What Is Ghostwriting? How to Get Paid for Letting Others Take the Credit

Everyone seems to be looking for an at-home side hustle these days. But if you’ve noticed, it feels like there are more side-hustlers than there are legit gigs and the onset of scammers with high-dollar investments is rampant. So, how do you find a legitimate work-from-home opportunity? Lucky for you, you’ve just clicked on one!

Whether you’re stuck in a job that isn’t keeping up with inflation, want to find work you can do while juggling the responsibilities of caring for your children or elderly parents, or just want to break into a field that allows you to work from home, ghostwriting may be exactly what you’re looking for in a paying gig. And if you’re up for freelance writing without taking credit, ghostwriting might just be your sweet spot for earning potential. 

What Is Ghostwriting?

At its core, ghostwriting is simply writing for which you don’t take credit. However, there’s a lot of variety within the ghostwriting field, so don’t click away just yet if the idea of someone taking credit for your work feels a bit unsavory to you. There’s more to ghostwriting than meets the eye. And it pays really (no really) well if you can find your niche.

Who Gets the Credit?

You’re probably most familiar with celebrities using ghostwriters to write and publish books. After all, they’re frequently in the news. From Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal to Millie Bobby Brown’s Nineteen Steps, many celebrities and other public figures work with ghostwriters to publish their books. In these cases, the ghostwriter handles the writing, but the celebrities claim credit for the work and their stories, and their name is listed as the author. 

In other cases, however, a group of ghostwriters may write under one name, such as Carolyn Keene and the Nancy Drew series. You also may be surprised to learn that for a significant amount of ghostwriting, no credit is given at all. The text is just there. In fact, you probably unwittingly read material online written by ghostwriters on a daily basis. That’s because businesses, from doctor’s offices to your local body shop, frequently employ ghostwriters to generate their web content. 

So if ghostwriting a book for a celebrity isn’t quite in your wheelhouse, there are plenty of business, professional, and brand-related ghostwriting opportunities out there to explore.

Types of Ghostwriting

Ghostwriters write all kinds of different content, so what you choose to work on is up to you. Find a few content areas you’re comfortable with and focus on looking for opportunities within those spaces. Here are some common types of ghostwriting:

• Books and eBooks

• Blog posts

• White papers

• Social media posts

• Speeches

• Song lyrics

• Articles

• Academic papers

• Manuals

• How-to guides

• Company emails

• Training materials

• Entertainment

Why Do People Hire Ghostwriters?

People and brands hire ghostwriters for a variety of reasons, from generating content in a shorter period of time to wanting their writing to sound more professional. However, often, the reason is simply that they aren’t writers, and if you think about it, that makes a lot of sense.

You hire a local plumber to fix your pipes and visit a doctor when you’re sick because you’re not an expert in those fields. Doesn’t it make just as much sense for people to turn to professional writers when they have an idea for a story but don’t know how to bring it to life, or when they want their business to be a success but don’t have a clue what SEO is, let alone how to use it in their blogs? As a ghostwriter, you help people overcome those hurdles.

Many professionals also hire ghostwriters because they don’t have time to do the work themselves. For instance, physicians may be perfectly capable of writing a blog for their clinic, but they’re busy with patients and paperwork. A ghostwriter can do the work of making sure their clinic ranks high in search results, leaving doctors free to prioritize and focus on their patients.

Will I Really Make Money as a Ghostwriter?

According to Cognitive Market Research, the ghostwriting industry is expected to grow by 7.4% in the United States during the next eight years. That’s pretty refreshing, considering how many other industries are in decline. It also means the potential is definitely there for you to make money ghostwriting. However, like most things in life, you get out of ghostwriting what you put into it.

The amount you make as a ghostwriter is largely dependent on the types of projects you take, your experience, how hard you work, and whether you write for an agency or own your own business. You may be paid by the hour, word, page, or project. Like other fields, you should also expect to start out at a lower rate and earn more as you gain freelance writing experience and build your portfolio. 

As a result of all this variability, what you personally make as a ghostwriter will depend on a host of factors. You may start out writing for as little as $0.01 per word on some platforms, or you could earn a six-figure salary for ghostwriting for public figures. The good news is that whether you’re looking for extra income or a full-time career, your opportunities for success as a ghostwriter are endless. 

Getting Started as a Ghostwriter

If you want to jump right in as a ghostwriter, there are plenty of online platforms where you can gain experience and make money as a ghostwriter. Some platforms, such as Textbroker and Writer Access, start out with very low pay rates but increase as your star rating improves. Others, like Fiverr and Upwork, allow anyone to post ads for freelance writers wanted, but competition there can be intense, resulting in many writers posting low prices to get work.

Alternatively, you can apply with marketing agencies that outsource their clients’ content, search for ghostwriting jobs on freelance writing job boards, or create a website and pitch clients directly. However, if you’re serious about ghostwriting, the best approach is to spend time learning the ins and outs of your target industry and honing your craft before you begin. 

Don’t worry, you don’t need to go back to college or spend years studying online. All the resources you need to get started as a ghostwriter are available right here on The Pajama Writer, so let’s get you writing! Download these easy-to-understand guides to learn on your own time, or sign up for coaching sessions with Dez for more direct support. 

Don’t forget to follow The Pajama Writer on Instagram and Facebook for more tips on how to make it as a ghostwriter!