Is Ghostwriting Immoral?

Writing without a byline is a much more secure way to make a living than publishing in your own name. If fortune attracts you more than fame does, contract writing (which is writing on a particular subject without much input from your client) and ghostwriting (writing something in your client’s “voice” and which their own friends couldn’t tell wasn’t their own) should definitely be part of your freelance writing repertoire.

Of course, you may face the question I occasionally get: “Ghostwriting? Is that, you know, ethical?”

Ghostwriting in a Nutshell

From a contractual perspective, of course, ghostwriting is perfectly ethical: the writer and the author have a contract in which the writer creates anything from a short blog post to a full-length book which the author then publishes under his or her own name. The writer gets paid a nice sum of money and the author gets the creditand, if it’s a book still in search of a publisher, takes the chance that the book won’t garner a large enough advance to cover what the ghostwriter earned. The ghostwriter signs a document transferring copyright to the author, usually for additional consideration (that means money), and the author then owns all rights to the material. The ghostwriter may get an “as told to” credit on the book’s cover, or may sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement and promise never to tell anyone who really wrote that book.

Is Ghostwriting Cheating?

Unless the ghostwriter’s client is under some pre-existing contractual obligation to produce original work, both hiring and acting as a ghostwriter are legal. Nevertheless many people can’t escape the suspicion that if you hire someone else to do your writing, you’re cheating in some way. Of course, there are those who feel that if they delegate any of their responsibilities, they’re cheating. (I blame the Puritans.)

Ordinarily, however, hiring a ghostwriter is no more cheating than hiring an accountant is. Successful professionals have certain highly marketable and valuable skills and knowledge, and they can usually charge more for providing them than they’d pay a ghostwriter. This holds even more true for celebrities.

The one case in which hiring a ghostwriteror an accountant, lawyer, or scientistwould be cheating is if you’re a student. Paying for someone else’s expertise in that situation means not developing your own skills. The number of people who forget that they’re in school to learn, not to get grades, is disturbingly high, but they make up a very small percentage of a professional ghost’s clients. (While I like to think that this is because ghostwriters have scruples, it probably also has something to do with the fact that students pay a lot less than CEOs and celebrities.)

In the normal course of things, ghostwriting cheats no one. The readers get something better than they would have gotten without the ghost’s participation. The author gets the chance to reach a much wider audience and attract a higher level of client. Both author and ghostwriter get appropriate financial reimbursement.

Is Ghostwriting Lying?

If a celebrity biography has “as told to” on the cover, most people know that it was the tellee who put the celebrity’s story into writing. This practice is widely accepted, even expected. Very few people assume that film stars and sports champions will be literary or intellectual giants. Even fewer people buy a celebrity’s autobiography for its literary qualities. What the readers want is all the personal details and the first-person account of the glitter and excitement.

This also means that most people who buy the book won’t care what the ghostwriter’s name is, even if it’s on the book’s front cover and not buried in the acknowledgements. The only people who care who the ghostwriter is are others who might want to hire her. (Of course, those are the people one really wants to have notice one’s name.) Otherwise, even a publicly acknowledged ghostwriter may remain invisible.

“I could tell you more, but then I’d have to kill you.”

What about cases where the ghostwriter signs a contract promising never to reveal that she was the one doing the writing? This kind of work usually commands a higher fee, because the ghost can’t list the book among writing credits or get testimonials and referrals from the client. Other kinds of non-disclosure agreements usually pertain to the client’s proprietary information, trade secrets, and the like. The information which the contractor or employee is asked not to disclose is not necessarily incriminatingit’s just not meant for public consumption.

So if a client doesn’t want you to disclose the fact that he didn’t write his own book, it doesn’t automatically mean that there’s something unethical. It might, however, mean that it would be embarrassing for your client if her use of a ghostwriter became public knowledge. Authors may also include this kind of clause for self-protection. What if you spent your hard-earned money on having a book written and worked your tail off to market it, only to have the ghostwriter step up to take the credit and steal your thunder?

Ghostwriting Fiction

Because people read fiction at least partly for the quality of the writing, fiction is a gray area of ghostwriting ethics. In any case, most aspiring novelists really want to write, and not just to have books. So why would a fiction author hire a ghostwriter anyway?

In some cases, the would-be author has the germ of an idea and the kind of fame which would sell books, but no experience and not much skill. Such a person would find it well worth the investment to find an unknown but talented writer and pay him or her to write the book. For an aspiring novelist who hasn’t published much, ghosting such a book would provide a publishing creditnot with the public, but with the publisher who buys the book.

Another possibility for ghostwriting fiction is the case of the author who has actually written the first draft of the book and just doesn’t have the craft to make it salable. In this case, the author might hire a ghostwriter to rewrite the book. This kind of work might be called “book doctoring” rather than “ghostwriting,” but there isn’t always much difference between these two activities.

