And they see this as a problem.

So do I, but in a different way.

The bloggers see this as a problem, because they want to write something but can’t think of anything to say. The problem with this, as I see it, is that so many people who have nothing to say, want to speak.

This is generally a great way to create trash.

Speak just to hear your own voice.

Write just to see your own typing.

Hold meetings just to say you have met.

Watch TV just to do something with your time.

Drink because you are bored.

All the most wasteful uses of our time and energy are the things we do without having a good reason to do them. When you write just for the sake of writing, I can almost guarantee that your writing will not be worth reading.

Let me ask you about two blogs.

Blog A publishes occasionally. Every week, every month, irregularly – whatever. Every post is meaty and meaningful. Every post inspires or provides useful information or gives something of real value.

Blog B publishes regularly – every week or even every day. Regularly. The writer follows all the advice of how to overcome writer’s block, and writes lots of articles even though he has nothing of import or useful – or inspired! – to say. Sure, occasionally he does, but most of his posts are already written in different ways on other blogs and don’t really add much to anybody’s knowledge or inspiration.

Which blog will you choose to read?

Over at Common Excuses For Not Starting A Blog, I tackled the five excuses, one by one…

1. Everyone is a writer.

2. There is no such thing as writer’s block. When you have something to say, there is no block. When you have nothing to say, you should not be blogging.

3. You don’t have to be creative; just write what comes to your mind during a normal “day at the office”.

4. OK, it is true – blogging is too time consuming. But if it is worth doing for your business model, then it is no more time consuming than all the other time-consuming things you do.

5. All the good ideas have been taken…yeah but “so what?” All the best music has been written, and they keep writing more. All the best books have been written, but they keep writing more. Just write what you think and you will find elements of originality in your blog posts.

I expanded on point #2 above at How to Blog for your Business – 4 helpful tips!…

Generally some good advice, but I disagree on keeping to a schedule. I have never heard of someone removing a blog from their RSS reader for not having received a post in a while. I can see why someone would remove a blog that posts too often and they are inundated with posts in their RSS reader (making it hard to find posts from other blogs), but there is no reason to remove something for not bothering them. I believe a schedule is a very poor way to decide when to blog. A much better way is to blog when you have something to say. A single really good post is worth more than a hundred on time posts.

And on the fun side, I planted my tongue firmly in my cheek and added to Time Management For Freelance Writers…

Oh, not just for freelance writers. Anybody who works from home will be tempted to surf, tempted to keep marketing, tempted to just hang loose and avoid timing himself or handling the bookkeeping. My personal temptation is blog commenting…and…uh…oops, I guess I should be getting back to work.

I was not bored when Martha Griffin told us Why Most Blogs Bore Me. So I responded…

Nothing new is being said. That is the one that makes me cringe. When you spend as much time as I do in social media, reading, partially reading or just suffering through the same repetitive headlines over and over (Do I really want to read yet another blogger’s review of the same plugg-in?), you start to wonder where is the imagination, where is the passion, are they people really enjoying blogging, or are they just trying to fill their page and keep to an arbitrary publishing schedule. Which brings us to the second one that makes me cringe, “The blogger didn’t show up. ” and “Lacks passion”, which really are the same thing in my eyes.

Jane writes at BlogEngage about Why Should You Blog About What You Know .  Apparently, I agree…

Yes, yes, yes. About what you know AND about what you are passionate about. You should never have to worry about writers block or not knowing what to write about. You should only be writing when there is something inside you, something just bursting to get out!

Martha Giffen writes that Keyword stuffing is not a blogging tool.

I am afraid that using common sense is highly under appreciated. Best to write your post for the readers and for yourself – just because you have something to say. Then add in your keywords a couple times where it makes sense …if it makes sense. Then choose a title for your post. If possible, include your keywords in your title – but if the title didn’t attractive and doesn’t draw readers and (ultimately) linkers, there is really no point to the keywords in the first place.

• A demagogue, lying about ghostwriters to make a quick buck
• The most incompetent person you will ever have the misfortune to meet
• Stark, raving mad

START SALES PITCH

What do you do if you have a story or expertise to share, but are not a writer yourself or simply don’t think you have the time to write a book? The typical belief is that you need to hire a ghostwriter. You Don’t!

I’ve managed dozens of ghostwriters for clients over the years and now work with best-selling authors and writers at the highest level. Let me share with you what I have learned, and the reasons I no longer hire ghostwriters for my clients. Let me save you from the aggravation, unhappiness and wasted money (Read on to find out why this guy wasted so much of his client’s money!) that I’ve seen too many endure. Then, once you’ve heard the reasons why you should not hire a ghostwriter, stick around and I’ll share with you what I believe to not only be the better approach for your voice and your message, but also the less expensive option!

Remember the movie where the guy hired a hitman to kill his wife? A ghostwriter is kind of like the hitman: they both walk away when the job is over. And they both want the money up front.

Remember when you wanted someone to build an addition on your house?  Remember when you needed someone to sell you a car?  Remember when you wanted someone to fly you across the ocean?  Remember when you wanted someone to provide you with a TV or a computer or a sound system?  Remember when you wanted someone to rent you a hall for a wedding or a baby shower or a 50th anniversary? They also wanted to be paid.  And they all walked away when their job was done, to serve their next clients – the way they are supposed to.

When was the last time you saw a ghostwriter touting his new book in a local newspaper? Never, because he’s a ghostwriter. It’s not his book. He has been paid and has moved on to another project. Where do you think that ghostwriter will be when it comes to marketing, branding, packaging, and publishing your book?

Probably the same place as the marketers, branders, packagers and publishers were when the ghostwriter was writing your book. (I was advised by one of our writers, to resist the temptation to say “Du-uh” here.)

Although some of our ghostwriters do help with publicity and occasionally we do, too, but it is not a service we market. In many cases, our clients don’t want us to be further involved. That’s why they seek out a ghostwriter. In the words of Kristin, one of our top writers, “There’s such a thing as privacy and anonymity that the clients themselves insist in. Some are downright paranoid.”

