The Art and Science of Ghostwriting

Posted on February 15 2019 by Mark Graham
#5 Samaritan Court

This moving and powerful biography is a collaboration between Maria Mai-Thuy Swenka and Mark Graham Communications.

Good, strong, powerful writing is considered an art.  Of course, it is. You know great writing when you read it.  Just like you know poor writing when you read it. It is the writer who can elevate his craft to a place where the flow, tone, pace, and magic of each sentence drives the reader to want to return time and time again to the pages, hoping the prose go on forever.  Okay, that sounds a bit romantic, but you know how it is when you can’t wait to open that special book you’re reading at the end of a long work day. Or when you want to sneak in a few minutes with that special book during the day. It’s a true pleasure.

The art of ghostwriting is really no different. Whether the ghostwriter is tasked with the creation of a novel, biography, business book, or self-help book, the magic of finding the right words to express the client’s message or mystery, philosophy or world view, secret recipe or darkest secret is just as compelling and challenging as the author penning a short story or fantasy novel.

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The Beauty of Literature

Posted on January 24 2019 by Mark Graham
Inspired by real life events, this fascinating story is a collaboration between Gretchen Wiegand, Anna McDermott and Mark Graham Communications.

Inspired by real life events, this fascinating story is a collaboration between Gretchen Wiegand, Anna McDermott and Mark Graham Communications.

Stories can be found everywhere. When a good friend of mine once said, “The power is in the story,” he was referring to everything from history to gossip, a poem or a memory, a song or a child’s laughter. Everything we do in life is the essence of story, and thus, essential to the beauty of literature.

We all know that stories pre-date language, especially that of the written variety. Stories are a means of connecting, and human beings, as solitary as our physical bodies might be, long for connection. Literature connects us. Sharing literature with others, either by writing, reciting, or recommending, is a powerful form of communication that is a brick in the bridge that brings us together.

Literature is not for the great writers alone, nor is it for passionate readers alone. Literature is expression, and we all thrive on expression. We all thrive on the wonders of going places that no one else can go. If you and I read the same passage from the Songs of Solomon, our individual journey is completely unique, and that is extraordinary.  If a high schooler writes an eight-line poem, those eight lines are unique to him or her on a planet of seven billion people. Is there anything more beautiful?

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Trust and Your Ghostwriter of Choice

Posted on November 27 2018 by Mark Graham
An award winning biography ghostwritten with Paul Wayne by Mark Graham Communications

An award winning biography ghostwritten with Paul Wayne by Mark Graham Communications

Hillary Clinton didn’t write her own biography.  Neither did John F. Kennedy or Malcolm X.  They hired ghostwriters that they trusted. They hired ghostwriters with tremendous writing skills, yes, but also people who knew how to get the best story from their clients. It takes trust to do either of these.

It is not an easy decision, but it is worth every ounce of energy that you put into finding the right collaborator for your novel, business book, memoir, biography, or self-help book. You have to trust this person enough to share your ideas, your inner most thoughts, your opinions, and even your insecurities.  Make no mistake, it is an intimate experience, also an exhilarating one. At Mark Graham Communications, we have experienced this bonding hundreds of times. You need someone with great writing skills, and you need someone you can trust to create a special working relationship and to create a special book.

To begin, do your research.  Talk to people.  This is, in many ways, a job interview, except that the person you’re interviewing is skilled in an area that you are not.  Don’t be intimidated.  Trust your instincts.  Look for experience. Look for speciality.  A fiction writer might very well be a terrific biographer and vice versa, but these are still different genre requiring different skill sets.  Once you’ve established the potential ghostwriter’s skill level, then you have to judge the viability of the relationship you can build with this person. This is very much a feel thing, but it may also be an area where references can be helpful.  Don’t be afraid to ask for them.

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Hiring the Best Ghostwriter for Your Memoir or Biography

Posted on October 5 2018 by Mark Graham

This eye-opening memoir from a Vietnam POW was written by Robert Wideman, Cara Lopez Lee and Mark Graham Communications

Your life story deserves the attention and skill of the very best ghostwriter in the country.  Settle for nothing less.  This ghostwriter does not need to live in your home town or home state.  At Mark Graham Communications and Graham Publishing Group, we come to you.  We sit with you. We get to know you. We build a trusting relationship. And then we write a biography or memoir that is deserving of your legacy.

No matter what anyone tells you, the life you have lived is more than a story filled with adventures and obstacles, love and loss, family and friends.  It is more than jobs you’ve worked or the degrees you’ve earned.  It is more than the memories you’ve accrued or the regrets you have. It is more than your successes and your failures.  It is your legacy.  It is the power of all your experiences coming together via the power of the written word.  You do not want to trust your legacy to just anyone.  Find the right collaborator.

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Ghostwriting Fiction vs. Non-Fiction

Posted on September 24 2018 by Mark Graham
Fallen Medicine: A Nurse's Dark Journey Through Ptsd, Drug Abuse and Sexual Addiction

This fascinating story of a nurse suffering from PTSD was a collaboration between D. F. Thompson and Mark Graham Communications.

You are probably familiar with the obvious definitions of fiction and non-fiction.  Fiction, it is said, is predicated upon such things as plot, settings, and characters, all care of your imagination. Whereas non-fiction relies upon actual facts about real people and even more real events.

These are good definitions, to be sure, but what is most fascinating from a top-flight ghostwriter perspective is that the definitions overlap in the most interesting and useful ways.

When we have a client wishing to write that special novel that has long been in his or her head, we spend considerable time brainstorming the storyline, giving life to the characters, and creating settings that fit the former in the most effective way.