Not every professional writer will have the aptitude or inclination for ghostwriting. But if you write well, listen well, enjoy collaborating, and have the gift of mimicking someone else’s habits of expression, don’t be afraid to try ghostwriting. Invisibility has its rewards.

Author-izer and Collabowriter Sallie Goetsch specializes in turning busy professionals into authors. Get more free articles for your e-zine, newsletter, or website from her article blog or e-mail authorizer@fileslinger.com and take the pain out of writing.

January 9th, 2009

How to Triple Your Article Sales Writing Media Package Proposals

Dogs bark, birds fly, and writers write. It’s what we do, right? So why should a writer now become a shutterbug? Well, how about to increase your marketability, boost your article sales, improve your query acceptance rate and increase your income? Are any of those reasons that might interest you? Then read on Bunky, here’s the scoop.

Offer a complete package

Overworked editors will often jump at the chance for a complete package of text plus art. It means they don’t have to search for photos and graphics to accompany your article, saving them time, costs and stress. Most markets also pay extra for photography as well giving what might be a mediocre rate for an article alone a stiff boost when the photo fees are added in. Again padding the pay envelope – and you don’t mind THAT now do you?

What kinds of photos to take

To learn about composition and types of photos look at examples of what your target publications are using. Take a short photography course. Many community colleges offer them. You could also check at local photo shops or try one of the several good ones online.

Digital or film?

In today’s market there are a wide variety of choices for shooting your article photos. Films differ in format, speed and sensitivity. There are choices of from less than 100 ISA up to 1600 ISA or even faster for specialty films in 35mm format. Color, B/W, sepia tone and infrared films are also available for adding special effects. You needn’t chain your brain with these options if you’re not interested. Just stick with 100 to 400 ISA film in 35mm format. Shoot prints or slides depending on what the publication photography guidelines say.

Have it BOTH ways

Another point: film pictures can be scanned and digitized. Many photo shops offer to burn film negative photos onto a CD for a small additional fee, so you can have it both ways. Take them up on it. Find out from two or three different photo shops, what cross-media services they offer. Selling one good photograph can pay for months of photography. It’s not unheard of for a writer to actually make more money for the “art” than the article.

The debate over digital vs. film cameras rages on. Call me a wimp, call me a cop out, call me whatever you want: I use both when shooting on location. So whether I find a market that asks for prints, negatives, slides or high resolution digital images, I’m covered. So go ahead and snicker at me all you “purists”; you can follow me all the way to the bank.

On Location: what to shoot?

On location, a range of images from close ups to scenic overviews are useful. Try different angles and different heights. Take portraits, group and individual shots of unposed people doing everyday tasks. Photograph food, plants, products and people. Keep an eye out for splashes of color, interesting scenes, unusual clothing or costumes. While walking down a busy street in Quito, Ecuador, I saw a live donkey standing in the back of a double-parked pickup truck. I just had to take the shot. Waiting for the driver to come out also netted me a story about where the donkey was going to be sold – as food! In parts of Ecuador people eat donkey.

Quick keys for better photos

So you’re not exactly a pro at taking pictures? No problem. Here are a couple of quick tricks excerpted from the 5-week online course “Develop a Specialty and Get Published on the Web for Fun, Fame or Fortune”, that will boost the quality of your images right away.

• Get closer to your subject – fill the frame

Don’t stand there a mile off from that cute scene, get right up there as close as you dare and take the shot. Take two or three to be sure. Start from a bit away and shoot each picture closer than the last one by a lot. After a couple of shots you should be right up close. The vast majority of the time people who see you photographing them will either allow it politely, ham it up for you or throw rocks. Leave the third group alone.

• Use a tripod – take sharper images

Get yourself one of those small tripods, you know the ones around a foot tall. Use it to stabilize the camera whenever you can. Turn the car off and set it up on the hood, roof or trunk of the car. If your photos aren’t sharp, often they’re no good for commercial sale. If there’s a sign that says, “No tripods allowed”, be discrete. Plead innocence, plead ignorance, plead illiteracy or plead insanity, but get the shot. I get away with murder all the time. I just don’t push it or make a scene or an issue about it. Usually there’s no problem.

• Don’t “center” the subject – compose your shots in different ways

Look at any magazine. What direction is the cover image? Horizontal or vertical? Now, guess which way most people shoot their pictures? Shoot about half your images vertically and you’ll boost your odds for a possible cover shot. Don’t put the subject or horizon in the middle of the photo. Move it up to feature the foreground more or down to show more sky as with sunsets. Your photos will demonstrate better composition as a result.

Graphics anyone?