Ghostwriters don’t need to make nice with publishers or literary agents, but they like to pretend they have a proverbial foot in the door to gain your business. You may be dazzled by their so-called industry connections, but you’ll be sorely disappointed when you discover these connections are nothing more than cousins, friends, and college roommates.

Industry connections? Ha!  We are ever-so-forthright with potential clients that we don’t have many contacts with publishers and even the ones we do are irrelevant, because publishers have in mind what they are looking for, and they do NOT base that on who they know.  And most ghostwriters who contact me to work with us are just as candid.  It makes me wonder under what rock he found the “dozens of ghostwriters” he managed for clients.

Are you a good manager? We hope so. Because that’s part of the role you’ll play when it comes to hiring most ghostwriters. With their “You are not the boss of me attitude”, ghostwriters aren’t particularly motivated by your looming deadlines, pleas for urgency, or even whip-cracking threats.

So…just exactly what rock did he find those “dozens of ghostwriters” he managed for clients. I have yet to meet a ghostwriter that fits any of those descriptions.

Excuses. Tantrums. Drama. Personal problems. You’ll foot the bill for all these little extras when you work with many ghostwriters. Shouldn’t the drama remain in the writing?

OK, I admit – now I am totally baffled. Not only have I never met a ghostwriter with this description, but how would a ghostwriter’s person issues cost a client more money? Certainly at The Happy Guy Marketing, the price is the price. You don’t pay a penny more, nor a penny less, than what was quoted…unless you change the specifications of what you want us to do. (Are you sure I can’t say “Du-uh”?)

Pull out around $30 grand from your savings. Wait, you don’t have that much expendable cash? How about your 401k? Wherever you get it, you’ll need a boatload of cash just to finish your book using a ghostwriter, leaving you little for your marketing.

Ah, OK. Now we get to something that at least we can reasonably talk about. There are some high-end ghostwriters, such as those who write for sports celebrities and elder statesmen who are used to being paid $30,000 per book. Some much, much more, in fact. Occasionally one of those approaches me, and I just have to tell them that we don’t have work for them. We have regular clients for the most part, and the typical manuscript is written for $8000-$15,000.

Did you grow up dreaming of writing a book that sounds like it was done by someone else? Probably not. But what sometimes happens is the words that end up on the page read like they came from a ghostwriter’s pen not yours.

That is true. If you hire a crappy ghostwriter, the words won’t sound like yours. So again I find myself wondering…if he managed “dozens of ghostwriters”, did he not vet any of them before he hired them for his clients?

When you make a huge life decision, you only ask the opinion of one person you barely know, right? Of course not! So why would you trust your manuscript, the one you’ve labored over forever, to a lone stranger, hoping he can make the words from your soul sing?

So… you go to court without an attorney, because you hardly know him? Smart move. Perhaps you remove a tumour on your own without asking the opinion of a cancer surgeon you barely know? Oh, yeah. Well, this bright chap seems to do things that way (which might explain why he hired dozens of over-priced, tantrum-throwing, attitude wielding writers incapable of adapting to the client’s voice).

END SALES PITCH

At this point, you might be asking whether I have ever had any problem with ghostwriters – whether there ever was a situation where somebody was getting ripped off by ghostwriters.  The short answer is “yes”.

The long answer is that three times ghostwriters we worked with showed gross ethical lapses.  You see, we can easily screen writers for the quality of their writing, and make a reasonable guess as to how well they will attend to our clients….but we do not have a means to know ahead of time if a writer is likely to reveal herself to be two-faced.

In one case, the ghostwriter tried to make a private arrangement with the potential client, cutting us out of the deal – against both the word of our contract and all manner of ethics.  The potential client informed us, and we immediately stopped using that writer.  Pity, because she wrote well.

In two other cases, the writer tried to extort money from the client.  In both cases, once a contract had been signed and work had begun, the writer asked for more money.  A myriad of excuses were given, but the bottom line was greed.  Unfortunately, the entranced clients would not let us replace them with ethical writers.  So the clients paid the extortion money, the writers finished the job (and did an excellent job, I must say), and we simply stopped dealing with those writers.  Good writers or not, we don’t cheat our clients.  Period.

So, back to the original question…

• A demagogue, lying about ghostwriters to make a quick buck
• The most incompetent person you will ever have the misfortune to meet
• Stark, raving mad

Which is it?  What do you think of ghostwriters?  Have a story to share in the comments below?

Here is a summary of the book:

When a sorceress in training Odeya visits an enchanted temple in Aradeya Forest, Priestess Haniel presents her with the Lexion, an ancient book of spells. Odeya is about to leave when she hears her name called and notices a strange light under the statue of Adonis, the god of war. Curiosity takes her below the temple where she discovers a powerful staff and a note that reads: “The journey to the Black Rose has begun.” Odeya is mystified. The Black Rose is only a fairytale, isn’t it? The perilous journey she is about to undertake, however, will prove her dead wrong.

The book is now available at Amazon, where you can pick up a copy for yourself (or as a gift for that fantasy-lover on your Christmas list).

The podcast, which I am running below with permission, asks Miranda about the business of freelance writing and what it takes to become a freelance writer. As an aside, when you work from home, you are not working in some antiseptic office environment, where almost everything is artificially controlled. At home, office life and real life collide ion the most unpredictable of ways, especially when there are children running around. In the case of this podcast, you hear the doorbell ring at one point. My comment to Miranda after I had listened to the interview was, “Next time instead of a doorbell, maybe you could have a motorcycle followed by a scream and a crash.” That would be much more entertaining.

Here is the podcast, as it was first published.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

One of the big takeaways from this podcast is the value of journalistic training – yes, go take some journalism courses if you are serious about being a freelance writer.  Here is an excerpt from the podcast.

