Writing is one of the most exciting and liberating occupations most Millenials partake in the industry. With the advent of media and internet, writers are taking the highway unicorn to prestige and lucrative prominence. Scribbling for magazines, ghostwriting for VIPs, publishing for a newspaper, and whatever form of writing it is; the faddish world of writing is unstoppable to its boom. With that being said, this revolution has influenced your career trajectory and decided to earn serious bucks as a full-time writer.
So here’s a snapshot of your career building and how ghostwriting takeover the picture.
You position yourself as a content writer after graduating with a degree in communication or journalism. You aced that ‘all-star’ LinkedIn account with a professional beaming headshot. Here you are, waiting for your first career break as a writer and you see before your eyes all the inquiries popping out on the inbox. Your adventure has just begun.
You holler with hurray! Someone just messaged you asking if you’re available to write a series of blog articles online — with big names. You’re about to confirm “yes”, but a random question from the prospect has taken you to a sudden aghast, “Hello there. Are you up with ghostwriting assistance for my business?”
There you are, bewildered as you raised an eyebrow out of confusion. Perhaps you’ve heard about ghostwriting but haven’t fully grasped the idea. Suddenly, you thought about red candles, Ouija boards, spooky whispers, and creaking doors. Geez, you realized it’s darn farfetched! How can you think about eerie elements and content writing in one sentence? Quite bizarre, isn’t it? Unless you write for horror novels or other fiction publication.
Now, going back to the subject. The opportunity of having a career break is right in front of the table waiting to be nibble, but you don’t want to foolishly ask about what ghost blogging is all about. It can both taint your credibility and get the prospect run away from you for a better catch, and you don’t want that to happen.
Okay, what really is Ghostwriting and why it is a trend nowadays?
If you take the terminologies “ghost and blogging” into a personified context, you’ll eventually get the idea that it is a form of writing where the authorship is credited to the “person” who hires you to write behind the curtains. Simply put, you write journalistic articles, fiction and non-fiction blogs, academic papers or speech text for clients to take sole credit for the body of work. If you’re reading these with utter surprise, well you just got a glimpse of what the industry is really about. Basically, ghostwriting is everywhere. However, there are still millions of people around the globe who publish originally written contents without relying on a ghostwriter — so you can now take a deep sigh if that’s what you need.
The Blatant Veracity of Ghost Writing Industry
Since the emergence of ghost platform in the writing industry, a couple of tall-tales have spread across like a wildfire pertaining its legality and work ethics. Some reviewers, including novice writers, condemned the platform as a form of blasphemy to the written body of work. The sub-sector has also become the most controversial issue and has often become a subject of argument among contemporary and rhetorical critics. The contention generally tackles the legitimacy, attribution, and even the character of those who avail and perform the service.
Aside from the aforementioned turbulence in the nature of work, ghostwriting was also questioned if it truly conceals the authenticity and expertise of the ‘front-faced-authors’. Many have argued that the measure of obscure authorship blinded the general public with superficial philosophy and knowledge from influencer who hires a ghostwriter. On the other hand, ghostwriters have strongly discredited the argument by stating the process as a general consensus to collaborate for a meaningful creative result. Moreover, professional collaboration with influencers who has the scope of the stories, but lacks writing skills can work with ghostwriters to build a portfolio is authorized. As told, it also became an avenue for writers who want to profit big time while keeping a low-key profile. The symmetry of interest was also noted as the major reason for the success of interest.
In spite of the long-standing issues and backlash, ghostwriting activities were bolstered in the market as an avenue of help to support busy professionals focus on their pursuit while solidifying their name through paid authorship. The endeavor has become more flexible since the globalization of virtual staffing. If we talk about the lucrative music industry, it was also revealed that ghostwriting for many artists are rampant since the beginning already. Crossover and underground lyricists (e.g. Sia and Ludacris) have taken their shadow scribbles on the works of today’s generation’s biggest acts. In the critical world of politics, many ghostwriters share intimate relationship with political figures to take some writing on political messages and documents. Typically, these aspects of the industry have been overlooked by the general public. But critics are keen to evaluate an insightful analysis of the spoken or published contents of these industry influencers — let it be politicians, musicians, public figures or digital marketing bloggers.
Why Noble Writers Still Accept Services of Ghostwriting?
Some people will say, “Why are you selling your legacy?”, with a puzzled face on a queue. Others even assert, “Are you happy that people are being glorified that’s supposed to be yours?”. Although, personal objectives regarding ghostwriting is divided, many people still create a career out of the practice. Professional ghost blogging sites are all over the internet; ghostwriters are being outsourced. And here are the clear snapshots why writers choose to ghostwrite and why influencers hire ghostwriters, concurrently.
For Ghostwriters
- Extraordinary Compensation – Ghostwriting is known as one of the industry brackets that pays ‘big-bucks’ to freelance or full-time writers.
- Building Network with Influencers – Expanding professional network by means of collaboration with ‘influencers’ solidifies your credibility with people. People who are known in the industry will only hire writers who can represent the perfect voice of their choice.
For Influencers/Clients
- Time Restraints – Public figures generally are very busy people. Most of them are busy attending personal pursuits and a couch moment to write original material is no longer in the picture.
- Absence of Passion and Ability – These influencers truly has the best stories to tell — the scope of their work; technical knowledge of their pursuits; and some spice of controversies. However, writing is out of their comfort zone and the process can be exhausting and indifferent for most of them.
Beyond doubt, writing industry is a diverse ocean of multifaceted talents and distinct philosophies towards the art of writing. Ghostwriting will thrive continuously and will continue to boom until the near future. Business leaders and corporate influencers have expanded their reach into the outsourcing universe, reaching out to talented ghostwriters who can delight their reputation for their pursuits. Ghostwriters will continue to capitalize on their skills-set as a medium of practicality; earning a significant paycheck and low-pitched profile, respectively. The bottom line here is that despite the circulating contention in the industry, writers and clients alike work harmoniously and productively; benefitting from each other while sharing symbiotic relationship that will last.
