Ghostwriting Novels - The Perfect Home Based Business
By Mario P. Churchill
Have you ever dreamed of being like JK Rowling, Steven King or Danielle Steel? Each of
these individuals make tons of money romping through their imaginations as they create
fascinating novels. Well, if you form a home based business around ghostwriting, you can
be just like them. You may not get their fame, but you will get their salaries as a
ghostwritten novel of 250 pages starts at an astounding $20,000.
So, how exactly can you form a home based business around ghostwriting? First, you will
need a portfolio. This is an essential element of any home based business. This portfolio
should contain your resume, contactable references and most importantly previous novels
you have written and published.
Ghostwriters who find the most success for their home based business tend to have already
been picked up by a major publishing company. But if you haven't been able to do that,
don't worry. You can still make a portfolio for your ghostwriting business by using a
print-on-demand service. These are companies that will publish your book at a nominal fee.
If someone would like to purchase your book, the print-on-demand company would then do
what is necessary to offer them a printed copy. Although this is not as prestigious as
getting recognition from a "regular" publishing company, it still shows that you have the
capacity for completing a novel.
The next thing you will need to if you want to make a home based business around
ghostwriting is to create a website. This can be done through a word processor, HTML
editor or through templates provided with a web hosting company. Of these alternatives you
will find that it is easiest if you use a web hosting company. All you really have to do
is type in your information, and within less than an hour, you will have a home based
business site.
And when it comes to the information you use on your site, it doesn't have to be
elaborate. Just include the following elements: samples of your work, links to where your
published material can be bought, testimonials and most importantly pricing. Many
ghostwriters neglect to put pricing information on their site because they fear it will
drive customers away. But your potential customers will have a lot of appreciation for you
if you put that info upfront for them, since it saves them the time of making an extra
inquiry. If your prices are incredibly high, list what your fee is per hour or per page
rather than per novel. This way consumers with less money may still consider you for
partial ghostwriting projects.
Once your website is up, you will need to market your new home based business. The best
way to do this is by targeting individuals who are rich, (those making six figure
salaries). These are the markets that are more likely to be able to pay the $20,000 plus
fee for a ghostwritten novel. To market to these individuals you will need to do a bit of
sleuthing. You can start by driving around the "rich" communities in your area. Have a
passenger take not of the addresses.
You now have what you need to embark on a direct mail campaign. When you create your
postcard, try to appeal to a person's sense of self-actualization by emphasizing the fame
and fortune they can get by publishing a novel. However, keep in mind that even for the
rich $20,000 is pricey, especially if the ghostwriter is not well-known. So you may have
to send out 1,000 direct mails before you see anything. But it only takes a handful of
leads to get you a salary that could last you the rest of the year.
Mario Churchill is a freelance author and has written over 200 articles on various
subjects. For more information on a
great home based business
checkout his website today.
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