I am a freelance and ghostwriter who develops articles and web content for various sites. I have been writing in a paying capacity for more than three years, but I have been writing in a fictional aspect for more than 25 years and am currently working on my own personal projects, hopefully for publication.
Writing articles isn’t the gravy job everyone thinks it is. Research is imperative when it comes to maintaining your credibility as a writer, and that can take some time. A good writer always poses essential skills such as writing out of thin air, rewriting the original content, paraphrasing the existing ideas into a unique one, following the theme, the ability to restructure the sentences and make the text coherent, and cohesive.
I would rate my job satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 10 at a 7.5, the only thing I would change is the ability to have more freedom in my choice of material to work on. I love the fact that writing has become my niche in life because, although the subjects may not always be what I would choose myself, I am able to construct the thoughts in my head into tangible information for the benefit and knowledge.
I began earning a living as a writer when I became physically disabled and was unable to hold a routine job, I was ordered by my doctor to stay home due to the physical limitations. Although, physically, I was no longer able to hold a routine job, there was nothing wrong with my mind, I took a passion that I had held for nearly a lifetime and turned it to my advantage and began earning a living. I think the only thing I would change about my work is to have one of my actual fiction novels published on its own just to see my own name in print on a bookstore shelf.
The hardest lesson I have learned in this field is that not everyone will like my writing or my style. Although it may be frustrating that is just how it is. But the fact that not everyone likes the same thing is actually a good thing because that means that just as there are those that don’t like my writing there are also those who do and appreciate it. The one most important lesson to learn about the working world that school will not teach you is that it’s just not always fair in the working world. School will try and balance things out so everyone gets an equal chance.
In the working world it’s very often the battle of the fittest and who can produce the best results, but its very important to make sure that what you produce is what you are always capable of and not a goal that you won’t always be able to reach on a regular basis, being able to reach the sky once is great but often that is what will be expected regularly so make sure you can meet those expectations.
Although writing can sometimes seem boring some of the article requests you receive can be intriguing. I think that the weirdest one I ever received was to help ghost write a book about the nonexistence of a higher power and how life was nothing but a game. These theories were developed by someone who, unfortunately, couldn’t really comment accurately about the weather, let alone the complex theories of a higher power. The idea of setting my thoughts and feelings down on paper is something that just keeps me going every day. Not to mention, the plethora of topics that I can choose from to research, as well as the challenges I might be offered as a ghost writer.
There are times when I wonder why I do what I do, especially when I have a client that requests something very specific and I deliver their requests only to be told they changed their mind and want something completely different. This usually means I have to start all over again. The only stress that can really be found in my work life is that of meeting deadlines, but with careful planning and a tenacious work ethic even that presents no problem.
Financial recompense for my type of work varies according to each project and the amount of work that goes into it. Sometimes I am paid very well and sometimes it’s somewhat tight, but overall with just article and ghost writing I am able to make around $25,000 in just those two areas, sometimes more. Generally, with my type of work I’m able to take time away as I need it. That’s one of the great things about being able to work at home, you can work or not depending on your mood. You just have to be careful about missing too much because of the money you may be missing.
The more education you have for the field of writing the better, however, curiosity and the desire to acquire new knowledge and a love for research will pay off big time. For anyone that wants to go into the same type of work I do, I would advise them to make certain that it’s what they really and truly want to do because it is a commitment. However, if you’re certain it’s what you really want you can find a lot of rewards as well. My goal for five years’ time is to have my own original novels in publication and to have increased my reputation in my field. I would also like to help others who want to develop their own writing talents.
