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I have been ghostwriting for almost a year now and so far, I can say that as with any freelance writing job or any job for that matter, it comes with a few pros and cons. Let me share with you several advantages and disadvantages of online ghostwriting based on my personal experiences and observations.

The Pros

Extra income

Freelance ghostwriting is a good source of additional income for you and your family. Although it doesn’t pay that well when you’re just starting out, it still provides a substantial income as you need not shell out any amount to get your ghostwriting career rolling.

Flexible schedule

Depending on the project you take on, your skills and speed as a writer, as well as your own schedule, you can definitely work at your own pace. And you can work at the convenience of your home too. Once you have regular clients, you can take on or ask for a ghostwriting task from them anytime your schedule lets up.

Opportunities to improve your bidding/negotiating skills

When you are just starting out, you need to look for clients who hire ghostwriters for their writing projects. So you need to sign up with websites offering various freelance writing jobs, such as www.getafreelancer.com, www.elance.com, www.guru.com, www.remotegurus.com, www.ifreelance.com, and many others.

As competition is usually very stiff among the many registered users of these sites, you need to be good at posting your bids on the projects that interest you. You have to make your bid stand out from among the rest in order to be chosen for the job. And once chosen, you need to negotiate wisely with the client regarding project specs, payment terms and timelines. That way, you can show your client that you are really a trustworthy professional who can be relied on to complete the job on time.

Enhancement of your researching and writing skills

Since you have to write articles on the client’s chosen topic, you get to hone your skills in researching and writing for that topic. Online ghostwriting projects involve topics from various niches such as health, entertainment, lifestyle, sports, technology and many more. Although it helps to have a specific specialization for you to have an edge over the other aspiring bidders, it also pays to bid on projects involving topics you have not covered before. It will not only expose you to other unexplored niches, but will also challenge your writing abilities.

I had once posted a bid on an undisclosed topic, and the client responded to my bid telling me that he wished to hire me only if I was willing to take on his project which involves fashion and hairstyle. I honestly told him that my writing experience is mostly on the health niche, and I hadn’t written a single article on hairstyle or fashion, but that I’m willing to try it given the chance. After a few weeks, he contacted me again to say that he still wanted me to work on his project. So I got to research and write numerous articles on the key phrases he provided, and learned a great deal about hairstyles and fashion in the process. 

The Cons

Payment failures

As you have no face-to-face interaction with your client, and your communication is mostly thru emails, defaults can easily occur. I have delivered two ghostwriting jobs which have remained unpaid as of this writing. And since those projects were completed several months ago, I don’t expect to be paid anymore, so I’m just charging them all to experience.

To avoid this thing to happen, you need to be wise in dealing with your client. Make sure that payment terms and methods are clearly established before you start on a certain project. Writing websites also have dispute regulations in place which may help you, should you decide to file a complaint against your defaulting client. But this feature can only be provided by websites if your communication with your client has all gone through their private message boards.

Low starting pay

Ghostwriting for online content pays quite low when you are just starting out. Project compensations can come as low $1 per 500-word article or even lower. Although websites such as www.guru.com and www.elance.com can offer higher paying ghostwriting jobs, projects are generally awarded to writers with solid ghostwriting background and numerous positive reviews.

When you’re still trying to establish your online ghostwriting career and in the lookout for prospective clients, you are usually forced to bid lower at the same time promising the same efficiency and quality as those of the higher bids – or even better – to be considered.

Limited choice of topics

Clients post their projects on certain pre-established topics covering a specific niche. Although occasionally, a client may give you a defined avenue to take in writing the articles without giving you specific keywords, most clients provide the ghost writers certain keywords or key phrase to work on. Although this can be very helpful especially if you’re not quite familiar with the topic, some writers may find this a nuisance that tends to limit their creativity.

So, there you have it, the advantages and disadvantages of online ghostwriting. Hope this article has helped clear some doubts in your mind whether to engage in this type of freelance writing or not. Always remember that once you have satisfied a client, he will always turn to you for his upcoming projects, as most of these clients require ghostwriters for long-term relationship.

For more information on online ghostwriting, you may also read:

A Step by Step Guide to Online Ghostwriting

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11 Ways to Keep you Inspired to Write

10 Writing Exercises to Hone Your Writing Skills

Five Ways to Keep Those Ideas Flowing