February 13, 2025 • 21 mins
Are you wondering, "Can I hire a writer to write for me?"
In this episode we break down the question, ‘What is ghostwriting?’ and explore who can help you write a book when you're short on time or expertise. Join host Melody Ann as she interviews ghostwriting expert Melanie Gill to uncover the truth about hiring a professional writer for your nonfiction book.
Want to plan your nonfiction book successfully? Grab my FREE Book Planning Guide here: http://authornation.online/planning
Key Takeaways:
In this episode we break down the question, ‘What is ghostwriting?’ and explore who can help you write a book when you're short on time or expertise. Join host Melody Ann as she interviews ghostwriting expert Melanie Gill to uncover the truth about hiring a professional writer for your nonfiction book.
Want to plan your nonfiction book successfully? Grab my FREE Book Planning Guide here: http://authornation.online/planning
Key Takeaways:
- What is ghostwriting? Learn how ghostwriters transform ideas into professionally written books.
- Can I hire a writer to write for me? Discover when and why hiring a ghostwriter makes sense.
- Who can help you write a book? Find out the difference between ghostwriters, writing coaches, and editors.
- How to hire the right ghostwriter—what to look for and common mistakes to avoid.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to author Nation.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Today is very special because we are meeting Melanie Gill,
a member of the author Nation team and ghostwriter extraordinaire
for Nutritious Truth Publishing.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
I'm your host, Melody Anne. I'm here to.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Guide you toward actionable insights and strategies that will help
you succeed as an author. So visit authornation dot online
for fabulous resources just for you.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Now. Whether you're sipping a morning coffee.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Or winding down after a long day, which is what
I'm doing today, settle in and let me introduce our guest.
Melanie Gill has more than ten years of writing and
ghostwriting experience and spent several years working in medical practice
as a practice manager. I'm in the medical practice gave
her the opportunity converse with surgeons, biokineticists, and professionals in
(01:06):
several other medical fields, so she is fascinated by the
human body. Besides that, she is raising a medically complex
son and frequently deals with medical referrals, reports, and research
in her own time. She can be found in the
mountains or by the sea, something we have in common,
and she's always looking for outdoor activities to enjoy. She
(01:26):
loves literature and anything to do with books and language.
Melanie currently lives in South Africa. Welcome Melanie.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
How are you today?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
I'm good? Thanks in you Melody, good good.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
I think this is great.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
We're doing it because sometimes people email you or email
me and they think we're the same person because we're
a Melo d and a Melanie. So from now on
I'm going to refer people to this video and like, nope,
two different people.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Sorch sorry, check which person is which?
Speaker 1 (02:03):
That's sorry? Check which person is rich?
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Exactly? All right?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I want to talk about your ghost writing because you
started ghost writing before you started publishing your own books.
So can you talk about that transition and what was
it like to go for writing for others to see
your own name on the book cover.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
It was pretty incredible. Ghost Writing for someone else when
you're writing fiction is simple. They give you the outline
of what they want, You give them the word count
and make sure that it's a good quality product, and
you hand it over. But switching to doing your own
(02:47):
writing gets you to experience the editing process and going
through your work with someone else else's oh sorry, gosh,
critique and advice and helping you to actually improve what
you're doing, and then seeing your name on a book
covers pretty wild.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yes, I agree, right, it's like, wow, it's funny. Sometimes
I'll be looking at like our podcast podcast Statistics, and
I'm like, people are listening.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
It's like, so I absolutely relate. It's so much. It's
so interesting, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
So let's talk nonfiction for a moment, because a lot
of nonfiction other authors don't fully understand what ghost writing entails.
In fact, I've heard people say that, you know, the
authors don't even know what's in the book.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
So can you break it down for us a little bit?