Well, one of the questions that really embarrasses me is people ask me how long it takes me to write a post. And I always just answer, you know … and one of the things I learned how to do when I took this journalism course of study was to write fast and to write with a minimum of grammatical errors—I mean, I still make mistakes; everybody does—but I do try to take those things, and it really helped me learn to write concisely, to write quickly, and it taught me how to do research quickly, so that I could pull together my writing on a deadline. And so, it really helped me learn how to write in a way that was efficient for my time and help me to get things done a little bit quicker.

Miranda offers much more incredible advice for budding freelance writers, so take a few minutes to listen to the full podcast.

Meet Sami DeMani, a Canada gander with a legendary golf game. He’s on track to win the prestigious Waterfowl Tour — and put his nemesis, the ruthless Pete Swan Lake, in his place once and for all. But right as Sami prepares to take a critical swing, a surprise scare changes everything — ruining the shot and putting Sami in the hospital. What happens next dashes any hopes for golf glory — or does it? No longer able to play, Sami throws himself into coaching his nephew, Myles, in the game he loves. Then the golf pro hatches a plan to help his nephew win a tournament with the aid of the specially designed Gooseneck Putter. This breakthrough device has the potential to change everything — including the confidence of the golf prodigy who uses it. But none of them are prepared for what’s about to occur as the tension rises on the course. Along the way, Sami and Myles will learn a powerful lesson regarding sportsmanship, perseverance, love, and what really matters in the game of life. A heartwarming and inspirational tale, The High-Tech Gooseneck Putter is about the power of golf to boost self-esteem, change lives, and bring a community together.

This is the latest Happy Guy Marketing success–my collaboration with artist, singer and Laughter Yoga leader Samuel DiMatteo. I am excited that Sami listed me as co-author because Samuel is one-of-a-kind. He, along with the colorful cast of golfing geese, sportscasting squirrels and business-minded beavers in the book, has won over several lovely lady authors–and I am thankful to every one of them.

It is Thanksgiving this month, after all!

• July 18–Walking Through Walls author Karen Cioffi-Ventrice guested on A Ghost Writers Blog
• July 24–We celebrated Christmas in July at Susanne Drazic’s blog.
• August 5–We golfed through walls on Karen Cioffi-Ventrice’s blog.
• August 22–We had more fun than geese dancing at Lisa Haselton’s blog.
• November 14–We swapped tales of ghosts and geese, dragons and co-writing at Penny Ehrenkranz’s blog

I decided to do some number-crunching. And I cam up with three sets of data. First, here are the types of services people seek…

As you can see, biographies are the most popular project people seek.  Everybody has a story to tell.  Yes, most “biographies” are in fact autobiographies.

There are a lot of people who come to us with manuscripts – including websites and marketing materials, but mostly books – to edit.  These include biographies, as well as every other genre.

The three other popular genres are business manuscripts, online writing and fiction manuscripts.

Breaking it down a different way, 46 percent of people come looking for some form of book to be written.  Twenty percent of people seek some form of editing and 12 percent seek copy for use online.  Everything else is pretty minor.

Breaking down the books into the various types, you can see just how important biographies are – how many people have a story to tell.

If you have a story to tell or a book you want to help promote your business or career, we’ll be happy to help you.

Here is one of those emails I just received.

I am looking for an article writer who can write quality articles for the keyword and the special instruction that i provide. I need 500 words and 700 words articles meeting the deadline. I give $1.20 for 500 words article and $2.40 for 700 words article. You can take a keyword after submitting an article. Time frame to complete 500 word article is 2hrs and 4 hrs for 700 words article. Let me know if you have any questions.

I was tempted to respond…

“Yeah, and I give $5.40 for a quality transatlantic flight. However, I got tired of the “comfortable” seating in the catapult, and the landing is usually quite rough – especially since I always hit the office tower across the street. But, “Hey”, you can’t beat the price, tight?

I didn’t send that email – what’s the point of arguing with an $%#@%! and starting a flame war with someone whose intelligence level makes him a threat to anybody standing close enough when he sets himself on fire?

A much better way to handle such things is…

“In 1453 Turkey, Mehmed the Conqueror has just defeated the Byzantine Empire and a new era called the Ottoman Empire is ushered in. Sending an envoy to open trade routes to Spain and Portugal, Mehmed sends his most trusted bodyguard Asim to look after the members of the envoy. The mission is turned on its head when one of the Islamic members is murdered in her bed chamber by unknown hands.

“Asim is given permission by way of a secret letter from Pope Nicholas to investigate the crime but no allowance of arresting authority of any Christian that may be involved. But his instructions from Mehmed were simple: bring the cowards to justice. How can a man serve Christianity and Islam without offending either?”

A video trailer has been created to help put you in the mood. Sorry, no belly dancers. But if you like a murder-mystery adventure that touches on some of the hot points of today and yesterday, this is one book you’ll want sizzling in your reading pile at home.

Here is how the book is described:

“Were the heavens and the earth created 6,000 years ago, as the Bible suggests? Or did the universe expand into existence nearly 14 billion years ago from a spontaneous “Big Bang”? Both dates cannot be right – or can they?

“Imagine that there were some medieval manuscripts, written eight hundred years ago, that could help us decipher Genesis to pinpoint exactly when the universe began, as identified by our most up-to-date cosmological theories. Further, suppose that these same manuscripts could help us extract from Genesis the timelines for the development of life on Earth, precisely as identified by the latest scientific evidence from the fossil record.

“The Genesis One Code offers a careful examination of the relationship between scientific theory and biblical teaching. The book targets the origins debate from a fresh perspective informed by scientific and spiritual research. The book demonstrates an alignment between the dates of key events described in Genesis 1 and 2 with those derived from scientific theory and observation. This alignment provides a compelling perspective deserving of thoughtful consideration.”

You can pick up your copy of The Genesis One Code at Amazon.com.

