Working in the Shadows: Ghostwriting, Freelancing, and Work Without Recognition
Among other things, I’m a ghostwriter. Not the sexy kind that sits down with Sarah Palin or Oprah or that guy who killed his wife and married his daughter (I’m sure there is one!) and writes their story, getting an “as told to” or even “with” credit on the front cover. No, I write articles that appear in publications large and small under someone else’s name.
My reasons for doing this are plentiful, and not worth getting into in depth here – what it boils down to is that the money is good, the work is easy, and it saves me the time I’d normally spend querying editors and thinking of ideas. Since I teach a full-time schedule, that time saving is important.
But there’s a cost with ghostwriting, too. The most obvious is that I don’t get credit for my work, except from my clients. Since writers typically have a conflicted relationship with their egos, you might think that this would be a real burden, and sometimes you’d be right. Plus, the writing I publish under someone else’s name does nothing to build my own platform as an expert writer.
In a way, though, these are costs borne by all sorts of freelancers, not just ghostwriters. For instance, I also write book reviews for Publishers Weekly, whose anonymous reviews are their primary selling point. A byline would be nice, but that’s not the job. In fact, most commercial writing is equally anonymous – product sales sheets, packaging copy, website copy, even some corporate blogging are all produced with no name attached.
Quite a lot of design work is also anonymous, unless you belong to the rarified world of superstar designers whose products bear their name. Ad layout, book design, packaging design, even product design are typically without any hint of the designer’s identity. Sure, you drop a copy into your portfolio, but for the most part, only prospective clients and the odd researcher sees that.
This kind of anonymity might seem odd in a class of people with enough hubris to believe we can shape the world around us – its material goods, its symbolic content, even the thoughts and beliefs of people themselves – with our words and images. Ghostwriting is only the most extreme form of the non-recognition that most of us accept as artisans for hire.
The key thing that makes it worthwhile is that we are working for a higher purpose. That sounds flaky, but it’s true. Everything I write, whether it’s a post at Lifehack (or, indeed, here at FreelanceSwitch) or a ghostwritten article for some obscure technology trade journal, is intended to help someone become a better person – whether that means they do their job more efficiently, they grow as a person, the learn something that helps them make other people’s lives better, or just that they get a laugh or a moment’s respite from their stressed-out lives. Designers add not just effective information presentation to the world (though that’s important) but they add beauty and function as well.
Since we can’t always live in the realm of higher purpose, though, here are a few tips about dealing with your own anonymity, from someone who deals with it constantly.
1. Set limits.
Don’t do work under the shroud of anonymity that you wouldn’t be proud to put under your own name, especially if it advances positions that you are personally opposed to. In the long run, you won’t be able to live with yourself.
2. Repurpose the lessons learned.
Consider every anonymous job a chance to learn and improve skills and new knowledge that you can use in work under your own name. No work is ever wasted – and the expertise you develop is your expertise even if someone else’s name is attached to it.
3. Keep it balanced.
Make sure you keep a good blend of work you can earn recognition for and work you can’t. I have Lifehack and my other projects, as well as my own books and my academic work. If I do a project as a ghostwriter that I feel I would like to have done under my own name, I will usually add a similar project to my to-do list down the road.
4. Work for good people.
Whenever my best clients get praise for something I’ve written for them, they pass it on to me. While I might not get the credit, it’s good to know that my work is appreciated. Avoid working for or with people who are willing to take all the credit for your work and not let you know when you’ve touched someone.
5. Don’t compete with yourself.
It’s tempting to look at the success of a piece you’ve ghostwritten or otherwise not gotten credit for and worry about your “other persona” getting ahead of you. When something works, take it to heart, no matter how much or little credit you get.
Most of all, set strong goals and work towards them. Since anonymous or ghostwritten work often doesn’t “count” towards those goals, make sure you don’t let that kind of project dominate your professional life. Let the money and the practice support your own movement towards success on your own terms.
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Wow.
I never gave myself the time to think deeply about the “ghostworking” matter. After reading your article I realize it’s not that bad, as long as one takes into account the advices you offered. Mainly, the balance between the authored and non-authored work.
All you wrote is “smelling” Ethics and respect (for oneself, for the work being done), that’s the best warranty that the advices are sound.
Very nice article
I work for other web design companies, in their name, when they are over-worked. I get no recognition but the pay is the same, so why not?
I hear you on this. The first time I saw my name on anything I’d written (besides guest posts) was the day that Mason showed me the cover for the Unlimited Freelancer. (Yes, I took out my gold cape just for the photo shoot. Special occasion.)
I find that there are gigs I really don’t care about not seeing my name or the byline and there are gigs that really do matter to me (like the book). Thankfully, since credit is so rare online, I’m rarely offered the latter type of work and can thus earn a nice living writing the former.
I’m good with this concept. I’d like to know how to get started in the business of ghostwriting.
Great stuff, thanks! I’ve struggled a bit with ghost-writing in the past, as it just feels like I should be getting some recognition for it…
At the same time, though, there’s something freeing about being able to write, and let someone else take the credit or blame. We as writers just do our work, and move on. And I’ve found also that most people pass credit along, which is always a plus.
Thanks, Dustin!
