About Patti McKenna and Ghostwriting

I know that writing a book can be a daunting task, especially if you aren’t a writer per se and have no professional experience in the variety of tasks it entails. From organizing a book and formulating your message, down to the final edit and proofread, format and layout of your book, there are so many opportunities to lose your inspiration and become sidetracked or overwhelmed.

That’s where a ghostwriter can be your lifesaver.

You know you have a book in you–you have a message that’s intriguing, compelling, insightful, even groundbreaking, but you just don’t know where to begin.  You could hire a book coach to help you get your thoughts on paper and keep you on track, and if you choose to do so, I can recommend a few. Alicia Dunams is a business book coach who I’ve worked with before, I highly recommend her experience and her get-it-done attitude for any would-be author. Alicia understands the importance of every step in book writing and publishing. In fact, we wrote an article about the concept of ghostwriting together. You can find it on her website, here: http://www.aliciadunams.com/is-ghostwriting-in-business-cheating-or-outsourcing/

If you decide that you do need a ghostwriter, make sure the one you choose has past successes in writing books that get published and know how to help you receive publicity. Don’t choose someone who writes part-time as a hobby, or you might find yourself waiting for your manuscript for far too long. Writing is a business, and it’s a competitive and tough one. Select a writer who has made it a business; they have far more at stake and will provide you with the professional services you deserve.

Always, too, ask for references or the names and publishers of books the ghostwriter has completed. Here are a few of mine.

• Two business books:  John Wiley and Sons
• One parenting book:  Urban Edge Publishing
• One finance book:  Morgan James
• One Internet Marketing Book:  Morgan James
• One inspirational book:  Sterling
• One self help book on cancer: LaChance Publishing
• One self published book (author):  From a Lullaby to Goodbye (release Feb. 2011)
• One co-authored book, bullying:  Patch (self published, currently receiving high sales at Amazon)
• One self-published book, teens and risky behavior (ghosted)
• Two weight loss and fitness books, self published (ghosted)
• One ethics book, self published (ghosted)
• Two memoirs, Olympic athletes, self published (ghosted)

In addition, I have a laundry list of published books that I’ve edited and/or formatted. I’ve been a featured guest on Chicago’s WGN radio, The Today Show, and many other talk radio programs.

Feel free to contact me for information on how you can get your book written, edited, proofread, and/or formatted. I can connect you with an experienced book coach who will help you, or provide you with individual services within my professional expertise. No job is too big or too small, but every word matters.

Being Fat Sucks! by Lisa Lewis

Lisa Lewis, author of Being Fat Sucks! But Life Doesn’t Have To! has recently launched her book. I asked her to talk to me about the book and tell us why she wrote it and what’s unique about it. I was surprised to hear that it’s not really a diet book–from experience, Lisa shares why weight struggles are more about what we feed our minds than what we feed our bodies.

Q. You’re in the process of publishing your first novel, Being Fat Sucks! But Life Doesn’t Have To! Why did you write this book?

A.   I have finally been freed from a life of constant self-defeating thoughts and actions that have plagued me my entire life, and I know there are so many other people who suffer with this same thing every single day… and I wanted to share with people what worked for me.  I would have given anything if someone else had told me something that could have freed me from the hell that I was existing in. In that aspect, I hope that my experiences will provide others with the wisdom that will help them live a happier, more joyful life.

Q.  Tell me a little about your background, Lisa, and your personal struggles with weight.

A.  I have always struggled with my weight.  Looking back, I see that it was emotional eating for comfort and to fill the empty spaces in my heart because, as most kids do, I felt different, not accepted and lonely.  It’s rare that we feel safe enough to disclose to someone else the dark side of our thoughts and feelings, and I was no exception. I would soothe myself by eating, which led to a life of emotional distress and ultimately fatness!

Q. What is your expertise in the field of health and wellness?

A.  I have personally studied personal development, self help, and diet plans for years. When I finally had my awakening, I decided to thoroughly turn my studies to food and nutrition to get to the root of what the true function food is supposed to have in our life.  I have become a Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant and now counsel people on how to discover the nutritional value of food so they can replace the emotional necessity of it with physical well being.

Q. What was your greatest challenge in losing weight?

A.   The constant battle with my inner voice that tries to sabotage me and encourages me to give up, such as, “It’ll never work, why bother, just eating one potato chip won’t hurt” and more self-defeating, negative thoughts that made it an arduous task to undertake.  I had to wrestle that inner voice to a dull roar by getting honest about where those thoughts were coming from and dealing with that first and foremost.

