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Ghostwriting 101: What Do Prospective Clients Really Want? · The Daily Writer

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Hey friends, welcome back to the Profitable Writer Podcast.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new here, my name is Kent Sanders.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm an author and a ghostwriter, and this is the show that helps you grow your impact and income as a writer.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: So, as I mentioned in last week's solo episode, the number one question that people ask me about is ghostwriting.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Writers who are looking to build their career oftentimes ask me how to get started, what's needed to build a ghostwriting business, how much money you can make, how to land clients, and lots and lots more questions.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: And last week I shared why ghostwriting, I believe, is a really fantastic business for writers.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: So if you haven't listened to that episode, I really encourage you to go back and check it out because I go into all the reasons why I believe this is one of the very best business models for writers.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now, today I want to dive into the question of what perspective clients really want from us.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I think this is a key question that oftentimes gets overlooked in this whole conversation about how do you build a writing business or even the more granular question of how do you become a ghostwriter.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: So over the next few weeks, I'm going to tackle questions about experience and credentials, questions about, as I mentioned, money, signing clients, how to get started, and things like that.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: However, the one thing that stops a lot of writers before they even get started is the fear that they're not qualified to be a ghostwriter.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: But the problem is that if you get consumed by this question of, do I have the right credentials and am I qualified to become a ghostwriter, if you get consumed by those kinds of questions, you're going to miss a far more important question, which is why would somebody want to hire you in the first place?
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: And let's look at it from this angle.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Like any business, ghostwriting can be boiled down to solving a problem for a client or a customer.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that's all that business is, really.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's simply problem solving.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why we've got to start with this question of what a client wants in the first place.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: And again, this is really important because what the client wants is not what you always perceive that they want.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, let me pause and let me say that again because this is a really important point, and I don't want you to miss it.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: What the client wants is not always what you perceive they want.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Here's what I mean by that.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Let me explain myself a little bit.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Many ghostwriters, especially in the beginning stages of their career, assume that clients are mainly looking at the ghostwriter's background and whatever kinds of credentials they can find in that ghostwriter's background.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, the ghostwriter is worried about what they're going to look like on paper to a prospective client.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now, even though a lot of people who are hiring ghostwriters, they do talk to several people in search of the right one, and by the way, they should.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: They're not just looking at credentials, they're not just looking at who looks good on paper.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because the service that you perform as a ghostwriter is very different than the service that other professionals perform, let's say like a plumber or a mechanic.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: And let me explain what I mean by that.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Those trades are mostly what I would call task-based.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: You're not really too worried if you have a great personal rapport or a relationship with those professionals because let's be honest, you're mostly interested in whether they can do the task for you.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: And you're not as interested in whether they can emotionally tune into your story or whether they're a good listener and things like that.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Now that's not to say that trust and personal rapport with those people is not important because it definitely is.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: But the relationship that you have with those kinds of service providers in your life is, again, let's be honest, it's mostly based on whether they can fix XYZ problem for you and how much does it cost for them to fix that problem.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Ghostwriting clients, however, are typically looking for something different from their engagement with you.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Most of the time, they're entrusting you with their personal story or some kind of business framework or an idea that they have been thinking about typically for years.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Now, are they interested in whether you can do the work?
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Do they want to know if you've done writing before?
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Do they want to see some kind of validation that you're a legit writer?
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, of course.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: And they should because you know they're paying for your services and those are things that they should be able to resolve in their mind.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: But most ghostwriting clients are equally as interested in whether they can trust you and what kind of relationship that they can have with you.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, ghostwriting is not just a task-oriented business, it's also a high trust business.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: People are trusting you with their story and their ideas because those things are really, really precious to them.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: So in your interactions with prospective ghostwriting clients, it's important that you communicate that you're an empathetic person who's a good listener, that you're somebody who can be trusted, that you're somebody who will show up to calls on time and deliver your work on time and do it without complaining and do it with a sense of joy and a sense of purpose.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you want to be the kind of person that they feel like is going to make their business or their life more successful.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: And that's really, really important because the kind of person who typically hires a ghostwriter is somebody who doesn't want more drama in their life.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: They're really busy, they're typically really successful because they can afford to hire a ghostwriter.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: And they're a person who does not want to be babysitting a ghostwriter and always having to follow up and dealing with a lot of personal drama and that kind of stuff.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: So this is a really, really important point, and I feel like I kind of keep saying this in different ways, but you have to be a person who's joyful and happy, and you have a good attitude, and most of all, that you're easy to work with.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, ghostwriting clients are busy people, and they wouldn't hire you if they had the time to write the book by themselves.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: So ultimately, they're entrusting you to solve a problem that's really important to them and to also do it in a way that makes their life easier and more pleasant.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Every single time that I get on a call with a prospective ghostwriting client, without fail, the number one thing that I emphasize to them is not that I'm a good writer and I have all this experience and I can do this or that.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: The number one thing that I want them to come away with is that my goal as their ghostwriter is to make the process as fun and as easy as possible for them.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: And oftentimes I use the phrase, my job is to make your life easier.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, I use that phrase in a lot of different circumstances and situations in life, uh, whether it's editors that I'm working with or publishers or agents or uh partnerships of some kind.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: I always want people to feel like, hey, Kent is here and because Kent's involved in this thing or whatever that thing is, it's gonna go better because Kent is here and he shows up with a good attitude.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: He shows up on time, he overdelivers, and he just makes things better because of who he is.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's how you want to show up in life.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: I think no matter what your job is, or no matter whether you're a ghostwriter or an editor or uh freelancer of some kind or in your role as a spouse or a parent or a friend or community member or whatever your role is in any given situation, we want people to come away with the idea that, man, this situation is better because that person was involved in it.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, isn't that really kind of the ultimate thing here?