The article is about H.P. Stephenson’s new work of fiction, in which he gave our writer Kathryn Tedrick co-authorship (usually our authors remain ghost writers).  Appropriately enough, this book straddles the realms of science fiction and fantasy, Kathryn’s two specialty genres.

It’s the third item in this round-up article. Here is what it says:

Akron author Kathryn Tedrick, along with co-author H.P. Stephenson, has put a new modern twist on a popular subject — vampires — while “returning to the roots of sci-fi,” says the publisher of “War of the Staffs: Quest for the Staff of Adaman.”

The novel is the first book in the proposed “War of the Staffs” trilogy about “a myriad of mythical creatures.”

“ ‘War of the Staffs’ is a fresh new series for all those who love dragons, wizards, elves, dwarves, and mayhem,” said Tedrick in publicity material for the book.

Tedrick, who writes articles for magazines and websites, also has ghost written several books.

I invited Briana Myricks to write this guest post.  When I heard her story, I knew that all writers – not just blog writers – will relate to what she experienced.  I am curious to hear your comments once you have read her post.

Have you ever written a blog post that you put your figurative, or even literal, blood, sweat, and tears into? If you are a blogger, chances are, you have on numerous occasions.  Most other writers have, too.  What about a post you spent hours researching and perfecting to be not only logical and understandable, but also fun and entertaining? Writers and bloggers everywhere are probably nodding their heads in unison. Think back to how proud you were when your hard work was noticed by your peers, your supervisor, and even other media. When your writing was featured in roundups and bigger blogs, you probably patted yourself on your back for a job well done. You were getting the recognition you’ve always thought you deserved.

Now think of a time when someone stole either your idea or your work outright. How furious were you? If you’re a blogger and your content was scraped onto a spammer blog, you may or may not have even flinched. But what if your work showed up on a more authoritative site with a large readership, a more expansive reach, and higher SEO value than your site? You wouldn’t feel too good, would you?

A few weeks ago, my childhood came to an end with the final movie installment of the Harry Potter saga. I felt that I had learned so much from the Hogwarts students, and was compelled to blog about it. I took to StupidCents, a personal finance blog that I’m a staff writer for, and explained to readers the financial lessons I learned from each Harry Potter story. I spent hours doing research and writing the post, wanting it to be accurate and a quality post, rather than simple link bait. My diligence paid off; the article was featured in the Carnival of Personal Finance, the Best of Money Carnival, and even Canada’s largest national newspaper, Globe Investor. The post is the most popular on StupidCents.

Friday, I was going through my RSS reader and found that Business Insider’s War Room had a post about financial tips from Harry Potter. I was excited, assuming that my post was also featured on the huge news site. As I read the article, I saw that there were several points that I mentioned, but another person as the author with no credit to my article. I was livid! Was Business Insider stealing my content? I left a comment voicing my suspicion, and I consulted several friends and colleagues to compare the two posts. After reading both posts, they felt that although my post may have heavily influenced the one featured by the War Room contributor, it was not stolen. I felt a little better about it. I was put a bit more at ease when the author pointed out differences in our articles with a reply to my comment.

This situation got me thinking: how many other times has this happened in the blogosphere? No doubt, there are sites that exist specifically for content scraping. Content farms, where high quantity and low quality are the name of the game, were also known for taking quality articles from other sites and passing it along as their own. Thankfully, Google’s Panda update has discredited thousands of those sites, including content farms like Associated Content, AllBusiness and HubPages. Of course, there’s going to be articles that echo many of the same lessons, much like there are so many articles offering mostly the same tips on “how to save money on gas”.

What are the odds that you get several of the same personal finance lessons from 4,195 pages (from the US edition of the Harry Potter books) and 19.6 hours of film?!

Another issue is when your content is featured word for word on a higher authority site. I was in this situation a year ago. I wrote a post on my now defunct Internet marketing blog about why “Facebook Quit Day” was a flop. I was a tiny blog getting very little visitors, and a small blip on the Internet radar. I was also a member of Social Media Today, and had my blog feed imported. My article was featured on the website, word for word, and received tens of thousands of page views…on the Social Media Today site. Sure, there was a link to the “original article” but who’s really going to go to a little known blog to read the exact same article on a bigger site? Even the number of tweets was more than I could imagine but I didn’t prosper, as my Twitter profile was not connected to the auto-tweet. So was Social Media Today not stealing because they linked my original article? It’s tough to say.

It’s understandable that people look for research online and can come up with similar ideas, or even base their posts off another one. I even understand that as unique as you may think your idea is, someone could have the same idea as you without it being content theft. Internet publishing still doesn’t have the same rights and protections as physical works like magazines, newspapers and books. However, if you are using another story or someone else’s ideas in your creative work, always give credit where credit is due. It’s common courtesy at the very least.

Wang bound the last bunch of wheat stalks as the sun beat down on the field. Sweat poured from the back of his neck drenching the cotton shirt he wore.

I hate doing this work. He hurled the bundles on a cart. “Father, the bales are stacked. I am going home; it is too hot.”

Twelve-year-old Wang longed to be an Eternal. He craved wealth . . . and power….

So opens Walking Through Walls, Karen Cioffi’s retelling of a classic Chinese fable. In just a few sentences of this 40-page children’s book, she establishes the main character, a disgruntled twelve-year-old boy, and the conflict, his dreams of a life away from unending hard work on his family farm. She also hints at a mystery: what is an Eternal?

In short order, Coiffi-Ventrice also introduces us to a bit more of Wang’s personality. Like any 12-year-old, he fights with his sister and his father. He knows his father wants him to work on the farm rather than daydream about learning magic and being “the richest man in all of China”.  When he receives a dream visitation from the dragon illustrated on the cover—think ERAGON set in China—Wang decides his father can’t keep him on his peasant farm any more.

After Wang goes to the Elder of his village, a lemon-loving mystic, and asks the way to the Eternals’ home, he ends up more confused than ever. In typical martial-arts movie fashion the Elder speaks in cryptic messages before scolding Wang for seeking wealth and power for their own sake: “I cannot give you the information you seek. Your heart has already spoken. Go home and set your sights on learning patience and virtue.”

