice, from marketing to negotiating to client management.
The series will begin this fall with Ghostmasters 101: How to Break Into the Business of Ghostwriting, an introductory course for professional writers who are looking to make the leap into collaborations.
If you or people you know are ghost-curious, you can learn more about GHOSTMASTERS and register here.