Photos aren’t the only form of “art” editors want and need. Data charts, tables and other information graphics can be produced to augment your articles. They show the editor you’ve researched and organized your topic data. Look at your favorite magazines, do they use only photos? Likely not. If you’re not familiar with Excel or another computer graphics program then expand your mind and income by doing so. Although it can be a bit challenging at first; No. it’s not THAT hard. Computers have turned themselves Off when they saw me coming. If I can do it, so can you.

In your queries to editors, if you offer a selection of photos and graphics to illustrate and accompany your articles, you’re going to start getting much more of the editor’s attention. Don’t send any photos, just say that they’re available. You’ll know what format the publication uses from reading the guidelines. Usually six or eight photos should do it. That means if you have around a dozen items available to send in for review and approval, you have an excellent chance of making the pitch sell. My first few months doing this more than tripled my success rate without changing anything else. If you need a virtual kick-in-the-pants to get you going or have a question, please feel free to e-mail me.

So get out there and take a few shots with your next article pitches in mind. Dogs bark, birds fly, and writers write – and offer media packages with photos for extra income. It’s what we do, right?

Prof Larry M. Lynch is a bi-lingual copywriter, expert author and photographer specializing in business, travel, food and education-related writing in South America. His work has appeared in Transitions Abroad, South American Explorer, Escape From America, Mexico News and Brazil magazines. He teaches at a university in Cali, Colombia. To get original, exclusive articles and content for your newsletter, blog or website contact him for a no-obligation quote and current rates. For free information on the 5-week online course “Develop a Specialty and Get Published on the Web for Fun, Fame or Fortune”, e-mail your request to: lynchlarrym@gmail.com

January 9th, 2009

Screenwriting Essentials: Hero’s Journey and The Sacred Meeting

The Hero’s Journey is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon – understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters.

The Hero’s Journey:

Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

Interpreted metaphorically, laterally and symbolically, allows an infinite number of varied stories to be created.

The Hero’s Journey is also a study of repeating patterns in successful stories and screenplays. It is compelling that screenwriters have a higher probability of producing quality work when they mirror the recurring patterns found in successful screenplays.

The Sacred Meeting

One element of the Hero’s Journey (during the stage of the Meeting with the Supernatural Aid / Mentor) is the common frequency of a Sacred Meeting between the Hero and Mentor. Further, others frequently absent themselves from this meeting:

In Wall Street (1987), Carl Fox takes Bud Fox aside when he comes to visit; his friends leave them alone.

In Star Wars (1977), R2D2 turns himself off during the initial meeting between Ben and Luke. Ben then takes Luke home, where the journey and the Empire et al are discussed.

In Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indy and Sallah and Indy and Marcus [separate scenes] discuss the Ark alone (Marion plays with the Sallah’s children).

In Empire Strikes Back (1980), Yoda takes Luke back to his home where he debates whether to take on Luke as a trainee.

The detailed, complete deconstruction and the Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and FREE 17 stage sample and other story structure templates can be found at http://managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

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You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author’s name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. His specialities include Knowledge Management and Creativity and Innovation Management. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached at http://managing-creativity.com/

January 9th, 2009

Bacardi Fronts Water Organization

Water is the element that brings life. The renowned spirits and liquor maker Bacardi knows this and has been on the frontline with regards to water conservation. The Bacardi Foundation has partnered with various agencies to promote efficient water use methods and advance research on water resources.This conglomerate of business and industry leaders have banded together to form the Stockholm Water Foundation, an organization that aims to expand the importance, as well as come up with the latest innovations of effective water use and treatment.Among the numerous companies that joined the Bacardi family in this common goal are DuPont, Grundfos Management, General Motors, Hewlett Packard, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, ITT Flygt, Kemira Kemwater, Kaupthing Bank Sverige, KPMG, Uponor Group and Water Environment Federation (WEF).With the Stockholm Water Foundation, Bacardi Limited was able to create the Bacardi Foundation-Stockholm Foundation Professorship at MIT. The professorship is given to a professor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to develop teaching programs and make breakthroughs in water resources research.The Stockholm Water Foundation also recognizes the people who have toiled to provide innovative solutions to the rising problems concerning water resources. The Stockholm Water Prize is given to a person, an organization, or an institution whose findings and research have significant impacts to the water environment and to mankind as well.The Bacardi Company is a pivotal institution that continues to support the actions and efforts of the Stockholm Water Foundation. In this regard, Bacardi is a leading example of a name that prides itself in making the world a better place.Links/Sources:The Stockholm Water Foundation awarded two ecologists for their research creating sustainability by understanding how water works. The Bacardi Company, in accordance with Bacardi environmental policy is a founding member of Stockholm Water.An article discussing the new professorship in MIT which is created and funded by the Bacardi Family and Stockholm Water. The professorship was designed to teach and further improve research efforts in global water conservation.

January 9th, 2009