Blog - News and Updates from the World of Ghostwriting and Self-publishing

Story Power

Posted on July 16 2020 by Mark Graham

Soul Tracker is a collaboration between Nicholas Crabtree and Mark Graham Communications.

There is a wonderful saying: “The Power is in the Story.”  How true this is. If you love to read, there is nothing quite like falling into the grasp of a well-crafted novel or biography, a timely short story or expose, a heartfelt poem or play. Story comes in so many captivating forms.  A friend telling a story over dinner; a parent weaving a mystery around the campfire; an elderly man or woman captivating a younger person with tales of their youth.

Listen, learn, love.

We love when a skilled author creates a character so special that we find ourselves fully invested in that character’s outcome.  We love when a storyline is so compelling that it leaves us in tears or holding our stomachs in laughter.  A true story and a work of fantasy serve the same purpose if effectively written: to entertain us; to tap into our emotions; to draw us from one page to the next.

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The Art of Ghostwriting a Business Book

Posted on June 19 2020 by Mark Graham
Wow Moments

This engaging how-to business book on customer interaction is a collaboration between Mark Kent and Mark Graham Communications

You are a successful businessperson. You have developed a business acumen that is uniquely your own.   You have built your own business or created a robust business career to arrive at your current station in life.  Writing a business book or business biography is a next step in sharing your story, your message, and your working philosophy. You have a created a wealth of tools and traits that businesspeople of all ages would benefit by.  Why not share them?  Why not share your journey?  Why not use a well-crafted book to power the next phase of your career and cement your legacy?

Enter the professional ghostwriter. If you hire the right ghostwriter, they will have both the writing skills and the relationship skills to take your ideas and craft a readable, accessible book that will do you proud. Here are the keys:

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Your Biography – Your Legacy

Posted on May 8 2020 by Mark Graham
#5 Samaritan Court

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

With every decision we make, every relationship we create, and every action we take, our individual legacies take shape, influence others, set the tone for our successes and our failures, and clearly express who we are.  Your legacy is worth sharing. Your legacy is the sum total of every meaningful moment in your life, and this legacy is worthy of a book. 

Too many of us view our lives as ordinary and, in many cases, forgettable. Nothing could be further from the truth. Your experiences have meaning. The lessons you have lived and learned can and should reach beyond today.  Family, friends, colleagues, and, very often, a far bigger audience deserves to hear about your triumphs and your failures, your highlights and your lowlights, your good times and your bad.  Your legacy need not be filled with exotic adventures to make it worth sharing. Think of all you’ve learned about people, about the facing and conquering of obstacles, of all your tears, all your laughter, all the tools you’ve collected with experience and the passing of time.

Your biography is your legacy.  It allows you to bring the important and not so important moments to life, to drop the many people interesting in your journey right into the scenes of your past.  Time is the best teacher, but someone who is willing to expression both the ups and downs of their years provides a learning experience to every reader. 

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“I Always Wanted to Write a Book!”

Posted on April 16 2020 by Mark Graham
An award winning biography ghostwritten with Paul Wayne by Mark Graham Communications

This award winning biography was a collaboration between Paul Wayne and Mark Graham Communications

“I always wanted to write a book!”

This is, in many ways, a universal thought.  Most of us have said this or thought it, because, quite frankly, writing and completing a book is a very special thing.

Not everyone is meant to write a book, but let’s consider what it takes to get there.  It’s not magic. It’s work.  Let’s start there. 

Writing a book takes time. And it takes energy. It takes commitment.  If you say, “I don’t have the time or I don’t have the energy,” then you probably don’t really have the dream. That’s okay, but you might want to consider this. You might not be approaching the use of your time or energy with a plan.  Books take work, but they also take planning.  A schedule. Discipline to stay on that schedule.  Prioritizing.  If the book is important to you, make it a priority, even if it’s an hour a day.

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Ghostwriting – Facts and Fictions

Posted on April 3 2020 by Mark Graham

Tuah. an inspiring short novel, is a collaboration between Jeyda Bolukbasi and Mark Graham Communications

Fact: You have a book inside you, but time and circumstances have kept you from getting started.

Fact: Hiring a ghostwriter may very well be the best solution for you.

Fact: Hiring a ghostwriter saves you time and provides you with a professional skill that few people have. Which means you are applying their talents to your project while you focus your time on your own expertise. 

Fact: Most people who start a book do not finish it. This is another distinct advantage in hiring the right ghostwriter.