Interestingly, when we have a client interested in writing their memoir or biography, there is still a storyline; it just happens to follow the client’s life and can be as captivating as any piece of fiction. There are still characters, and the primary character has lived the storyline. We treat the development of that character very much as we would a made-up character from a thriller or mystery. There are still settings; they are the places where the client has lived his or her life and become who they are.

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Book Marketing and Ghostwriting

Posted on August 31 2018 by Mark Graham

Book marketing is one of the most important pieces of being a successful author and hiring the right ghostwriter. Perhaps your book is written. Or perhaps you’re in the process of writing a book with a professional ghostwriter. Now what? How do you find your audience? How do you build a brand for your book and yourself as an author?

All good questions.  If only the answers were as easy to come by.  Consider first that you have to create a buzz for your book both pre-publication and post-publication. You have to develop a marketing plan and look for appropriate promotional support.

You will want to utilize the latest and most effective resources and tactics available to you. You will want to personalize the process to fit your book specifically.

What are the vital steps you will need to take?  You will need to create an email marketing campaign designed to dissemination of your title, your synopsis, and your author information.  That’s a good start but it’s just the beginning.

You will want to establish a presence on niche social networks and similar communities directly related to your title, genre, and literary communities. It is often helpful to make title and author submissions to specific forums, message, and discussion boards.

Man finding a book in a bookstore

Another effective tool is to make book submissions to online blog sites specific to the genre of your title. If these very important sites read and review your work, they will them disseminate it to their followers. Very powerful.

Of course, we all know about the social networking avenues, including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, but learning how to best use them is the challenge we all face.

Once your book is written, no matter the genre, the most important part of the publishing process is letting readers know your work is available. There is an audience for every book; it is just a matter of finding it.

If you’d like to know more about marketing your book or hiring a ghostwriter, we’d be happy to help you at Mark Graham Communications. Visit us online at www.markgrahamcommunications.com, give us a call at 303-777-4155, or drop us an email at: info@markgrahamcommunications.com 

Ghostwriting a Biography

Posted on July 10 2018 by Mark Graham

This award winning biography written by Paul Wayne and Mark Graham Communications

Writing someone’s biography or memoir is a true art form.  It represents the creation of a person’s legacy and their contributions to the world, their family, themselves.

A biography is the melding of many stories into one coherent, colorful, and respectful arc that is similar to every special and memorable novel.  Yes, a biography flows with conflict and jeopardy, with joy and happiness, with sadness and despair, with triumphs and victories, and with the inevitable failures and missteps.

Every single one of us has a story to tell, and our own personal stories are compelling for a multitude of reasons, but most important of because it is completely and utterly unique to each of us. No one can replicate your story, and that single fact makes it memorable.

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Writing is Hard Work – Or is It?

Posted on June 8 2018 by Mark Graham
This intense and suspenseful read, written by King Hurly and Mark Graham Communications will keep you on the edge of your seat from cover-to-cover.

This intense and suspenseful read, written by King Hurley and Mark Graham Communications will keep you on the edge of your seat from cover-to-cover.

Expressing yourself with the written word is hard work.  It takes time and dedication. It takes a rare combination of industry and creativity.  You might ask, “Why even bother?”  There are lots of answers: it’s worth all the blood, sweat, and tears; it one of the best ways to tap into your heart and soul; if it were easy, everyone would do it. All of these are true, even if they may not be enough to get you to pick you your pen.

Let’s be honest. There is more to it than that.

Each and everyone of us have thoughts, ideas, and emotions worth sharing.  Putting those thoughts, ideas, and emotions down on paper are worth the difficulty. Those thoughts, ideas, emotions represent you as a person. They represent your legacy. Bringing clarity to this wonderful, complicated, unique pool of stuff is a gift that writing makes possible.

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Five Steps to Writing a Quality Self-Help Book

Posted on May 18 2018 by Mark Graham

This power-packed stepmom guide is a collaboration between Kristin E. Smith and Graham Publishing Group

It is no secret that the self-help industry is booming.  It is no secret that most of us are searching for ways to make our lives more meaningful.  We’ve all heard it: life is stressful.  What is it that give life meaning, injects more fun into our days, or inspires us to new heights?

Enter the self-help book. Yes, the best selling of all genres. You’ve thought about writing one; you have an area of expertise that you feel others would benefit exploring.  Okay, so let’s talk about the five most important steps in creating something truly special.

Step One: Be the Man (or Woman)

The business of writing self-help books is about establishing your credibility in whatever area you choose.  Love, money, health, ant farms, cotton candy.  All you need to do is prove that you are not an amateur. How do you do that? You do the work. You research. You read. You practice. You put two and two together and come up with tools that can actually help people. Then you distill it into a readable, entertaining presentation that makes people want to try your tools.

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Know What to Write Before Writing It

Posted on April 18 2018 by Mark Graham
An award winning biography ghostwritten with Paul Wayne by Mark Graham Communications

An award winning biography ghostwritten with Paul Wayne by Mark Graham Communications

I know this sounds like a strange title for a blog about writing, but it so often happens that we get all geared up to the task of writing without really examining our book concept.  It is not to say that you have to know all the working parts, but you have to know enough to get the juices flowing. Writing is hard enough without the inspiration, so make sure you can feel it.

So here are a few thoughts on the subject of fleshing out that illusive idea.

There is a thing called having a vision for what you want your book to accomplish. To entertain, to help others with their struggles, to write your legacy piece. You get the idea. Pin this down.

Once you’ve got a handle on this vision thing, then decide if it fits the audience you are targeting.  This is pretty important.  Baby boomers, Gen-X’ers, 18-35 years olds. Put a name to it, then put an age to it, then consider your demographic.

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