Have you heard the term ‘ghostwriter’ and wondered what they do or who they work with? Although it sounds mysterious, ghostwriting is actually a very simple agreement where an individual or company hires a writer to create a work that will be owned outright by the buyer. The buyer is not required to give credit to the writer and is even allowed to claim authorship.
Many people who are looking to put their knowledge, experience or stories into print find that using a ghostwriter eases the process. The ghostwriter uses his or her talents to put your information or research into an engaging and informative publication. Ghostwriters are frequently used for business writing as well as for the creation of books for publication or for personal use.
Is ghostwriting legal?
Ghostwriting has been around a long time. Some of the most influential leaders have used others to write their speeches or even autobiographies. Ghostwriters do not hold any copyrights to the finished work. This is also known as a ‘work-for-hire’ arrangement.
Some individuals will list the ghostwriter in the credits or even indicate clearly that the written piece is “by So-and-So as told to So-and-So”. This gives credit to the talents of the writer while still giving prominence to the source or creator of the piece. However, this constitutes a very small number of instances and is not required for legal purposes unless agreed to in the contract.
As a special note, ghostwriters are often illegal for use in preparing school papers (in the same manner as plagiarism is an offence). It is also a concern when a legal or medical professional assigns his or her name to a document without having a significant role in its creation or content.
Do YOU need a ghostwriter?
Many small business owners find that time restraints and lack of writing ability eventually lead them to considering the assistance of a ghostwriter. With the development of business on the internet even more individuals need ghostwriting services from time to time.
The internet is based on written information. Special talent is needed to convey your information clearly or to create readable books (or ebooks) for your customers or visitors. By passing this job to a qualified ghostwriter you may save time and increase profits or customer satisfaction by providing your information in a professional and engaging manner.
How much does ghostwriting cost?
Ghostwriting fees can vary dramatically depending on your source. There are several freelance websites where you can post your projects to be bid on by the writers. Users of this service hold differing opinions on the quality of work that can be purchased from these sites. Some individuals will warn you that paying low costs may result in low quality work or service.
That does not mean that you cannot find a ghostwriter for a reasonable fee. Many aspiring writers offer their talents for hire and you may find an excellent writer for a decent price if you shop around. On the other hand, if you are working with a specialized topic you may need to pay more for the services of a writer who has experience in that field.
Many ghostwriters follow similar pricing guidelines as used for hiring an author in the traditional sense. You will find it beneficial to check out several sites for an idea of the cost of your project.
How do you find a ghostwriter?
There are many sources online for finding ghostwriters. Whether you attempt to hire a freelance writer from a bidding site (like elance.com), from a personal website or from a ghostwriting service site, references may be hard to come by because of the nature of the work. You may also find it difficult to view samples for obvious reasons.
The best way to determine if a ghostwriter can fulfill your needs is to read some self-published works by the writer. Examples of style and credibility may be obtained from other published works without the need of testimony from the ghostwriter’s clients. If you are working on a large project it is wise to spend some time in correspondence with the writer to discern if you communicate well together.
If you plan on using a ghostwriter on a regular basis you may wish to develop a relationship with a freelancer as opposed to using a ghostwriting service from a company who manages the relationship for you. What you choose to do is ultimately based on your needs and preferences.
You are hiring talent, just as you would when hiring an interior decorator or event planner. Taking the time to find the writer that can fulfill your visions and put help put your thoughts into writing is worth the extra effort.
Shannon Emmanuel is an Author and freelance writer (ghostwriter). She helps businesses like yours. Find out more at http://assistant-for-hire.com.
I invented the concept of ‘Dynamic Range’ in public speaking to help you improve your versatility as a business presenter, and to help you pick appropriate audiences for your skill and interest level (Did he say ‘pick’ my audiences?). Yes, I did say pick your audiences.
Some of you may not have this luxury because you must speak as part of your job, but those of you that do, will move up faster in the speaking world. When you are a beginning public speaker it is important for you to experience different types of audiences just FOR the experience. You will find that you enjoy certain types of audiences more than others, and certain types of audiences enjoy you more too. As you climb the public speaking ladder where the audiences are bigger, or more important to your career, and the stakes are higher, you must learn to just say no.
Most top public speakers don’t accept every request to speak even if they are available, and the money is right. They pick their speaking engagements to put themselves in front of audiences whose profiles indicate the greatest chance of success. If you are a highly technical presenter, you would not want to be speaking to a widget sales group at their annual retreat. Conversely, as a really fun retreat facilitator, you would not want to be speaking to a group of radar technicians who are only interested in performance data of the latest missile protection system.
You knowledge of your own Dynamic Range when speaking in public will help you learn to pick your audiences and how to expand your abilities so you are capable of handling a wider range of audiences.
I based the concept of Dynamic Range in public speaking on the same concept that is used to rate stereo equipment. Dynamic range in the electronics world means the ability to reproduce soft sounds as well as loud ones. I have expanded on this to include several other parameters that are important to a speaker. These include:
* Serious/Outrageous Content,
* Slow/Fast Speed of Delivery,
* Slurred/Articulate Diction,
* Stationary/Animated Movement, and
* Audience Needs.
The first step to use this system is to evaluate yourself on each parameter. Many people have trouble with this, so it might be time to call in an objective third party like a coach or other accomplished presenter to watch you present or to review several of your tapes. Try to avoid using friends for this initial evaluation because they will be reluctant to tell you the truth.
Quick Fixes
Here are some ways you can increase your range in a hurry.
* If your material is all serious, add some that is lighthearted and vice versa.
* If you always speak softly, speak loudly sometimes and vice versa.