Good article. I’m all for ghostwriting under the right circumstances and have done my fair share of it. I find the credibility I’ve built up with those clients serves me well in landing other projects. And, of course, the skill-building/learning factor is invaluable.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Dustin.
Thanks to everyone for their comments.
To Craig: I lucked into my first ghostwriting gig — someone read my work at Lifehack, liked it, and emailed me to see if I’d be interested in working for them. So I guess that *does* happen. Once I started, I just kept an eye open for ghostwriting gigs on Craigslist and elsewhere and applied when I felt it fit. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. I’m still waiting for the Big Score, the book contract that will pay $5,000, $10,000, or more…
Good piece, something I rarely see discussed.
I’ve been ghostwriting for over a decade. How do I deal with the anonymity? By reminding myself that my name is on the check. That’s what counts.
I just finished reading a book called White House Ghosts. It’s about the speechwriters and the various U.S. Presidents they have worked for. Great insight into the world of the ghosts.
I love ghostwriting. It is fun to get a byline, and I make sure I fit a few bylined pieces in each month, but the majority of my work is ghostly- and it’s great.
This is all great advice, and I especially like the suggestion to work on other projects (if even just blogs or short pieces) for which you feel more ownership.
I am a medical writer and do a fair amount of “ghost writing.” For brochures, recruitment/marketing copy, and the like, I hardly think of it as ghost writing and wouldn’t expect or want credit. I also write conference coverage and other articles that are not bylined (in some cases I wish they were). I also write journal articles and more substantive pieces on behalf of busy physician researchers and, of course, it’s their name that goes on the piece.
What I wanted to point out about ghost writing, though, is that in the medical writing community, there is a huge push for the medical writer to be recognized among the other disclosures of the article. So generally I now get at least something along the lines of “I wish to thank Mark Vogel for his research and writing assistance during the preparation of the article.” Yeah, its vague and an understatement, but it does offer some credit and it makes using that piece in my portfolio easier. I think that ghost writers in other fields who write an entire article or book for someone else should also get this type of credit.
I`m a ghostwriter and it never bothered me until one day, I was ghostblogging for someone and they were being invited to speak at a conference and had all this public recognition. It wasn`t that I was jealous, I just thought, “If I can make someone else look that good, why aren`t I doing it for myself, too?”
This is also similar to what I deal with. Since most of my clients are other design studios, not only do I not get to put my name on any of the work I do, but I also can’t use it for my portfolio.
As a writer when I tell someone about what I do, especially someone from another industry, the first thing they often ask is whether my name will be on the newsletter/book/presentation/article/whatever. Sometimes I do get byline since I do some blogging and journalism, but often I don’t.
I can offer a few ways for writers or other creatives to get recognition and credit for your work to help build a name and portfolio: do some side projects where the client’s willing to credit you, such as writing a blog, even if it’s not the pay you’d normally take; start your own project where you can position yourself the way you’d like to be seen; or negotiate with the client to get the credit due. That last one seems the hardest, since clients usually know what credit they want to give when they hire you. I’d love to hear others’ suggestions, too.
This is a great post. What I’ve been struggling with is “double ghostwriting,” where I write a speech or a column for the president of a college but submit it to the head of communications. The president has no idea that I write his stuff. I don’t mind not getting the byline, but I’d at least like the president to know that I’m the writer. (I’ve never been introduced to him.) Anyone else been in a similar situation and if so, any suggestions for resolution?
Wow was that enlightening, lol I’m new to all this and here’s my story:
Someone offered me $20/article (ghost write). I think my works are pretty good; he submitted to a good PR 3 and PR 4 blog, both accepted. You see, I kind of have to write my best if I want to get published (under his name).
I’m kinda wondering if it’s worth it though, would I gain more in the future if I didn’t ghost write and just submitted the guest posts under my own name? It also makes me a bit sad that someone is taking credit for my work.
I’m new to blogging but I read a lot, and I know my content is worth something; I’m just not sure how much is it worth selling your works to someone else.
Advice is appreciated.
This article on GR is good.. I am in to it.. and many a number of tag lines of advertisements [both online and offline(offline ones are local)] run without my name attached to it. But feel so good about it when you see that!
I am in a different, but related boat. I am a “ghost worker”. I am highly experienced and very goal driven, which in the past always got me recognition. Now I am paired up with very young coworkers (to guide and mentor) who are used to working with outside contractors. It does not seem to occur to them that when projects are praised to follow up with an e-mail back crediting the rest of the team, whether internal or freelance. A simple “I couldn’t have done it without…” would be appreciated, especially since they really, actually, could not have done it without their more experienced colleagues help. (I, of course, could absolutely have done it without them, but as it stands no one even knows I worked on the project outside my team members and my boss). I’ve seen such people receive promotions on my work and on the work of outside freelancers. I think many of them don’t realized they didn’t actually create anything: basically all they did was shuffle e-mails and get in the way, but in this day and age that passes for accomplishment.
Thank you for a great article. I am in a similar situation vis a vis work and writing credit. The pay is good, I am only writing things I can stand behind but I have been bothered by the lack of recognition. Your article is very helpful – and reminds me of the other projects that I have been working on that I could get credit for.