Speaker 2 (03:44):
How does go ghostwriting differ from you know, you writing
your own book and what role do you play in
shapey a client's work.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Well, a ghost wratter will take your exact words.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
We're not going to add our own story or narrative
into what you want to produce. So you understand that
we go through a process of interviews, we transcribe what
you say to us, and then we take your exact
words and we simply turn it into a comprehensible, easy
to read product that you want. At the end of
(04:22):
the day, we help you to put your story or to.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
I think the.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
Easiest way to say it is a lot of people
don't know how to take what they're experiencing in their
mind or what they want to put into a book,
and actually put it into a readable format. So your
ghost writer is almost a little processor in between the
two functions in your brain. We take what you're thinking
and we put it into words that somebody else can
(04:50):
appreciate and read.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
That's actually really well said, because you know, when you're
ghost writing a book, it is it is not the
ghostwriter's content.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
It is the author's content.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Mmm. Yes.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
And as you said, we do interviews. Often people come
with a half written book, so we have, you know,
something to work with. We can look at the tone
their voice.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Right, and so we mutch.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
You know, part of your job is a ghost writer,
is to understand how that person writes, their tone, their voice,
and to take what they've already done and and research
they give you and interviews and then kind of put
all of.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
That together and package it nicely. Is that does that
make sense?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
It does?
Speaker 4 (05:44):
Your ghost writer has to be a bit of a
chameleon to adapt the tone that they're writing into how
you would present your book. Because you don't want to
go and do a book reading of a product that
you've had ghost written and it.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Does not sound like you. It's not. You want it
to be an organic process.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
And I know I have usually eight to ten hours
of interview or audio footage or audio that I get
to transcribe and then turn into your ghost writing projects.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
So by the end of a project, you almost feel
like you know somebody.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Yeah, especially if you're writing a memoir, right, yes, exactly, yeah, brilliant.
So a lot of people I've heard say, you know, well,
I whyt to just write realm book. So what are
some common reasons people come to ghost trainers?
Speaker 4 (06:43):
They don't have the time. A lot of professionals who
want to write their own memoirs are very driven in
their own careers, or they have families to look after,
and they simply do not have the hours to put
into a writing because let's be honest, you're a writer too.
You understand how much time goes into each and every
(07:06):
piece of writing that you do. It's time consuming. And
then the biggest reason that I've found is people saying
I don't know how to convert what I'm saying or
what I'm thinking into a written book.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yeah, that's accessible, easy to read, accessible, easy to read,
and will possibly sell well.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Are there any misconceptions about ghost writing that you'd like
to clear up?
Speaker 4 (07:40):
As the author or the person who is having the
project ghost written, you still.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Have to put in a lot of work.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
You are going to have to give us the information.
We cannot magically siphon it out of your brain. So
you're going to have to give us chunks of written
work that you've put together.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Though we're going to be asking you a lot.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Of questions, possibly quite personal, and you're going to have
to put us side in the very least.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
The time for the interviews.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
So a lot of people think, oh, I want something
ghost written. There it is, I have to do nothing now,
it gets everything gets done for me.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
So that's a big misconception people have, you know.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
And yeah, and good to clear that up, because it's
it's not we don't, you know, magically pull information out
of people's brains.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
It needs to be conveyed in some way, right exactly, now.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
I know that you know, I know you know. We
often work under strict NDAs, so we can't talk about specifics,
but can you share some of the most interesting challenges
or maybe rewarding moments or your favorite, you know, kind
of genre to work in as a ghost writer.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
I love working with people in their memoi and one
that stands out really particularly was a project that I
helped to work on for a person who was experiencing
haunting and paranormal activity.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
And it was really interesting.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
To write that project, but it kind of gave me
the creeps and I did not want to work late
at night.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Oh that's funny.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Yeah, oh my.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Let's talk a little bit about your role in authour Nation.
So we actually we have two companies. We have Nutritious
Tooth Publishing. That is where we work with medical professionals
taking their vast amount of information, complex knowledge and translating
that into an accessible, engaging and impactful book. And then
there's author Nation and an author Nation you'd manage all
(09:53):
the digital media and guest relations for this podcast and
other projects. So how has working behind the scenes in
a community for writing focused community influenced influenced your work
as a raid or inspired you or whatnot.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
It has made me pick up a pen and actually
sit down and feel creative again for the first time
in almost seven years. So it's been a really amazing
experience and it's also been a huge learning experience because
I've gone from not working with a lot of technical
(10:34):
programs and software to now working in several and.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
I've been studying. It's just it's been an amazing experience.