 Q.  What has been the biggest challenge in writing and publishing Being Fat Sucks?

A.  Reliving the pain of what I went through… but then seeing where I am now made it all worthwhile.  That’s one of the biggest things I learned: it takes more effort to stay fat than it does to get and stay slim. I now know that the worst day I can experience as a healthy, thin person is still 1,000 times better than my best day as a fat person!

Q.  Was it difficult to write about yourself objectively?

A.  Yes.  It’s always been difficult to be objective about myself.  I worry that people will think this is just my ordeal and, therefore, will not relate to it.  What I found is that I was able to present the main ideas without getting too pinpointed, and many people feel the same way, react the same way, and think the same thoughts I did.  People tell me that they can totally relate to my story and that makes me feel really good about having written this book.

Q.  What are the biggest rewards you’ve received from losing weight? From writing your book?

A.  Wow, the rewards from getting my body and mind healthy are too many to name, but to hit a few: my doctors are amazed at my new physical well being, and I feel better than I did when I was 20!  I can run and jump and move with ease now.  I love shopping for clothes now, whereas I loathed it before.  I enjoy getting compliments, and even more than that, I love accepting and feeling those compliments are true and that I deserve them.  My thoughts are clear and positive and self confidence is my normal state of being now.  Life is all together new in so many ways. The future really looks bright now!

Q. What, for you, is the most enlightening chapter?

A. For me it’s Chapter 7 – The Turning Point – because this truly was the catalyst for me to move from my old patterns to the new ones I created for myself.  The truth is a very powerful force and is always the best way to go.  “Only the truth of who you are will set you free,” Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth.

Q.  In your book, you talk about feelings of inadequacy, embarrassment, and loneliness. Do you think other people have the same experiences and can relate to your stories?

A.  Absolutely!  Some people know they are having these feeling consciously, but others, many others, are having all these feelings unconsciously and then trying to soothe these feelings with food. Worse yet, they don’t even know it!  I hope my book will help them become conscious so they can finally find their truth and their road to health and attaining their desired state of being.

Q. Ultimately, what do you want readers to gain from Being Fat Sucks! but Life doesn’t have to?

A.  I really want people to understand how to dig deeper within themselves to discover the truth about why they continue to do things, such as eat too much or eating nutritionally vacant foods, that keep them locked in a self-imposed prison of feeling bad about themselves and their body.  I want people to wake up to the fact that changing this pattern is not only possible and doable, it can also be how they live the rest of their life, starting today!

Q.  What book promotions/signings are scheduled in the near future?

A.  Great question!  I have been spending time with my family since I finished the book, as it was somewhat all consuming, and now I am ready to get out there and start talking to people and sharing my message and my book.  I would like to be everywhere that people want me to be to promote better health and freedom from fatness!

Q.  Where can people purchase a copy of Being Fat Sucks?

A.  They can get my book on Amazon.com or at my website which is www.WhyBeingFatSucks.com.

How NOT to be a Starving Writer

How NOT to Be a Starving Writer, a Freelance Writer’s Guide to Finding Jobs that Pay and Getting Paid…Even Among Deadbeat Clients is a must-have resource for writers and writers-to-be! Patti McKenna takes the readers through the lessons she learned after a decade of education in the school of hard knocks. Thousands of projects and hundreds of clients later, she knows when to spot a deadbeat client and a dead-end job.

Through her experience, you can now learn how to save yourself hours and weeks of work writing for little or no pay. This eBook is the culmination of her experience and her advice to anyone who wants to accept freelance writing jobs over the Internet, or anyone who has accepted those jobs and not been paid for them.

You’ll learn

• How to find good-paying jobs on the Internet.
• A job application test you should never accept.
• Ways to protect yourself from clients who change a project mid-stream.
• Ways to protect yourself that will increase the likelihood of being paid on time, every time.
• 12 things every writer can do to get deadbeat clients to pay up.
• How to determine your fees.
• A sample contract you can use in your freelance writing business – without it, you’re SOL!

You can get your copy of How NOT to be a Starving Writer for a low $7 donation! Click the Donate Now link below and you’ll be taken to a secure paypal page. All you need is a credit card, debit card, or a PayPal account. It’s a small investment that will help your freelance writing business produce big returns!