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: So what I'm really talking about is not it's not even so much of a way that we show up as a ghostwriter, it's a way that we show up in life.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: And this is not something you can fake.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like you can't be a jerk as a as a husband or a wife, you can't be a jerk as a parent, you can't be a jerk as a friend or in other realms of your life, and then show up and be like this, really sweet and caring and empathetic ghostwriter.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: I I think that's just that's horrible when people show up on life that way.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: So if you struggle with sort of being a person who shows up with joy, and if you have trouble like empathizing with people and really being a good listener, like those are life skills.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Those are not just ghostwriting skills, those are overall life skills that we need to have to be good humans.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: And my goodness, I don't do this perfectly.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to at all give the impression like I have this all figured out and I'm Mr.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Perfect in this.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: I do think that most of the time, that is what I that's what I strive to show up as.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: I don't get it right every time.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: But on the whole, I think that most people who interact with me would say that, hey, Kent shows up and he has a good attitude and he's uh he's a good listener and um you know he overdelivers and he brings quality to whatever he does.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like most of the people that I interact with uh would say that about me.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: At least I hope that they would.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: That's definitely my goal.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I want that for you too.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: I really, really do.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: So when you use phrases in ghostwriting and in life, like, hey, my job is to make your life easier, when we talk like that, that communicates to people that we understand them and we appreciate the fact that they're busy and that they're important.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: Now, even though as ghostwriters or as writers or freelancers or whatever we do, even though our job, quote unquote, might be writing books and other content for people, our real business, when it gets right down to what we do, our real business is making people's lives easier by giving them happiness or by relieving a pain point that they have.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: That's really what our business is.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Writing just happens to be the thing that we do, that's the service that we deliver specifically.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: But every business should be concerned with delivering joy and happiness or relieving some kind of a pain point.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: And if you can do both things at once, that's even better.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: And the cool thing is that we can do both of those things at once as ghostwriters and um as people who are providing any kind of writing or book-related service, really, because a happy client is a person who comes away with a book that changes their life or business for the better, but you're also saving them countless hours because they didn't have to struggle through writing that book themselves.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: So, in other words, as a ghostwriter, you're giving them this really cool pleasure of having a book that tells their story or shares their framework or does whatever they want it to do.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: So you're giving them a lot of pleasure, but you're also saving them from countless hours of torturous pain because they didn't have to struggle through writing that book.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I understand that, okay, if you're listening to this podcast, you probably are a writer.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're listening to this episode in particular, you're probably interested in ghostwriting.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: So writing probably comes natural to you, right?
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: When I sit down to write something, the writing typically comes pretty easy to me.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um I I've never really, to be honest with you, I've never really kind of understood the writers who talk about writing as if it's like this constant slog of of things, and it's like they've got to put forth all this like really emotional effort just to write like a couple hundred words or something.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Now, there are times I think I think actually editing is a lot harder than doing the first draft because it's to me it involves a lot more emotional energy, like really refining things and trying to get the language right and all those kinds of things.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: But writing for me typically comes pretty easy.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like I can sit down and I can just let the words flow and it happens pretty fast.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's the way it is for you too.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: But remember that when you're ghostwriting for somebody, typically that person doesn't want to write their own book.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: And there are a lot of people in the world who feel like writing is difficult, it it's not easy for them.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's something that they associate with a lot of pain in their life.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: So if we can do a good job as writers, we're removing that pain from their life and they're really, really happy with this, which is really cool.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: So at the end of the day, that's what people really want.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: They want us to bring pleasure into their life, and they want us to get rid of some kind of pain because of the writing that we've done on their behalf.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: So, with that as a great foundation for what we're really talking about, as far as what we do as ghostwriters, with that as a good foundation, next week I want to dive into the experience and credentials that are going to be helpful for you as you build your ghostwriting business.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: And my thoughts on this topic might just surprise you a little bit.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in last week's episode, I mentioned that I'm considering putting together a ghostwriting course.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: Several people have actually got in touch with me already based on just a thing that I put up on my podcast, which was really cool.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I would really love to continue getting some feedback on what you'd like to see in a ghostwriting course.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're open to a quick Zoom call or a quick phone call to give me some feedback, I would absolutely love that.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: I know sometimes when you hear people say things like this on a podcast, uh, it maybe feels like they're not serious about it or they're just kind of putting it out there, but they don't really want to talk to you.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I promise you that's not the case.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: I really do want to talk to you.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I am a real person.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: I am not an AI bot, uh as you can probably tell, but you know, these days you never know what's real and what's not right.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, yes, I am a real person behind the microphone recording this, and I would love to talk to you about what you would like to see in a potential ghostwriting course.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: The way to let me know is shoot me an email at Kent at the profitable writer.com.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: Again, my email address is Kent at theprofitablewriter.com.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: Just shoot me an email and say, hey, I'd love to set up a call and share with you some ideas about what I'd like to see in a ghostwriting course.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: Something like that, and we'll set up a phone call or Zoom call at your convenience.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: And uh that'll be that.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to hear from you, seriously.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, before I go, I want to give a huge thanks to today's sponsor, Vellum.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: You've heard me talk about Vellum before because Vellum is my go-to choice for book formatting software.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: It gives you the power to build and style and preview your book and have a lot of fun while you're doing it all at the same time.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: Vellum is the go-to choice for Mac users who care about creating beautiful ebooks and print books, and they want to save a lot of time in the process.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: And the coolest part is that you can download Vellum and you can play with your books formatting as much as you want to, and you don't have to buy Vellum until you're actually ready to publish and generate those files.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: And when you do that, Vellum creates ebooks for every platform that you need to upload your book to.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: If you want to download Vellum for free, go to trivellum.comslash daily.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's trivellum.comslash daily.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, as always, my friend, thanks so much for listening, and I will see you next time.