Oddly, Wang’s younger sister helps him, because of her sweet nature—or perhaps she wants to teach the arrogant Wang about a girl’s worth. The true value of a person—character, kindness, integrity—is a common theme in this story and Cioffi-Ventrice brings it out quite well. She also subtly highlights the Confucian society of the time, where “respect your elders, especially males” is paramount, and the Asian ethos, in which the group is much more important than the individual. Wang, like many child heroes, rebels against his family and society to seek his own way—and learn a lesson. You have to give Wang credit for pursuing what he wants and for undertaking his perilous journey to the distant mountaintop to find the Eternals (This is what you want: you must follow through, he thinks). While Wang’s journey may seem reckless, he shows some guts and courage in leaving his family to pursue his dream.

There’s a lovely moment in which Wang’s father gently touches him and asks him to stay. It’s an understated and in-character way of showing that Wang’s father is concerned, for the first time, about his son leaving home—a deeply human emotion.  Wang does not understand until much later—he is too excited about seeing the mystical temple of the Eternals materialize after his long perilous trek.

Wang’s impressions of the temple capture my own awe whenever I visit Asian temples such as Wat Pho, Senso-Ji, Sanjusangendo, and shrines in Taiwan, even though in keeping with a fable like this, the temple’s plain exterior belies its grand interior (representing, perhaps, the richness of the Eternals’ spiritual life). Although I have never met an Eternal Master, I imagine he (she?) would be just like the one in Walking Through Walls (many of the Buddhist rimbans and reverends I’ve met have senses of humor to package their lessons). The Eternal Master is the equivalent of a magical drill sergeant—not what Wang expected. Everything about the Eternals, from their strict regimen of simple food and hard work to their habit of appearing and disappearing, confounds Wang—although he begins to understand a bit more of the world when he meets his roommate Chen and hears of Chen’s quest to help his village and rescue his sister by becoming an Eternal. Chen’s story kindles compassion in Wang’s heart, but not enough to make him gain patience. With all the magic around him, Wang is hungry to become an Eternal himself, especially after he sees the more advanced students walking through walls after a midnight feast. Is it a dream? Is it a test? Wang decides he must learn to walk through walls.

Wang endures his peculiar education for a year before deciding to leave, despite his best friend Chen’s hope of having an ally in his quest. The Eternal Master teaches him the longed-for spell of walking through walls, even though he lectures Wang about not being pure of heart or worthy of the Eternals’ great power. Of course, Wang does learn the spell—and faces a test of his character once he returns home. During that test, I bit my nails and then screamed, “Don’t do it,” when Wang was about to make the wrong choice. Cioffi-Ventrice makes us care about Wang in spite of, or perhaps because, of his character flaws. In addition to the magic of the storytelling, the sense of wonder never lets up—enchanted snakes and other creatures follow Wang as he chooses his destiny, and we learn that the Eternal Master is even more extraordinary than he appears…

In addition to the story, Cioffi-Ventrice provides dragon lore, a brief, easily readable history (and cultural facts) of the Ming Dynasty during which the story is set, and activities and questions for young readers.

Thanks for this wonderful article, Karen.

Is Your Character One, Two, Or Three Dimensional?

By Karen Cioffi

Between your characters, the plot, and the other writing elements, you develop a story. If the mix is right, and the characters are believable, you can create a story worthy of publication.

Creating believable characters is an essential part of writing, and they need to be as life-like as possible. To accomplish this, you need to have a three dimensional protagonist.

So, which is your protagonist?

Is your protagonist flat – lacks any type of emotion and action, like the simple and safe kiddy rides at a children’s amusement park, the carousel horse that goes round and round, but does nothing else? Then you have a one-dimensional character on your hands.

Is your protagonist a little bumpy – he has some quirks, life and emotion, but no real depth of character or history, like the carousel horse that goes round and round and up and down at a steady easy pace? Then you have a two-dimensional character struggling to break into the world of believability.

Is your protagonist a full blown amusement park – a roller coaster, full of ups and downs, knowledge, emotion, character, quirks, life, and history? Now you have it; you have a believable three dimensional character that is strong enough to bring your story through to the end.

Now the question is: how do you create a wonderful, believable life-like three dimensional character?

There are a number of methods you can use that will help you create a believable character, here are two:

1. Create a character sheet or use an index card before you begin.

On your sheet, list all the characteristics, quirks, moods, mannerisms, physical attributes, artistic attributes…you get the idea. Keep this sheet handy as you’re writing your story. If you tell the reader Pete has blonde hair in the beginning of the story, and then you describe it as black, unless he dyed his hair as part of the storyline, stay true to the character. Readers pick up on errors very quickly.

The more detail you add to your character sheet the easier it will be to know what your protagonist will do in any given circumstance. This will take the element of wondering out of your writing process and save time: Pete finds a bag of money next to his neighbor’s car. Hmm . . . will he keep the money or try to find out if it’s his neighbor’s? Oh, wait a minute, on your character sheet you wrote he’s an honest guy! Simple.

2. Add characteristics and attributes to your protagonist as you write your story.

Write your protagonist’s characteristics, quirks, moods, mannerisms, and so on, on a character sheet as your story evolves. There are some writers who use different methods to create a story. Maybe you’re using the ‘seat-of-the-pants-method’ and your character evolves as your story does. With this method, you want to be sure to note each new development in your protagonist’s character or being.

Let’s go back to Pete again. Pete scratches a car as he’s parking. Does he leave a note on the car he damaged? Does he quickly leave the scene? Does he just ignore the incident as if it didn’t happen? Whichever one of these actions he chooses will establish another element to his character – be sure to make note of it.

No matter which process you use, remember to add life-like qualities to your character. Readers need to develop a relationship with the protagonist. If they feel Pete is three dimensional and they are drawn to him, they’ll be sure to read to the end of your book.