* Always work to improve your diction, but allow it to falter in front of less articulate audiences.
* If you always stand still, move sometimes and vice versa.
If you have the option, pick audiences that give you the greatest chance of success.
Copyright © 1998 - 2005 Advanced Public Speaking Institute
Tom Antion provides entertaining speeches and educational seminars. He is the ultimate entrepreneur, having owned many businesses BEFORE graduating college. Tom is the author of the best selling presentation skills book “Wake ‘em Up Business Presentations” and “Click: The Ultimate Guide to Electronic Marketing.” It is important to Tom that his knowledge be not only absorbed, but enjoyed. This is why he delivers his speeches laced with great humor and hysterical jokes. Tom has addressed more than 87 different industries and is thoroughly committed to his clients’ needs. http://www.antion.com
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Hitching a Ride on Current Events
by Paul J. Krupin
Current events do present opportunities for media coverage. To see whether you can get involved requires you to analyze what you have and quickly identify what you can bring to the table that the media needs. Obviously you do not want to be scene as an ambulance chaser. But there are ways to get out in front of the news, regardless of what happens.
If you think about what media does in response to an event, they go through several stages of activity. Break these stages down and identify specifically what these activities involve.
On any event of note the media needs:
- relevant facts and explanation to provide insights into what this event means to the watching public
- expert commentary with an ability to assess and relate history and the past to the present and the future
- analysis of impacts and consequences
- opinion on what individuals, organizations and cognizant governments should or shouldn’t do
- evaluation of developing trends and consequences
- prevention, protection, remeditation or financial protection ideas and strategies and remedies for the people involved directly or the next touched and the support network for both.
If you can clearly identify and then flesh out your ideas and credentials, you can send a fax or email and draw attention to yourself and offer to provide the information to the media for their use.
The real key is to not look backward but look forward. The actual news releases you write do need to contain some key information. Successful event follow-up news releases:
1. Have a short and to the point headline
2. they clearly state what, when, where, why, and how the ideas benefit the targeted impacted group of people
3. it also clearly states why the information is of interest to the media audience.
4. Provide a quick, solid, easy to use statement of facts, issues, analysis points, conclusions, questions and answers, talking points, or whatever it is you have to offer.
5. Presents your credentials quickly, which qualify you as an expert worth trusting.
6. Provides clear contact information (name, phone and email) that allows for quick booking of the interview.
7. Offers the media more free additional information quickly (review copies, white papers, pdf files, etc by web site, e-mail, fax, overnight).
You should send out your news release as soon as you can after the event occurs because the clock is running once the event starts.
One key guerrilla tactic, once an event occurs, is to create a likely timeline whereby you predict what will happen over time, and identify the key events and opportunites for your timely intervention. Then you pitch
and let the media know what’s going to happen.
For the Sunday tsunami and tidal wave situation, an expert in waterbourne diseases would be able to get out in front of the media needing this expertise simply because it can be calculated when the threat of disease
will happen and when the media will need the help. The need arises two to three days after the event. What’s next? What else will the media need by Friday? Sunday? Day 12 through 15?
The timeline allows you to factor in the lead time appropriate for the type of media you want to focus on.
The real key to recognize if you are going to try to jump on a current event, is that while your news release responds to something that just happened, you must not propose something that for the media is simply too late. If they already are covering it a certain way, then you can’t propose something similar. You can’t come in with something that is behind the eight ball. You have to come in with something new.
To do this you have to get out in front of the existing current media coverage. This is the crucial issue — you have to get way out in front of what the media needs. You do this by anticipating what will happen and walking in with the proposed story idea in the nick of time. Only then will you be recognized and utilized.
To make sure that you receive appropriate consideration, you can call in to a specific editor before you send a news release. Present the idea. Then you send it and then you call and follow up with the recipient editor.
Here’s a true story.
Several years ago, cult deprogramming expert Mary Alice Chranalogar wrote a book called Twisted Scriptures. One week in March a cult group in Texas announced that God was coming on a spaceship and was going to take all the followers away in two weeks time.
To Mary Alice and family members, this news was a clear signal that mass suicides were being contemplated. Mary Alice had me send out a news release to the Texas and southern media. The headline: Heaven’s Gate Suicides Can be Stopped.
A media circus resulted in Garland Texas that day, and the leader of the cult under significant media pressure caved in, came to the podium and publically acknowledged he was a fraud. Many many cult members were saved and successfully reuinted and returned to their families. The psychological bondage that held the victims was broken.
Remember that as with any other news release, you’ve got thirty seconds to communicate that a large number of people in the audience will be interested in the topic. With radio and TV you’ve also got to indicate
that you will be a great guest. The body of your news release must emphasize the words that create audio or visual word pictures so that the producers can imagine what the show would sound like or look like.
When you contact the media you must quickly develop an accurate understanding of who the audience is. Ask the media about their audience and the demographics of the population. If you know who the audience is
you can figure out what they will be interested in and you can pitch and emphasize the aspects that will interest the biggest audience possible.
So every day, pay attention, think about what is happening, and then think about the consequences of what is happening. If this happened today, then what will it result in two or three days from now.
Then think about what you can do to help people to the problem that is coming.
If you find yourself with the ability and interest in helping people like this, please contact me and I’ll help you get in contact with the people that matter.
Regards all,
Paul J. Krupin Targeted Publicity, Copywriting, Strategies & More …
Direct Contact 1-800-457-8746 509-545-2707
http://www.imediafax.com Paul@Imediafax.com
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About the Author
Creator of IMEDIAFAX, The Internet to Media Fax Service, Publicist and author of “Trash Proof News Releases”.