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=343F8J9746ECY

Co-authoring or contributing to books

Many don’t know that I’m a co-author, or what some call a contributing author, to Voices of Breast Cancer, one of a series of books published by LaChance Publishing in New York.

The Voices Of series is a line of books dealing with different medical conditions and diseases, like lung cancer, alzheimers, depression, etc. Each book is full of chapters written by real people who are afflicted with the disease,  caregivers, and family members, as well as medical personnel.

These books offer stories to encourage, raise hope, courage, and support for those who are, or have a loved one who is, suffering from specific diseases.

Their cause is a good one. I encourage you to visit their website and find out how the Voices of series can help you, a loved one, or a coworker during a difficult time.

WWW.LACHANCE.PUBLISHING.COM

Donating to Haiti

For every book sold today, I will donate $2 to relief efforts to help the homeless and injured in Haiti.

Buy Caution: Children Should Come With Warning Labels, a funny and touching book about the realities of parenthood, and my royalties will be donated to help others.

To purchase and receive free shipping, go to:  www.urbanedgepublishing.com

A Ghostwriter’s Lament

I love ghostwriting. Helping people convey their message in their voice is both rewarding and challenging. It’s one thing to be able to write in your own voice, but an enriching experience to write in a different voice as you begin each new manuscript.

For the ghostwriter, though, there are disadvantages. It is understandable that clients would require a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) or a confidentiality agreement, legally binding the ghostwriter’s promise to not disclose or discuss his or her participation and contribution to the book. After all, once the ghostwriter’s fees are paid, it’s common for all copyright ownership to transfer to the author.

But, therein lies the disadvantage. If a ghostwriter cannot disclose their work or clients, they must also omit that information from their resume. Often, this can lead to a resume which makes a ghostwriter look inexperienced.

Ghostwriters would love to be able to list their clients and publishers and boast about it to obtain appealing clients and projects. There are some ways around this, including asking clients to serve as references upon request and listing works in a nondescript, vague manner without revealing names and titles. Yet, it isn’t the same as laying stake to the claim that you contributed to (or wrote) a particular book which just reached bestseller status.

That’s one reason why a ghostwriter might charge more than someone who gets book cover credit, acknowledgement, or a byline for their work.

It’s also one reason we’re called ghostwriters. We’re invisible. And so is our past experience.

Patti McKenna

A Ghostwriter’s Fee

What do ghostwriters charge? How much does it cost to hire a copywriter?

Well, the answers to those questions varies as much as the different skills, education, and experience a writer brings to the project.

Regardless of the answer, suffice it to say that writers deserve to be paid a fair and honest wage. They work, just like other people do, but often are asked to work for ridiculously low rates that would set them up for financial suicide. 

Guru.com is a site where employers can find freelance writers. Today, a project was posted seeking an article writer at the going rate of $1.25 per 300 word article. Wow! That’s .004 per word. Several years ago, inexperienced junior copywriters were being paid .08 per word, and I’m sure it’s higher now.

At the rate of $1.25 per 300 words, an employer should consider themselves lucky to get someone who can read, let alone write. I guess a writer could compile 300 words quickly, if there were no guidelines, no research, and if they were already an expert on the subject matter. But let’s face it, if the writer is an expert, they’d most certainly demand a much higher wage. This was the criteria posted for the job:

We would like for you to be able to write 8-10+ of these articles each day of the week (Mon-Fri). Our budget for these types of articles is $1.25 each, which can usually be written within a few minutes time.

We require someone who is fluent in English (first language preferred), has excellent grammar skills and can provide us with articles which require no/minimal editing.

All of your work submitted to us must be original – we use Copyscape and Google to check all submissions.

You must also agree that none of your work submitted to us will be used by you or anyone else in any way. You may not post it on a blog or in any other media.

So, providing original copy, using excellent grammar and delivering a perfect article which requires little or no editing can earn a writer as much as $7.50 per hour (if the writer can complete six such articles in one hour.)

Good writers are worth a fair wage. They also have to dedicate a chunk of time to finding work. Like any other job, it doesn’t knock on their door every morning. Every time they apply for a writing job, it’s like applying for any other job. A writer must compose a personalized cover letter and resume which addresses that project and answer any and all questions to the employer’s satisfaction. And that’s before the writer even begins to put letters to paper.

Alicia Dunams talks about ghostwriter rates in her article at http://ezinearticles.com/?id=2750989. Anyone interested in hiring a ghost or copywriter should read her article.  My rates are below those mentioned, yet they are competitive enough to attract some at the lower end of the pay scale.