It's fun. I love the guests that we work with,
so yeah, I love it.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Oh good, good. And you do SEO rating as well
for Arthur Nation.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Yes, yes, yes, that is been yeah, very cool.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Yeah, and that's not something you do in a book necessarily,
so that's been something new for you.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
It has. Yes, it's been an interesting learning experience.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
So you just talked about, you know, feeling creative again,
and you haven't you know, you haven't published recently, So
are you Are you getting back into writing for yourself
as well?
Speaker 3 (11:32):
I am.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
Yes, it's taken a long time, but I have plans
for twenty twenty five and it's going to be good.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Nice. So I know I know that, you know.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
I know as a as a writer and an editor,
I do a lot of reading and writing and editing
for other people, and my own projects can.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Be easily lost in that.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yes, So I'm curious you know how you know what's
inspired this back to writing bit, and uh, what do
you know? Do are you willing to give us any
hints on what you're working on and how.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Are you going to fit it in because you also
have two kids.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
Yes, the two kids go to school in the morning,
so I have a couple of hours to myself. And
as for inspiration, our writing and community that we host
with uthination has been really great. And then I also
I really love there's a South African author called Wilber
(12:40):
Smith and I've been listening to an audiobook of I
guess it's kind of his biography but called on Leopard Rock,
and he speaks about his writing process in a very
personal way and he makes it come to life and
doing things like that. Listening to that, reading his books again,
(13:00):
it's inspiring and it makes me want to get back
on the writing side of my own screen.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
So you're going to have to give us a link
to at least one of his books so that we
can put it in the show notes as well. And
for everyone listening, connect with Melanie on LinkedIn. I've put
the LinkedIn in front of you, but you will also
find it in the show notes as well, So don't
forget it, forget to connect with Melanie as on LinkedIn
(13:32):
as well. All right, So for nonfiction authors listening right now,
or people who want to be nonfiction authors listening right now,
how do you how do they know ghostwriting is the
right thing for them?
Speaker 4 (13:48):
If you find yourself in a situation where you feel
that the world out there could benefit from the knowledge
you have, whether it is a memoir or an instruction
manual or guidance in business principles, anything that you feel
(14:08):
you are holding on to and you want to share
with the world. But you are stuck and you don't
have time, or you feel that you don't have the skills.
You could reach out to a writing coach, or look
at the resources on author Nation, or you could find
a ghostwriter to help you, because we're not going to
ghost Writing is not going to steal the attention that
(14:31):
you get away from you. It gives you everything and
it helps you. It's a tool that you use as
an author.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Yeah, excellent, thank you.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
And there are some famous authors who started out writing
their books and then hire ghost writers to help them
produce more and more books per year.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
No names. So besides experience, what do people look for
when hiring a ghost writ.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
Please look at some of the work they've done, because
the market these days with websites such as fiver and
freelancer is flooded with people who I actually hate saying this,
but there are a lot of people out there who
don't have the necessary skills or experience, or are a
(15:23):
first language speaker of the language that you want your
book written in. And unless you are a first language
speaker of for example, English or in my case, Afrikaans,
you cannot write in that language.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
You are going to make mistakes.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
And you don't want to publish a book that is
full of mistakes. You are going to have poor sales,
your reputation is going to suffer. It's not a good
way to start.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
I agree. And so you're a native speaker.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Are you a native speaker in English and Afrikaans or
are you a need to read English and fluent in Afrikaans?
Speaker 4 (16:02):
What it like?
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Can you explain that a little bit to me?
Speaker 3 (16:05):
I am Afrikaans.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
I'm a native speaker, completely fluent, reading, writing, and speaking Afrikaans.
And my grandmother raised me so she made sure that
we spent one day speaking English and one day speaking Afrikaans,
and she focused very heavily on making sure that I
(16:27):
was fully bilingual.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
That's amazing. I love that.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
So I just want to wrap up here with what's
the first best what's the best first step in working
with you?
Speaker 4 (16:48):
The best first step is to sit down and think
about the project that you want to write. You cannot
come to a ghost writer and say this is the
book I want to writ and expect content to come
out of nowhere.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
So you do need to sit.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
Down and at least have an outline and notes and
a spec of what you want so that I have
an idea.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Of how to help you.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
So that's going to be the first step.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Yeah, no, that sounds good. Where can people find you?
