Article and Interview with Karen Cole Executive Director of Ghost Writer Writing, Inc

Hello Today I have Karen Cole Executive Director of Ghost Writer Writing, Inc. to share with us an article by Karen Cole and interview.

 Fiction is a Much Maligned Market 

 By Karen Cole

Nonfiction is what sells, they all say. Depending on whether or not you’re an atheist, where would you include the Bible in that area? It sells more copies than any other book on the face of the planet, and it’s in dispute whether it’s a work of fiction or nonfiction. Which one do you think it is? Meanwhile, another best-selling book is Lord of the Rings, and there’s no dispute as to its category: fiction. Harry Potter: fiction; Star Trek: fiction; Alice in Wonderland…etc.

So you’d think there’d be more of a genre or niche market for general, original fiction. But it does tend to be the absolute niche markets that attract fiction writers nowadays, namely steampunk, urban fantasy, cozies, chic lit, fan fiction, etc. And the last market on that brief list doesn’t usually entail professional writing. Instead, the idea is to amateur write stories based on someone else’s characters, and mostly just have fun in the process. That’s all my daughter does when she writes, add to the growing fan fiction base of work.

Is there such a thing as a real market for fiction? Since it can be hard to go through the slush piles at agenting and publishing houses, and since once you get an agent it can be slogs again to find a publisher, a lot of people think the way to go is self or independent publishing. This way at least you can get a book in hand to show to your family and friends, maybe your coworkers too, and although it’s not a best seller you did indeed get it published. Some say ebook and independent publishing is how to go about getting a fiction book published nowadays.

I’m inclined to agree. Unless you can get an “in” with a literary agent, which entails practically inhabiting writer’s workshops and parties, it’s very hard to get hold of one of those erstwhile personages. It’s doable, and there are ways, but they usually involve building relationships over time with such people. Not the easiest way to go for a new author with a new idea, who’s never, ever published any books before.

It helps to have a swami mentality, building up a “feel” for when you can find an available agent who isn’t too persnickety to listen to you, but those can be as rare as finding a pearl in an oyster at a sushi bar. Still, you can try for it, but I’m starting to like self-publishing. Agents don’t always lead to publishers – if they don’t find you one, you have to break your contract with them and start over. And their lists of demands can be outright mean, even pathetic. Try to hang in there and make contact with a particular agent if you can, but you might want to consider indie publishing.

Need help writing your stories? Try Ghost Writer, Inc. – we offer you ghost writing services, for those who are really dreaming and need to be doing when it comes to getting their work professionally written before publication. We recommend that you have a stick-to-it attitude and don’t procrastinate.

 

Ghost Writing Interview for Leigh Savage

By Karen Cole

1)  Would you please give a brief introduction to yourself?

I have been a ghost writer and editor on the Internet for over ten years, but have worked on and off as a freelance writer for some 30 years. I have a self-determined degree in journalism, creative writing and fine art, and have been measured as a genius on some creative writing tests. So I do know a good deal about ghost writing specifically and professional writing for other people in general.

2) I understand you work with a team of people. How many people are on your team, and generally what kind of services do you and your team provide?

We have over 100 writing-related workers on our ghost writing team, and a few sub-teams headed by special writers on our team as well. We provide full professional ghost writing services, including freelance writing and editing, and full book and screenplay marketing, promotions, sales and publishing or optioning assistance. We even provide ghost writing for Facebook and Twitter, as well as music ghost writing for rap, hip hop, rock and country. We do virtually all types of freelance writing and editing, too.

3) Please tell our readers something about your clients. Are many of them writers, or do they come from other occupations? 

We do get professional, published writers who want their work copy edited and proofread professionally, giving it a “second set of eyes” before publication, and we have writers on our team who have subbed for professional, well-known authors. But most of our clients are not professional authors or screenwriters. They simply have great ideas for books and scripts but don’t have the talent, the time or both in order to fully perform their projects by themselves. So they hire a ghost writer or editor, who finishes the work for them and who does a professional, saleable and marketable job on their beloved work.

4)  I would imagine you get some well-known people asking you to write for them. I'm sure you have to keep things in confidence, but what can you tell us?

I can’t mention any names, but there have been some famous sports figures, politicians, celebrities and media figures that were in the news at some point in time that have come to us and our ghost writers needing work done on their books. We always sign an agreement with our clients guaranteeing full confidence, whenever needed. But recently, I have worked personally on a book by the daughter of the man who caught Dr. King’s killer, and also on a book about Rwanda after the 1994 genocide, by a famous Rwandan feminist. Copies of that book were given to the US State Department, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

5) I suspect some of my readers might be interested in doing some ghostwriting themselves.  How did you get started as a ghost writer? Any suggestions for others who might be interested in the field?

You can go to Ezine Articles on the Internet and use the search engine there to find Karen S. Cole. I have lots of articles at Ezine that tell you all about ghost writing and how to become a ghost writer. Mostly, you need to get some work published first as a freelance writer before you can become a ghost writer, and you will need a website with contact information displaying your services.

6) Are you bringing any new writers onto your team? Do you have any thoughts or ideas for writers who are interested in doing ghostwriting?

We aren’t currently hiring unless you are a first-rate, New York Times best-selling writer – then you can contact us. Your readers can become ghost writers fairly easily; you don’t have to have a degree or any credentials other than your own published work samples. It helps to have experience of any kind in writing and editing, so do get those writing credentials. And it does help also to have a degree in writing or some kind, such as an English degree of almost any kind.

7) When you aren't ghost writing, do you write under your own name? Any projects underway you can tell us about?

I have written dozens of articles, well over 100, on a wide variety of subjects. They have been published by national and international print and online newspapers and magazines. I also have several fiction and nonfiction stories published under my own name in online literary anthologies and magazines. Finally, I have a book, “The Rainbow Horizon”, which I’m still working on, plan to finish sometime this year and arrange to have it published sometime next year. But all of my other books and works are completely under other people’s names.

8)  Anything you wish I had asked about that I didn't? 

Not really; I’m very careful what I share with outsiders and others, and I don’t pass around our client’s names readily. I have several authors who have said I can mention that I “edited” a book when I really rewrote or ghostwrote it, or such work was done on it by one of our ghost writers, but generally I even avoid doing that as it usually reveals more information than I’m comfortable revealing. So I am extremely careful and use consideration in all cases, but this interview didn’t have me mentioning anything untoward.

Ghost Writer, Inc. - We are a freelance professional ghost writing agency that serves your needs to the best of our capabilities.

Warmly, Karen Cole

Executive Director
Ghost Writer, Inc.
www.rainbowriting.com