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

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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Ghostwriting and the Beauty of Words

Posted on September 13 2019 by Mark Graham
This page-turning historical fiction was written by Kirk Raeber, Mario Acevedo and Mark Graham Communications.

This page-turning historical fiction was written by Kirk Raeber, Mario Acevedo and Mark Graham Communications.

If you’re reading this, you’re most likely a lover of words, much as I am. The right word or combination of words can be beautiful, emotional, inspiring, heartbreaking.  Words can also be wasteful and meaningless.  But all words count.  All words have power.  The power to move us. The power to bore us.

Too often, we may not spend as much time as we might thinking about the words we are speaking or writing.  Just allowing words to spew out of our mouths can be wasteful on many levels.  Writing just to fill the page is mostly a waste of time and energy.  Nonetheless, an obsession with words and their magic is a special thing and worth investing considerable thought and energy.

You may wonder about the correlation between ghostwriting and the beauty of words, but it is very clear to anyone who has done it at a high level.  The best ghostwriters use their own words and their own phrasing to put forth an idea or story shared with them by a client and to do so with a respect for those words, even a love of those words. The best ghostwriters do not go through the motions of bringing a client’s story or message to life, but rather commit themselves to combining the best possible words in pursuit of a special book, special article, or  whatever special thing is writing.

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Ghostwriting and the Indie Publishing Mind Set

Posted on August 21 2019 by Mark Graham
Wow Moments

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

The minutes you hire a ghostwriter, you proclaim yourself an entrepreneur. The minute you hire the right ghostwriter, you become both businessperson and entrepreneur. Whether you’ve chosen to write a business book to expound upon your proprietary view of the industry you’re in, a memoir to celebrate a special, meaningful part of your life, or a work of fiction to launch a life-long dream of being a novelist, you want to be just as diligent and thoughtful about the process as you would if you were opening a restaurant or starting a tech company.

Yes, of course, there is something wonderful about the art of writing and creating and putting pen to paper. And yes, you want to celebrate that totally. Know, however, that this is about a team.

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Ghostwriting a Novel is like Planting a Tree

Posted on August 1 2019 by Mark Graham

Let’s say you have a wonderful idea for a novel. Let’s say you don’t have the time or experience necessary to bring this novel to life. How then do you find exactly the right ghostwriter or professional editor to collaborate on such an important venture?
I like to think of it as choosing the right tree for exactly the right spot in your yard. It’s a critical decision. A pear tree needs lots of sun and plenty of breathing room, for example. A sunrise maple is probably a better choice than a sugar maple for a backyard in the city.

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When you’re thinking about selecting a writing partner, the more you have a handle on the plot of your story, the more you’ll be able to communicate this to the ghostwriter of your choice.
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A Drop of Rain – collaboration with Heather Smith callahan and Mark Graham Communications

The better developed your cast of characters, the more memorable you and your team will be able to make them, though you also want a collaborator who stimulates your imagination when it comes to both plot and characters. That’s what a good team does. The more open you are to the voice, tone, and style of your book, the better, however, the person you are working with also has to have an open mind and respect your viewpoint.
A tree is a personal thing. You will be living with it in your backyard for many years, assuming you give it the care it deserves.
Your book is equally, if not more, personal. It will take anywhere from six months to two years to complete, and you want a partnership with your ghostwriter that thrives on the interaction this process will take.

Consider these four key elements when you’re thinking about the novel you want to author:

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Book Design and Ghostwriting

Posted on June 18 2019 by Mark Graham
image of the Aftershock book cover

This motivational book was a collaboration with Kelli Poles and Mark Graham Communications

You may be asking yourself how there can be a connection between ghostwriting and book design.  The truth is, the two are tied together in very obvious ways. Or at least they should be.

With all of our ghostwriting clients, every conversation includes some mention of where the final product will end up.  We don’t just hand over a finished manuscript and say, “Good luck.”  We want the finished manuscript to be published just as badly as our clients do.  There are two ways to go. Indie publishing (or independent publishing; also called self-publishing) and mainstream publishing. We talk about these two vehicles all the way through the process.  Yes, this may seem on the surface to be putting the cart before the horse, but we are planning for the publishing process throughout the writing process, whether the project is a novel, biography, business book, or book of health and inspiration.

In preparation, we introduce a client to our book designer and book design team very early in the process, even as the first draft of the book is coming together.  If a client chooses to independently publish their book and take charge of the publishing process, we want them to be thinking about their book cover – such an important decision – early on and to be aware of the interior layout process. We want to be sharing the different printing and ebook options available to them. Mostly, we want them to know that they are not alone in this process.

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Great Writers Start Out as Good Writers

Posted on May 14 2019 by Mark Graham
image of the Surreal Estate Book Cover

Surreal Estate – a captivating thriller, was a collaboration with Sugar and Mark Graham Communications

Great writers have a special way with words. They have a special way with storytelling.  They have a special way with building memorable characters.  They know drama. They understand jeopardy.  They understand their audience, and they never deceive their audience.

The thing is, great writers got that way by persevering.  Yes, they have skill, but they developed that skill by writing and writing every day. They never quit.  They push through the hard times when the creative juices might not be flowing.  They push through rejection and failure.  They let nothing come between them and their time in front of the typewriter, with their computer, or with notebook in hand.

  • Good writing takes practice.
  • Good writing takes study.
  • Good writing is about mastering a craft.
  • Great writing is when the practice and the study and the craft emerge as an art.

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Write for the Reader

Posted on April 17 2019 by Mark Graham
God in My Closet - Sonya Black

God in My Closet is a collaboration between Sonya Black and Mark Graham Communications

It’s really very simple. Good writing is about the reader, not the writer. If your goal is to indulge yourself, you’re probably going down the wrong track.  A good writer thinks about the reader’s point of view when he or she is composing sentence to sentence. A good writer doesn’t think, “Is what I’m writing clear?” but rather, “Does this bring clarity to the reader?”

Good writing can and should explore multiple layers, whether it be the perspectives that come from different situations or different characters or overlays different dimensions to a storyline or a narrative, but it should do so for the benefit of the reader, not as a means of coming across as eccentric or egotistical.

Earnest Hemingway once said, “The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof, shit detector.”  Hemingway also advocated for keeping things simple without meandering toward the simplistic. Make sure you’re not indulging some great need to use fifty-cent-words when a good ten-cent-word will do.

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Make an Impact – Inspire a Young Writer

Posted on March 8 2019 by Mark Graham
This unique self-help book on realizing your dreams as a reality is a collaboration between Jason McKinney and Mark Graham Communications.

This unique self-help book on realizing your dreams as a reality is a collaboration between Jason McKinney and Mark Graham Communications.

If you love writing or love reading and you want to inspire a young writer to sit down with pen and paper (or more likely at the keyboard of a computer) and encourage them to express herself or himself in words, here are some tips along those lines:

  • Be there for them. We can’t encourage our young writers if we don’t engage with them. Talk up reading and writing. Make sure your young writer knows that there is no right or wrong with the words they put down on paper. Their words are unique to them, and they should know that every word that goes down on a piece of paper is a part of his or her legacy.  Show that you are interested and that will spur their confidence.
  • Give them the tools. Make sure your young writer has a safe place to express herself or himself. A journal is a great idea. A computer that they have access to both at home and at school is important in this day and age.  Make sure they are given the time, space, and freedom to put their words down and make sure they respect that time. Continue reading →