A ghostwriter is someone who writes for hire, taking a flat fee for a writing project but getting none of the credit for the work. They're hired by someone as a freelance writer to produce copy for a fee. Ghostwriters may work on staff, generating content (speeches, Tweets, letters, blog posts, video scripts, website content, etc.) for a company or employer, or they may work on their own and be hired for a specific job, such as writing a novel. They also may be part of a content marketing agency, where individual ghostwriters are paired with clients seeking a writer for a specific project.

For many jobs, the ghostwriter will be paid an up-front fee for the job at hand. In other cases, they may negotiate for a smaller advance and a percentage of royalties. In most situations, the credit for the written work goes to the person or organization who hired the writer, but sometimes this is also negotiated, with the ghostwriter being listed as a co-author or contributor.

Ghostwriters often have a solid backlog of writing credits to their name, which means anyone seeking employment in this field needs to have a lot of writing experience—and bylines—under their belt. Nonfiction ghostwriters who focus on specific topics might have training in that industry or area of expertise, giving themselves not only the necessary background to knowledgeably write the content, but also credibility in the eyes of a potential employer.

EXCEPTIONAL MEMORY, GOOD LISTENING SKILLS, WRITING