Speaker 4 (17:28):
LinkedIn is where I am most active. I huck at
social media in general, where my own stuff is concerned.
I don't like putting my personal life out there, so
LinkedIn is bed or I can put my email address.
We can include my email address.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
In the show notes, which is also the easiest way
to reach me. But yeah, I'm always on LinkedIn.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Brilliant.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Thank you so much, Mel, It's been it's actually been
great working with you. We've been working together for a
little well now, And I just want to mention to
everyone about you know, when when mel is talking about uh,
you know, hiring ghosts, you see ghost writers for you know,
pennies and so inexpensive, and you think, yes, you know,
(18:15):
I can do this. What happens is, Melanie and I
often see you later, right we You know, sometimes we
work with people who've had that experience and now they're
looking for a rerank because it's you know, riddled with
(18:35):
mistakes or or whatnot. So I encourage you even if
you just decide not to work with us, just get
in touch and make sure the people you are working
with will produce a high quality book for you, because
that's going to matter for your reputation.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Any final words, mel.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
On that same topic, as far as we will see
you later as concerned, don't be the person who tries
to cut your hair at home and then has to
go and pay a salon a fortune to.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Fix the problem.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Good analogy, the perfect way to think of us.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah, good analogy. There's a little side note, but my
you know, every child cuts her own hair at once,
and my oldest daughter cut her own hair and she
had this huge tounk out of it, and so I
took her to my hairdresser and she sat in the
chair and the hairdresser kind of looked at it. My
(19:39):
daughter looked at her and said, cut it longer, please.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
Yes, because it's always easy to do that.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Yeah, So you want you don't want to have to
go for a fix that you know feels impossible, So
contact work with a work with a a high quality
ghost writer. All right, thank you for joining us, mel
I really appreciate your time today.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
That's been awesome.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Thank you good and thank you for joining us on
Authornation Interviews. And we hope this conversation is provided with
some valuable insights and maybe some inspiration to start working
on your own nonfiction book. Don't forget to visit authoration
dot online to unlock a wealth of resources designed to
support your growth as a successful nonfiction author. And you
(20:34):
know someone who needs to hear this, so send this
over to them. And of course, your feedback, your comments,
your reviews, your love. All of this helps us continue
to bring high quality episodes to you. So participate, comment,
(20:55):
give us feedback. We love hearing from you. Keep writing,
keep creating, and continue sharing your unique stories with the world.
Welcome to author Nation.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Today is very special because we are meeting Melanie Gill,
a member of the author Nation team and ghostwriter extraordinaire
for Nutritious Truth Publishing.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
I'm your host, Melody Anne. I'm here to.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Guide you toward actionable insights and strategies that will help
you succeed as an author. So visit authornation dot online
for fabulous resources just for you.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Now. Whether you're sipping a morning coffee.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Or winding down after a long day, which is what
I'm doing today, settle in and let me introduce our guest.
Melanie Gill has more than ten years of writing and
ghostwriting experience and spent several years working in medical practice
as a practice manager. I'm in the medical practice gave
her the opportunity converse with surgeons, biokineticists, and professionals in
(01:06):
several other medical fields, so she is fascinated by the
human body. Besides that, she is raising a medically complex
son and frequently deals with medical referrals, reports, and research
in her own time. She can be found in the
mountains or by the sea, something we have in common,
and she's always looking for outdoor activities to enjoy. She
(01:26):
loves literature and anything to do with books and language.
Melanie currently lives in South Africa. Welcome Melanie.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
How are you today?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
I'm good? Thanks in you Melody, good good.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
I think this is great.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
We're doing it because sometimes people email you or email
me and they think we're the same person because we're
a Melo d and a Melanie. So from now on
I'm going to refer people to this video and like, nope,
two different people.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Sorch sorry, check which person is which?
Speaker 1 (02:03):
That's sorry? Check which person is rich?
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Exactly? All right?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
I want to talk about your ghost writing because you
started ghost writing before you started publishing your own books.
