ghostwriting

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Turning a Speech Into a Book

121515-MicI’m always teaching that you don’t have to start from square one to create the content for your book – you can and should start from within your own materials to create the book.

What I hear a lot of people teaching and preaching is to RECORD you speaking your book, have it transcribed, and make THAT into your book.

Great idea!

Except…

Have you ever actually READ a transcript? Like a word-for-word transcription of a lecture or interview?

It’s NOT easy reading! I have a client who leaves me audio recordings to use as the materials for her articles – and she’s used to “writing” this way and they’re STILL hard to read as a word-for-word transcription.

Which means that a transcription is a great place to start at for materials for your book, but it isn’t a book.

Let me say that again: don’t think you can just slap a cover on a transcription and call it a book!

You can't just slap a cover on a transcript & call it a #book! Click To Tweet

Here’s a word-for-word transcription from this client:

All of that sounds nice on the outside and like I said I’m not going to waste either of our time and energy talking about whether or not it should or should not be that way but here’s the important thing to remember, regardless of the criteria and regardless of the regulations, promotions really come down to a couple of things and most of us already know that at the end of the day promotions have very little to do with job performance.

Wow! And that’s just ONE sentence of a transcription!

  • Is it easy to read? – No.
  • Is the point she’s driving at immediately clear? – Nope.
  • Is there really juicy stuff in there? – Yes!
  • Is it easy to pick out and put into practice in your life? – Not so much.

Keep Reading!

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It’s Your Business – 3 Steps to Tell the World!

When is the last time you actually TOLD people what it is that you do? I’m asking because I had an eye-opening experience at a business retreat this past weekend when a friend of mine purchased a book publishing package.

And not from me.

Before I got my blood pressure up, I thought about it. This is a real friend so if she’s not buying from me, I must be doing something wrong. So what was I missing?

Do your #clients know what you offer them? 3-part challenge to tell them! Click To Tweet

When I asked her about it, it turns out, she thought I only did marketing copy! (Which I really only do for selective clients!)

Wow. Talk about an eye opener!

I realized I needed to step up my game and make sure that I’m conveying what I do – the transformation I offer – clearly. And to make sure that I keep telling people so it doesn’t get confused!
Keep Reading!

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What Is an Intuitive Ghostwriter?

One of my expert titles is “Intuitive Ghostwriter” – which means that I have a 6th sense about your writing. It’s an ability to tap into my intuition to channel your story, voice, and message. This comes both from years of training AND an innate gift.

When you decide to work with me as an Intuitive Ghostwriter, here’s how it works:

1. I write in YOUR voice and style

042115-GhostwriterKeyboardOf course it’s not going to be 100% perfect but you’d be surprised at how much like you the writing sounds. This is a skill that I’ve been developing for years.

The writing will sound like you BUT it will also be written using proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. For one of my ghost blogging clients, we had to make a transition from a prior ghostwriter who wrote in a choppy, uncomfortable manner. The writing sounded formal, stilted, and a bit like a non-native English-speaker was writing. Even though I KNEW this wasn’t how the client himself writes, I didn’t want to jar the readers by making too abrupt a correction. Over the course of 6 articles, we transitioned convey the author’s ideas and thoughts but in a writing style that is professional and conversational.

For me to write in your voice and style, I need to examine your writing. This means I spend serious hours reading and examining your blog, book, and newsletter – stuff you’ve written in the past.

Keep Reading!

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What Does Ghostwriting Look Like?

I received some excellent questions last week about what types of ghostwriting I offer and how I work. This is a bit different from my normal article style but I wanted to highlight exactly how I work!

090214-GhostwritingVision

1. I write in YOUR voice and style

Of course it’s not going to be 100% perfect but you’d be surprised at how much like you the writing sounds. This is a skill that I’ve been developing for years.

The writing will sound like you BUT it will also be written using proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. For one of my ghost blogging clients, we are making the transition from a prior ghostwriter who wrote in a choppy, uncomfortable manner. The writing sounded formal, stilted, and a bit like a non-native English-speaker was writing. We are making the transition to convey the “author’s” ideas and thoughts but in a writing style that is professional and conversational.

For me to write in your voice and style, I need to examine your writing. Which means I spend serious hours reading and examining your blog, book, and newsletter – stuff you’ve written in the past. The only time this falls apart is if you DON’T already have samples of your own writing; in that case, I have a great Plan B!

Keep Reading!