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Karen Cioffi is an author and ghostwriter. Her new MG/YA fantasy book, Walking Through Walls, is based on an ancient Chinese tale.

Wang longs to be rich…and powerful. At twelve-years-old, he already knows more about the Eternals and their way of life than many of the adults in his village. Learning about these mystics takes his thoughts away from the possibility of working in the wheat fields all his life, like his father. Wang has far grander goals.

To learn more about Walking Through Walls, its touring schedule and contest, and purchasing information visit: http://walkingthroughwalls-kcioffi.blogspot.com

To learn more about Karen and her books, visit:

http://www.karencioffiwritingandmarketing.com/p/karens-books.html

Please be sure to stop by Eylsabeth Eldering’ site http://jgdsseries.blogspot.com on July 19th for the next stop on the Walking Through Walls Tour.

Meet Sami DeMani, a Canada gander with a legendary golf game. He’s on track to win the prestigious Waterfowl Tour — and put his nemesis, the ruthless Pete Swan Lake, in his place once and for all. But right as Sami prepares to take a critical swing, a surprise scare changes everything — ruining the shot and putting Sami in the hospital. What happens next dashes any hopes for golf glory — or does it? No longer able to play, Sami throws himself into coaching his nephew, Myles, in the game he loves. Then the golf pro hatches a plan to help his nephew win a tournament with the aid of the specially designed Gooseneck Putter. This breakthrough device has the potential to change everything — including the confidence of the golf prodigy who uses it. But none of them are prepared for what’s about to occur as the tension rises on the course. Along the way, Sami and Myles will learn a powerful lesson regarding sportsmanship, perseverance, love, and what really matters in the game of life. A heartwarming and inspirational tale, The High-Tech Gooseneck Putter is about the power of golf to boost self-esteem, change lives, and bring a community together.

This is the latest Happy Guy Marketing success–my collaboration with artist, singer and Laughter Yoga leader Samuel DiMatteo. I am excited that Sami listed me as co-author because Samuel is one-of-a-kind. He, along with the colorful cast of golfing geese, sportscasting squirrels and business-minded beavers in the book, has won over several lovely lady authors. Suzanne Drazic will host us for Christmas in July on her blog to kick off our tour! A schedule:

• July 18–Walking Through Walls author Karen Cioffi-Ventrice guests on A Ghost Writers Blog
• July 24–We celebrate Christmas in July at Susanne Drazic’s blog.
• August 5–We golf through walls on Karen Cioffi-Ventrice’s blog.
• August 22–We stop at Lisa Haselton’s blog.
• November 14–We swap tales of ghosts and geese, dragons and co-writing at Penny Ehrenkranz’s blog.

And of course any of these lovely ladies has a standing invitation on this blog.

Our tour has a special significance: each date corresponds to golfing events in honor of our hero. A sample of the events:

• July 18, Karen’s stop–Ernie Els’s charity golf tournament Els for Autism Golf Challenge, TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois
• July 24–Skins and Pins Shootout, Strategic Fox, Fox Hills Golf Club, Plymouth, MI
• August 5–36th Junior PGA Championship, Sycamore Hills Golf Course, Fort Wayne, Indiana
• August 22–Las Vegas PGA Expo, also Boy Scouts of Omaha Invitiational
• November 5–PGA Tour President’s Cup in Australia

We have teed and shouted “Fore!”

I finally got to see “Ghost Writer” on a recent flight and thoroughly enjoyed it. For one thing, it adds a little glamour to what we do, and in the movie, the titular ghostwriter, played with wry perfection by Ewan McGregor, gets a nice hefty paycheck of ten million pounds to ghost the memoirs of former British PM Adam Lang, played with heavy creep factor by Pierce Brosnan. Famous client, great pay, and the manuscript is already written…by the previous ghost, who died mysteriously.

This is where fiction and fantasy enter in. The movie, while true to the spirit of what we do, is about as realistic as TV cop or medical dramas.  I personally have never gotten an assignment because the previous writer died. (In fact, as a previous blog post points out, clients are far more likely to do a vanishing act.) I also have never gotten such a notorious client as Adam Lang, who’s under investigation by the International Court for war crimes in the Iraq War. (But who’s to say it couldn’t happen?) I do have clients with stories that can tear you up, but I’ve never been thrown into an international controversy. Or been the potential witness to dirty deeds. (Thank God.)

However, I found that “Ghost Writer” treated the profession with respect and accuracy in many ways. To wit…

1. Tough deadlines. The Ghost is given a month to polish and finish what his predecessor started. Granted, this month of intensive exclusive work includes complete in person access to the client. After the media frenzy reaches the remote American island where Lang stays, the ghost writer gets to sleep and work in Lang’s residence. Useful for meeting deadlines…even if The Ghost may literally face life and death meeting his.

2. Research. Although my research has taken my projects down unexpected paths, with the clients along for the ride, I’ve never gone to the extremes The Ghost does. His efforts in piecing together what happened to his predecessor efforts prove the value of researching a client…Also, his insistence on clarifying the timeline of his client’s political activism prove to be the kind of tenacity you need as a ghost writer.

3. NDAS. I have been under a code of silence, but never been told, “the manuscript is not to leave this room. It is not to be copied.” Still, client confidentiality is a hallmark of the business.

4. Bad openings. Lang’s manuscript starts with his family history! McGregor’s utter frustration and disbelief are spot on when he reads the opening.

5. Personal entanglement. So many of my clients become my friends, and in many respects it’s like adding a dozen or more family members. However, there’s something sinister and codependent in the way that McGregor’s character gets entangled with Lang, his wife, and Lang’s admin/mistress.

6. Reading between the lines. The Ghost meets with Lang’s enemy, an MP who advises him the previous Ghost coded a hidden message in the manuscript. Proof positive that an eye for detail is necessary in this profession!