So can you talk about that transition and what was
it like to go for writing for others to see
your own name on the book cover.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
It was pretty incredible. Ghost Writing for someone else when
you're writing fiction is simple. They give you the outline
of what they want, You give them the word count
and make sure that it's a good quality product, and
you hand it over. But switching to doing your own
(02:47):
writing gets you to experience the editing process and going
through your work with someone else else's oh sorry, gosh,
critique and advice and helping you to actually improve what
you're doing, and then seeing your name on a book
covers pretty wild.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yes, I agree, right, it's like, wow, it's funny. Sometimes
I'll be looking at like our podcast podcast Statistics, and
I'm like, people are listening.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
It's like, so I absolutely relate. It's so much. It's
so interesting, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
So let's talk nonfiction for a moment, because a lot
of nonfiction other authors don't fully understand what ghost writing entails.
In fact, I've heard people say that, you know, the
authors don't even know what's in the book.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
So can you break it down for us a little bit?
Speaker 2 (03:44):
How does go ghostwriting differ from you know, you writing
your own book and what role do you play in
shapey a client's work.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
Well, a ghost wratter will take your exact words.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
We're not going to add our own story or narrative
into what you want to produce. So you understand that
we go through a process of interviews, we transcribe what
you say to us, and then we take your exact
words and we simply turn it into a comprehensible, easy
to read product that you want. At the end of
(04:22):
the day, we help you to put your story or to.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
I think the.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
Easiest way to say it is a lot of people
don't know how to take what they're experiencing in their
mind or what they want to put into a book,
and actually put it into a readable format. So your
ghost writer is almost a little processor in between the
two functions in your brain. We take what you're thinking
and we put it into words that somebody else can
(04:50):
appreciate and read.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
That's actually really well said, because you know, when you're
ghost writing a book, it is it is not the
ghostwriter's content.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
It is the author's content.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Mmm. Yes.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
And as you said, we do interviews. Often people come
with a half written book, so we have, you know,
something to work with. We can look at the tone
their voice.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
Right, and so we mutch.
Speaker 2 (05:23):
You know, part of your job is a ghost writer,
is to understand how that person writes, their tone, their voice,
and to take what they've already done and and research
they give you and interviews and then kind of put
all of.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
That together and package it nicely. Is that does that
make sense?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
It does?
Speaker 4 (05:44):
Your ghost writer has to be a bit of a
chameleon to adapt the tone that they're writing into how
you would present your book. Because you don't want to
go and do a book reading of a product that
you've had ghost written and it.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Does not sound like you. It's not. You want it
to be an organic process.
Speaker 4 (06:07):
And I know I have usually eight to ten hours
of interview or audio footage or audio that I get
to transcribe and then turn into your ghost writing projects.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
So by the end of a project, you almost feel
like you know somebody.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Yeah, especially if you're writing a memoir, right, yes, exactly, yeah, brilliant.
So a lot of people I've heard say, you know, well,
I whyt to just write realm book. So what are
some common reasons people come to ghost trainers?
Speaker 4 (06:43):
They don't have the time. A lot of professionals who
want to write their own memoirs are very driven in
their own careers, or they have families to look after,
and they simply do not have the hours to put
into a writing because let's be honest, you're a writer too.
You understand how much time goes into each and every
(07:06):
piece of writing that you do. It's time consuming. And
then the biggest reason that I've found is people saying
I don't know how to convert what I'm saying or
what I'm thinking into a written book.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Yeah, that's accessible, easy to read, accessible, easy to read,
and will possibly sell well.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Are there any misconceptions about ghost writing that you'd like
to clear up?
Speaker 4 (07:40):
As the author or the person who is having the
project ghost written, you still.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Have to put in a lot of work.
Speaker 4 (07:48):
You are going to have to give us the information.
We cannot magically siphon it out of your brain. So
you're going to have to give us chunks of written
work that you've put together.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
Though we're going to be asking you a lot.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Of questions, possibly quite personal, and you're going to have
to put us side in the very least.