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Ghostwriting: Art or Business

Posted on February 25 2020 by Mark Graham

The Eyes of the Moose – collaboration with David Ranking Johnson and Mark Graham Communications

Writing is, of course, an essential in our world, first and foremost. We write emails galore, text even more, journal for fun and introspection.  We write lists that guide our days.  We leave notes for our kids.  We leave ourselves notes to inspire, motivate, or just to remind us of whatever it is we need to be reminded of.  We keep our calendars. We scribble entries in our diaries. We scribble on stickies, on napkins, on legal pads.

Writing verges closer to art when we try our hands at more expansive things like poetry and prose, short stories and essays, plays and novels, memoirs and biographies, self-help books and books of inspiration. At some point, with practice and self-discipline, and more practice, maybe we actually cross over into that illusive plane where writing does become art. It’s a wonderful goal. Just the pursuit alone is worth the effort.

Ghostwriting may be a business first, because ghostwriting is essential plying a trade, but it is not a business to pursue if you haven’t pursued the often-illusive art of writing. Most accomplished ghostwriters are highly published in their own right, and that is often used as a benchmark for the art of writing. No, a published author is not automatically an artist, but a published author is generally travelling the path of pushing his or her craft in the direction of artistry. Again, it’s about the goal. It’s about the pursuit.

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Writing a Novel? Finding the Right Ghostwriter is Critical

Posted on January 28 2020 by Mark Graham

Twin Flames is a collaboration between Charles Quinn and Mark Graham Communications

Finding exactly the right ghostwriter or professional editor for your novel is like choosing the right tree for exactly the right spot in your yard.  It’s a critical decision.  Once you commit to a ghostwriter and he or she commits to you, there’s no looking back.

Our years of experience at Mark Graham Communications have shown us several things. The more you have finalized the plot of your story before you commit to writing, the further down the road you will be; the better developed your cast of characters, the more memorable they will be; the more committed you and your ghostwriter are to the voice, tone, and style you decide on, the more you’ll be able to dive in head first without second guessing yourself.

As a ghostwriter, there are four key elements that we want to consider up front.

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Content Editing Your Manuscript

Posted on December 10 2019 by Mark Graham

The Rigel Affair is a collaboration with I. M. Hedrick and Mark Graham Communications

Content editing is the art of working on the language of someone’s manuscript and enhancing, where appropriate, everything from the storyline of a novel and the details of a memoir to the presentation in a business book and the style components of the self-help book.

A talented content editor is much rarer than you might think, because he or she must raise the presentation of a manuscript while honoring the voice that the author has created. Content editing can focus on very specific style elements, such as changing the voice of a piece from passive voice to active voice where appropriate, to more aggressive responses, such as adding descriptive passages where clearly needed in a biography or filling obvious holes in action scenes of a suspense novel.

Content editing is an art form in many ways.  To heavy of a hand and the editor threatens to overwhelm the essence of a piece and mask the heart and soul of author’s original intent; to light of a hand and the editor may fail to take the material in question to its highest level of presentation, which, of course, is the ultimate goal.

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Write the Business Book You’ve Always Wanted to Write

Posted on November 26 2019 by Mark Graham

The Aware Leader – collaboration with Richard Metheny and Mark Graham Communications

If you’re reading this, then you’ve very likely thought about writing a business book. A well-written business book serves a multitude of purposes.  Let’s explore them.

  1. Establishes Your Credibility.

You’re good at what you do. You’ve put time, energy and hard work into your field of expertise. When you talk, people listen. You’ve earned a level of trust because you know what it takes to be successful. Do the world a favor and put that expertise down on paper. Do yourself a favor and enhance your credibility in the eyes of your peers, your industry, and your team.

  1. Builds Your Confidence.

True, you need to have a good amount of confidence to write a book, but when you actually see your ideas, concepts and principles coming to life on the page, you gain a new kind of confidence, as in, “If I can write a book, there’s not much I can’t do.”

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To Hire a Ghostwriter – That is the Question

Posted on October 22 2019 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 suspenseful read was written by King Hurley and Mark Graham Communications.

If you’ve got a book in you that is dying to come out, hiring a ghostwriter may very well be the ideal solution for you. Whether it’s a novel, biography, business book, or self-help book that’s percolating inside you, here are the key points to consider.

  1. Hire a ghostwriter with serious publishing credentials.

You want to hire someone who has written and published book-length material and done so successful.  You really do not want to trust your book to someone just getting started in the writing world. You want someone experienced in the art of writing and savvy about identifying your audience and giving them a readable, enjoyable product.

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