If your credibility, if your knowledge and skill, if your personality can help increase your conversion rate, keep reading.

If your credibility, if your knowledge and skill, if your personality can help increase the value of your sales, keep reading.

If your lack of credibility, if your unknown skills, if your personality can – oops! – lose you sales and cost you business, keep reading.

TEN REASONS TO WRITE YOUR BOOK

Here are ten reasons why you should write a book with your name as the author, with your face on the cover, with your expertise buttered across the pages in an easy-to read manner designed to impress the reader that you are the undisputed expert who can solve their problems and fill their needs.

It sure makes a business card look amateur: Do you hand out business cards. Yeah, so does every other real estate agent, every other advertising account representative, every other business consultant. But how many of them hand out a book, with their name and face on the cover? Guess which one – the business card or the book – will make a prospect take notice. And when nobody you compete with has their own book, you stand to gain the most; Real estate agents, take note.

“I wrote the book on [insert your expertise here]“: That’s right. As a new author, you can proudly adopt a new stance, clearly spoken or subtly implied. To “write the book” on a topic means that you are the ultimate expert. That is a competitive advantage that does not go unnoticed even at the subconscious level.

“Published author”: Those two words just might be the most powerful words on your resume. They open doors for clients. They open doors for speaking opportunities. They give you, as a consultant or a speaker, the ability to raise your fees – significantly!

Get the media to call you: Journalists are always looking for credible sources to quote. They often seek out authors who – wait for it… “wrote the book” on the subject. 1. So make sure the media have a copy of your book. Why bother? Potential clients see your name and look you up. 2. “As quoted in The New York Times” is a powerful testimonial (You are not only an expert published author, but also an expert because the New York Times says so. Wow! 3. Your stature within your industry or niche rises when others see you in the media.

Book reviews give you exposure: Exposure is good, as long as it is not of the x-rated kind.* Exposure that positions you as an expert, is even better. Make sure book reviewers in your niche get a copy.

Each chapter is a new online marketing tool: If you distribute articles online as part of your marketing efforts, try spinning each chapter into and article. Or into several. Imagine how much more persuasive your article will be when your bio box reads: “Based on chapter 3 of [insert name of book here]”

Book signings: People love getting autographs and they love free stuff. Whether you arrange for a signing at your local book store or set up a free signed book element to your trade show booth, you are bound to attract people who otherwise would overlook you.

Higher speaking fees: Yes, I know, I mentioned this in reason number 3, but it is a reason in itself. Give the same speech to the same people, but charge $1000 or $2000 or $5000 more. Yes, publishing your own book is like printing money. Don’t tell the FBI – they do n ot approve of private money-printing.

Back-of-the-room sales: If a few thousand more dollars in speaking fees is not enough, you can make a mint selling your book after the speech. This is called back-of-the-room sales. I have known many speakers who make more selling – and autographing – their books after their speech than they make delivering their speech. (Not speaking yet? Hmmm…maybe it’s time to publish a book and start speaking.)

R.O.I.: It costs nothing but time to write, and if you feel you need to hire a ghostwriter, it likely will cost just $5000 – $15,000 for an effective and professional manuscript.

It really is amazing how many entrepreneurs, consultants and professionals have not yet written their book. It is one of the first things anyone should do when trying to establish himself or herself as an expert in any field. Write your book and reap the rewards.

* Except if you are in the adult entertainment industry.

Here are 17 signs that all say “I need a proofreader!”

1. When you want a sense of “occassion”…

2. Back to “shcool” for this spelling bee contestant…

3. “Hipocracy” is for the hipos…

4. If you can edit this sign, “your” smarter than its writer…

5. The masked proofreader strikes again!…

6. This lady might not know English very well…

7. Sign’s need more apostrophe’s…and what is “beyone”?

8. A sign that maybe the staff should stay after class…

9. What do you do when you run out of space to finish your sign?…

10. West Newbury is a town that desperately needs a “scolarship” fund…

11, Whoever “THE CHURH” is, I’ll bet he’s not as ashamed as the person hiding her face behind her sign…

12. Get a brain! Moron*…

13. This lady is so excited about English, that she double-underlines the words she misspells…

14. When peeling them once isn’t enough…

15. Too bad. He should be “useing” a proofreader or editor instead…

16. Demonstrating just how badly someone might need both an editor and a proofreader…

17. Here’s a sign that you are insulting your customers…

*No morons were harmed in the creation of this post. The damage was done years ago.

That’s where ghostwriters come in. But ghostwriters are expensive. Let’s face it, you are hiring a skilled professional for several months, and the costs can add up. But there are ways to keep costs from spiraling out of control, and below are 18 tips to save money without skimping on quality. In fact, some of these tips will virtually ensure a better quality manuscript, regardless of the quality of the writer.

Some ghostwriters charge by the hour, others by the project. We always provide a project price (and you will soon discover why that makes more sense for ghostwriting clients) but the list below covers tips that help lower hourly ghostwriting costs.

Be prepared to save on ghostwriter fees

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE: Know what type of audience you’re aiming for; this helps to shape the material and save time on discussions beforehand or rewrites later on. If this is something you can’t do yourself, that’s OK; that might be one of the reasons to hire a ghostwriter in the first place, so make sure this is one of the first things you discuss with her.

GET A STYLE: Have an idea of the genre and style you want to use. There are just so many to choose from, and it really pays to get this right from the start. This is especially true if you are paying by the hour; you don’t want the writer to have to needlessly rewrite whole chapters because you had not carefully thought it through.

DON’T RUSH: You will have to decide when you want the manuscript to be completed. Ideally, you want to give the writer enough time to do a proper job without rushing. For books of 50,000 to 100,000 words, this is typically 4-6 months. A shorter deadline could be more expensive (if it is a “rush” job) and might even compromise the quality of the manuscript.