Speaker 3 (08:08):
The time for the interviews.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
So a lot of people think, oh, I want something
ghost written. There it is, I have to do nothing now,
it gets everything gets done for me.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
So that's a big misconception people have, you know.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
And yeah, and good to clear that up, because it's
it's not we don't, you know, magically pull information out
of people's brains.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
It needs to be conveyed in some way, right exactly, now.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
I know that you know, I know you know. We
often work under strict NDAs, so we can't talk about specifics,
but can you share some of the most interesting challenges
or maybe rewarding moments or your favorite, you know, kind
of genre to work in as a ghost writer.
Speaker 4 (08:57):
I love working with people in their memoi and one
that stands out really particularly was a project that I
helped to work on for a person who was experiencing
haunting and paranormal activity.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
And it was really interesting.
Speaker 4 (09:16):
To write that project, but it kind of gave me
the creeps and I did not want to work late
at night.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
Oh that's funny.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Yeah, oh my.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Let's talk a little bit about your role in authour Nation.
So we actually we have two companies. We have Nutritious
Tooth Publishing. That is where we work with medical professionals
taking their vast amount of information, complex knowledge and translating
that into an accessible, engaging and impactful book. And then
there's author Nation and an author Nation you'd manage all
(09:53):
the digital media and guest relations for this podcast and
other projects. So how has working behind the scenes in
a community for writing focused community influenced influenced your work
as a raid or inspired you or whatnot.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
It has made me pick up a pen and actually
sit down and feel creative again for the first time
in almost seven years. So it's been a really amazing
experience and it's also been a huge learning experience because
I've gone from not working with a lot of technical
(10:34):
programs and software to now working in several and.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
I've been studying. It's just it's been an amazing experience.
It's fun. I love the guests that we work with,
so yeah, I love it.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Oh good, good. And you do SEO rating as well
for Arthur Nation.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Yes, yes, yes, that is been yeah, very cool.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Yeah, and that's not something you do in a book necessarily,
so that's been something new for you.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
It has. Yes, it's been an interesting learning experience.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
So you just talked about, you know, feeling creative again,
and you haven't you know, you haven't published recently, So
are you Are you getting back into writing for yourself
as well?
Speaker 3 (11:32):
I am.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
Yes, it's taken a long time, but I have plans
for twenty twenty five and it's going to be good.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Nice. So I know I know that, you know.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
I know as a as a writer and an editor,
I do a lot of reading and writing and editing
for other people, and my own projects can.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Be easily lost in that.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Yes, So I'm curious you know how you know what's
inspired this back to writing bit, and uh, what do
you know? Do are you willing to give us any
hints on what you're working on and how.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Are you going to fit it in because you also
have two kids.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
Yes, the two kids go to school in the morning,
so I have a couple of hours to myself. And
as for inspiration, our writing and community that we host
with uthination has been really great. And then I also
I really love there's a South African author called Wilber
(12:40):
Smith and I've been listening to an audiobook of I
guess it's kind of his biography but called on Leopard Rock,
and he speaks about his writing process in a very
personal way and he makes it come to life and
doing things like that. Listening to that, reading his books again,
(13:00):
it's inspiring and it makes me want to get back
on the writing side of my own screen.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
So you're going to have to give us a link
to at least one of his books so that we
can put it in the show notes as well. And
for everyone listening, connect with Melanie on LinkedIn. I've put
the LinkedIn in front of you, but you will also
find it in the show notes as well, So don't
forget it, forget to connect with Melanie as on LinkedIn
(13:32):
as well. All right, So for nonfiction authors listening right now,
or people who want to be nonfiction authors listening right now,
how do you how do they know ghostwriting is the
right thing for them?
Speaker 4 (13:48):
If you find yourself in a situation where you feel
that the world out there could benefit from the knowledge
you have, whether it is a memoir or an instruction
manual or guidance in business principles, anything that you feel
(14:08):
you are holding on to and you want to share
with the world. But you are stuck and you don't
have time, or you feel that you don't have the skills.
You could reach out to a writing coach, or look
at the resources on author Nation, or you could find
a ghostwriter to help you, because we're not going to
ghost Writing is not going to steal the attention that
(14:31):
you get away from you. It gives you everything and
it helps you. It's a tool that you use as
an author.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Yeah, excellent, thank you.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
And there are some famous authors who started out writing
their books and then hire ghost writers to help them
produce more and more books per year.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
No names. So besides experience, what do people look for
when hiring a ghost writ.
