au·tho·r-iz·er
n. A writer who turns other people into authors;
a ghostwriter; a co-author; a contract writer.
Publish or Perish
That phrase has defined success—and survival—in academia for decades. With the advent of the Internet and the proliferation of social media, writing and publishing have become more critical than ever in business and in our day-to-day lives.
More and more often, our first contact with potential colleagues, customers, employers, and investors happens online. And in most cases, that means their first impressions are based on what we write: on our websites, our blogs, our social networking profiles, in our e-mails. So it better be good. People will forgive typos in your blog, but poor spelling or grammar on your website or in your marketing materials kills your credibility.
So what do you do if you’re not a writer and all the marketing experts are howling that you need a blog, an e-zine, a white paper, a book? What do you do about the Internet’s insatiable demand for fresh content, preferably with a nice, searchable text component? How do you meet all the other demands of running a business and find the time to write?
Now for the Good News
First, don’t panic. You don’t have to do all that writing all by yourself. Ghostwriters exist to help people like you.
Whether or not writing is your forte, your company needs you to be working on your real job—the one only you can do. So you provide the subject-matter expertise, and you hire a writer to do the writing. Or you hire an editor to bring your writing up to the standards you need to meet—and show you how to write better in the process.
That way you sleep better at night, meet your deadlines, and reach thousands of readers who would never have known how brilliant you were otherwise. (I mean, establish a global reputation as an expert so you can command high speaking and consulting fees.) Not to mention feeding the hungry search engines.
Fine, but Why Should I Hire You?
Maybe you shouldn’t. One of the most important criteria for selecting a writer is personality fit, but there are others. I’ve collected some of the qualities that make for a good working relationship on my Ideal Clients page. If you don’t think I’m the right person for the job, I don’t think I should waste your time trying to change your mind.
That said, however, what you probably want to know is something about my credentials. There are samples of my work on the different Services pages, but I’ll give you the summary so you don’t have to go hunting around the site. I’ve been writing since 1971, when I was four years old, and helping other people to write since I was nine. After spending a great number of years in academia developing language and research skills, I started my own business and began my first collaboration with a client on a book project in 2001. I’ve been working as a writer and a consultant ever since.
I’m passionately committed to conveying my clients’ personalities as well as their expertise. If you want writing that’s not just convincing, but comes straight from your heart, read on.