DO YOUR RESEARCH: Have all the details ready. This is especially crucial for non-fiction, where facts must be accurate. You can always ask the writer to do the research for you, but that can really sink you in the hole. I mentioned before that we charge on a project basis, but we make an exception for the research. This can be a bottomless pit of work for the writer, so we charge by the hour; don’t let is become a bottomless pit of costs for you.

BE ORGANIZED: This is the single most important factor in keeping down the costs of ghostwriting. It’s one thing to have done all the research, but if you provide a box of papers and news clippings, even with information highlighted or underlined, the writer still has hours of sorting and weeding to do – hours that will cost you money. Yes, we take that into account when finalizing the project price. Best to organize information by date (especially for biographies and true stories, by character (especially for fiction), by location, etc. If using research or interviews, double-check and correctly cite your sources so the writer doesn’t have to. This can get expensive if you are paying by the hour, and if paying by the project, the writer might leave it up to you to do anyway (and that information might have been useful to include in the text itself.

WRITE IT DOWN: What is in writing can be easily reviewed, saving countless hours of work. Nevertheless, lots of people offer us video or audio recordings. Can you imagine the pure torture a writer would have to go through, spending hours winding, rewinding, searching for a certain reference? Well, ghostwriters can imagine it, and if you provide audio or video information, we will tell you what the transcription fees will be. To avoid those fees, provide written notes.

GO ELECTRONIC: Electronic (Microsoft Word is the standard in the publishing industry) offers two major benefits over sending paper notes. The writer can easily search the documents much faster than by flipping pages. And often there is material that can be cut and pasted, such as quotations, long names of places or documents or diseases or Latin names of animals or…well, you get the idea. That saves time writing and it also saves time editing. Electronic is also instantaneous and easily shared, cutting down on distracting delays that ultimately can affect the quality of the writing.

GIVE CLEAR OBJECTIVES: If you make it very clear from the outset what you want, the writer won’t have to keep asking questions. Fewer questions, less back-and-forth and the less-frustrated, more-inspired writer (hint, hint – higher quality manuscript) will charge fewer hours. And for companies like us that charge by the project, we can tell pretty quickly if we need to factor teeth pulling hours into our price.

KICKSTART THE PROCESS:Create an outline or do a draft (if you can). This is a great way to make sure that not just your information is organized. It can save a few hours of back-and-forth with the writer. If this is something you can’t do yourself, that’s OK; that might be one of the reasons to hire a ghostwriter in the first place, in which case the money for this is well-spent.

Negotiating the ghostwriter contract

HIRE ON A PROJECT BASIS:That is the only way we operate. There are two benefits to hiring on a project basis, and both have to do with the tedious and time-consuming process of accounting. If a writer has to spend time and effort keeping track of hours, you pay first for the time she spend on “accounting” matters and then in the inevitably lower quality manuscript from a writer distracted. When we negotiate a contract with a client, all the accounting for hours is removed from the equation. Our writers focus on writers. They don’t have to spend their time accounting. Or marketing. Or networking. They focus on writing, and that’s what you want them to focus on.

ASK FOR THE BEST PRICE:This is pretty obvious, and you may already be getting the quoted price, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. If a ghostwriter is able to give you a better price, you’ll know right away. If she says the quote is final, don’t become a pest; the price won’t change. If the price is really too high for your budget, the writer might suggest reviewing some of the items on this list.

SHORTEN UP:The single most effective way to reduce the price is to reduce the word count. In some instances, this makes sense. In others, it does not. Ultimately, there is an ideal size for almost every book, and you don’t want to skimp. However, I have seen times when reducing the length of the book by as much as a third from the original intentions could save money without compromising effectiveness.

GET A FINAL EDIT: Make sure to ask if the manuscript will be in publishable form or will it still need to be edited. We always deliver publish-quality manuscripts. One big caveat: any editor will be able to take any manuscript, no matter how polished, and edit it further. And most publishing houses will want to edit whatever you present them to meet their own criteria. So “final” edits don’t really exist. But you don’t want to end up with a manuscript that still needs serious editing.

ASK FOR A BONUS: We are happy to provide free synopsis and query letter for any book-length manuscript. This saves time, headaches and costs for our clients who decide to approach publishers and agents. Obviously, this won’t work when hiring on an hourly basis, nor for clients who plan to self-publish, but many of our clients appreciate it. If you plan to self publish, you might ask for back-cover text as a bonus.

NEGOTIATE A FLEXIBLE PAYMENT PLAN:I should not that this won’t reduce your overall costs, and in some cases it might increase costs (like leasing a car costs more than buying it, even though monthly payments are less). But if cash flow is an issue, if you have only a certain amount of funds available each month, this might be for you. We usually request payment in thirds, but we have put clients on a monthly payment plan when asked. Our golden rule is that until we receive payment, the writer does not begin work. So when payment comes in monthly, it means the work flow follows the same schedule. I personally believe this is disruptive to the creative process, as the writer must stop and hold back at times when she is on a roll. But if your cash flow is limited, this might make sense.

Communicating with your ghostwriter

BE EMAIL ACCESSIBLE:Ghostwriters frequently have questions for clients. It saves a lot of disruptions if the writer can fire off a quick email and have it answered in a timely manner. Email saves a lot of time , because phone calls inevitably take longer and they often take time to set up, not to mention the distraction of trying to set up phone meetings. There is a cost to using the phone, and that cost is paid in both time (money) and distraction (manuscript quality).

BE PHONE ACCESSABLE: Yes, this contradicts what I said in the point above. Except that some question just are not simple enough to answer by email; sometimes the writer will have to probe. If you are easy to access by phone, you can cut down on telephone tag (and if you are email accessible, it is much easier to set up phone meetings).

LISTEN: Listen to your ghostwriter when she suggests a new story direction…it may cost you less in revision in the long run! You might have a good reason to go in another direction, but a professional ghostwriter also has a pretty good pulse on what publishers are looking for.

Many thanks to Debra, Heather, Kristin and Kathryn, four of our senior writers, for their assistance in putting this list together.