Speaker 4 (15:02):
Please look at some of the work they've done, because
the market these days with websites such as fiver and
freelancer is flooded with people who I actually hate saying this,
but there are a lot of people out there who
don't have the necessary skills or experience, or are a
(15:23):
first language speaker of the language that you want your
book written in. And unless you are a first language
speaker of for example, English or in my case, Afrikaans,
you cannot write in that language.
Speaker 3 (15:38):
You are going to make mistakes.
Speaker 4 (15:41):
And you don't want to publish a book that is
full of mistakes. You are going to have poor sales,
your reputation is going to suffer. It's not a good
way to start.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
I agree. And so you're a native speaker.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Are you a native speaker in English and Afrikaans or
are you a need to read English and fluent in Afrikaans?
Speaker 4 (16:02):
What it like?
Speaker 1 (16:03):
Can you explain that a little bit to me?
Speaker 3 (16:05):
I am Afrikaans.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
I'm a native speaker, completely fluent, reading, writing, and speaking Afrikaans.
And my grandmother raised me so she made sure that
we spent one day speaking English and one day speaking Afrikaans,
and she focused very heavily on making sure that I
(16:27):
was fully bilingual.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
That's amazing. I love that.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
So I just want to wrap up here with what's
the first best what's the best first step in working
with you?
Speaker 4 (16:48):
The best first step is to sit down and think
about the project that you want to write. You cannot
come to a ghost writer and say this is the
book I want to writ and expect content to come
out of nowhere.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
So you do need to sit.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
Down and at least have an outline and notes and
a spec of what you want so that I have
an idea.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Of how to help you.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
So that's going to be the first step.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Yeah, no, that sounds good. Where can people find you?
Speaker 4 (17:28):
LinkedIn is where I am most active. I huck at
social media in general, where my own stuff is concerned.
I don't like putting my personal life out there, so
LinkedIn is bed or I can put my email address.
We can include my email address.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
In the show notes, which is also the easiest way
to reach me. But yeah, I'm always on LinkedIn.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
Brilliant.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Thank you so much, Mel, It's been it's actually been
great working with you. We've been working together for a
little well now, And I just want to mention to
everyone about you know, when when mel is talking about uh,
you know, hiring ghosts, you see ghost writers for you know,
pennies and so inexpensive, and you think, yes, you know,
(18:15):
I can do this. What happens is, Melanie and I
often see you later, right we You know, sometimes we
work with people who've had that experience and now they're
looking for a rerank because it's you know, riddled with
(18:35):
mistakes or or whatnot. So I encourage you even if
you just decide not to work with us, just get
in touch and make sure the people you are working
with will produce a high quality book for you, because
that's going to matter for your reputation.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
Any final words, mel.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
On that same topic, as far as we will see
you later as concerned, don't be the person who tries
to cut your hair at home and then has to
go and pay a salon a fortune to.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Fix the problem.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
Good analogy, the perfect way to think of us.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah, good analogy. There's a little side note, but my
you know, every child cuts her own hair at once,
and my oldest daughter cut her own hair and she
had this huge tounk out of it, and so I
took her to my hairdresser and she sat in the
chair and the hairdresser kind of looked at it. My
(19:39):
daughter looked at her and said, cut it longer, please.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
Yes, because it's always easy to do that.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Yeah, So you want you don't want to have to
go for a fix that you know feels impossible, So
contact work with a work with a a high quality
ghost writer. All right, thank you for joining us, mel
I really appreciate your time today.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
That's been awesome.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
Thank you good and thank you for joining us on
Authornation Interviews. And we hope this conversation is provided with
some valuable insights and maybe some inspiration to start working
on your own nonfiction book. Don't forget to visit authoration
dot online to unlock a wealth of resources designed to
support your growth as a successful nonfiction author. And you
(20:34):
know someone who needs to hear this, so send this
over to them. And of course, your feedback, your comments,
your reviews, your love. All of this helps us continue
to bring high quality episodes to you. So participate, comment,
(20:55):
give us feedback. We love hearing from you. Keep writing,
keep creating, and continue sharing your unique stories with the world.
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