If you’re in need of a quality, ethical writer, give them a little respect. They deserve to earn a living, and as any business entepreneur can tell you, they also deserve to make a profit, even if it’s a small one.

If you can’t afford to pay a respectful wage for a talent and skill (yes, writing is a talent and a skill), then write your own copy and hire the best-quality editor or proofreader you can afford to clean and polish your message.

And, if you’re like many I’ve talked to, you’ll appreciate the contribution a professional writer can bring to your message, company,  or book. Good ones are worth their fee.

Patti McKenna

Why Businesses Need Professional Writers

It happens at least once a week. I read mail, email, or something as simple as product instructions and cringe at the errors which were allowed to go to print. My experience proves that it is true that customers forget what they read within a day (sometimes within an hour), but they don’t forget the errors contained in it.

Do you want your company’s literature to portray you in a negative light? The answer is obvious – of course you don’t.

Yet, businesses do it every day. Yesterday, I was reading instructions contained in an ink cartridge refill kit and found a major mistake. One little word was all it took for me to think of the manufacturer as a fly-by-night organization that didn’t care about its image. Here is the wording used by NCR in their step-by-step instructions for filling an ink cartridge.

1.  Push the injector tool into the bottom of the injector to make a whole.

Whole. Ouch. The proper word in this instruction is hole. It’s a simple error and one that is easily found and corrected, but a spellchecker won’t help.

One of the worst sets of instructions I’ve ever read was so bad that it was rendered useless. The illustrations were the only thing that saved us from repacking the product and returning it to the store. Obviously written by someone who couldn’t claim English as their native language, it was incoherent at best.

The negative impact of poor grammar and spelling is felt even more when the correspondence is an introduction to the company, product or service. Sales letters, emails, and websites are first impressions. They should be attractive, clean, and professional. One error is a sign of weakness, neglect, or oversight that companies today can ill afford.

The result of improper grammar, spelling, or even poorly written copy is a negative image in the customer’s eye. After all, if a business will cut corners and curb costs in the delivery of good, quality correspondence when speaking to or attracting customers, one must wonder what else they are willing to sacrifice in the quality of their product or service.

Those in the competitive world of business should do themselves a favor and invest in a professional writer, editor, or proofreader whose job is to make sure the printed word makes a favorable and lasting impression.

To inquire about my rates for ghostwriting, copywriting, editing, or proofreading, please contact me at PcMcKenna6@aol.com .  I will be happy to provide you with a quote and suggestions on improving your image and your message.

News

One of my former clients just notified me yesterday that a book I helped him write will be released next month by Wiley and Sons Publishing. And, he was kind enough to acknowledge me in his book!  Thanks, DC from San Diego!

Patti McKenna, Published Author, Ghostwriter, and Editor

Patti McKenna

Everyone wants to write, but not everyone has the time, experience, or the talent to write well. However, the ability to write fluently, with consistency and style, is the key to successful business, marketing, and sales. It’s also the difference between a good story and a great story, a manuscript and a bestseller, and a piece of art that produces word of mouth advertising and recommendations.

Whether you’re looking for a ghostwriter to pen your memoirs, a co-author for an amazing story, or a copywriter for your marketing endeavors, you need a successful and experienced writer to turn your message into compelling and interesting copy that delivers.

I offer professional writing services that produce results. As a published author, I’m familiar with the industry and can assist you with the process, as well. The publishing industry is tough to break. From penning attention-grabbing query letters or book proposals, each step of the process must meet certain criteria in order to capture the attention of literary agents and publishing companies.

Interested in self publishing? I’ve ghostwritten, edited, formatted, and layed out many manuscripts for self-published authors, providing them with a professional book that expresses their own individuality and message. I’ll be happy to discuss your project with you and provide you with my professional recommendations and suggestions to make your manuscript the best it can possibly be.

As an editor, I have a keen eye for grammar, punctuation, and spelling. The crafting of a sentence is often the difference between average writing and exceptional writing. While maintaining your voice and tone, I’ll provide you with a polished manuscript that is free from errors.

My rates are affordable and flexible. I’m willing to provide price quotes on an hourly, word, or project basis.  Your business and satifaction are important to me, and I’ll strive to provide you with the quality and professionalism you deserve at all times.

Contact me via email at:  PCMcKenna6@aol.com, or feel free to call me at 815-263-5017. I look forward to hearing from you.