Yesterday I was looking over some of my writing from the last couple years and as I read it, I shuddered and asked myself, “Did I really write this?” Guys, it was bad. Not just the “oh it could be better” bad, but the “this isn’t even in the right tense and barely makes sense” bad writing.
Thankfully, I’m a much better writer today. I improved so much in such a short period of time and I wanted to share with you how it happened.
My Writing Story
About a year and a half ago I started writing seriously. Someone challenged me to write a book in four months and it was a life-changing experience. A few months after that, I was asked to help write something else for the CEO of the company I was working for at the time. It started as a few emails, then a few blog posts, and then an introduction letter to a book. A few months later, I found myself writing a book for him.
It was the perfect merge of talents. He was an incredible, gifted speaker with a ton of life experience and knowledge. But he was also the kind of guy who couldn’t focus on one thing for longer than ten minutes.
And there I was, knowing how to write a book and looking for a job. So we met once a week and he told me amazing stories and life-changing concepts and my job was to share them with the world.
And I did.
How I Became a Better Writer
Fast forward to today, I’ve quit my job as a baker and I’m ghost-writing my third book. Ghostwriting has completely changed my career as a writer and I’m so much better because of it.
Here are three things I did as a ghostwriter in the last year that made me a better writer:
Practice
I write so much. Every day.
Having clients and deadlines forces you to write constantly. Writing when you don’t feel like it is one of the most important lessons writers have to learn. Ghostwriting has forced me to do that.
After weeks and months of this consistent writing, you start to find the right words. You find a flow. And you find your voice through all this practice. You even start to figure out the crazy English rules. In the last year, even I’ve learned to keep tenses (mostly) straight, outline chapters, and put commas in the right place. (If I can learn this, you can.)
The greatest thing is, all this writing has really made me a better writer. Go figure, the “practice” method we teach here at The Write Practice really works!
Work Harder
Writing books is some of the hardest work I have ever done. It’s exhausting, stressful, and sometimes feels like torture. But I’ve also learned that in order to really make it as a writer, you need to work the hardest. There are 136,500 other writers in the U.S. (Really. I looked it up.)
Ghostwriting has given me accountability and structure that I often don’t have on my own. It’s easy to put off your own projects, but when you sign a contract with a client, it’s a lot harder.
Learning how to work hard through ghostwriting has helped me focus and write better when I do work on my own projects.
Feedback
I have received SO much feedback. Really. An incredible and sometimes painful amount of feedback.
As the writer, I get feedback from everyone. Clients, editors, beta readers, publishers, and anyone else involved in the process. The interesting thing about getting feedback from this many people is the unique perspective each person has.
From editors, I’ll get comments on my wordiness, my incorrect comma usage, and how repetitive I can be. From clients, I get different ideas on how they want their story crafted and told to the reader. Publishers give great feedback on who the book will market to and how to write better towards that group. Each piece of feedback is so essential to the process of writing a great book, and to me becoming an even greater writer.
You Can Do It Too
Ghostwriting has changed my life. I wake up so excited that I get to spend my days telling meaningful stories of others while becoming a better writer (and I get paid to do it too.)
And although I somewhat fell into this business, I wouldn’t be as successful as I am today without the help and guidance of Joe (the founder of The Write Practice). He taught me everything about finding clients, writing books, business aspects, and everything in between.
Because we’ve seen how ghostwriting can really help you practice and grow your writing skills, Joe’s launching an awesome course on how to become a ghostwriter. I really think you’ll love it.
If you want to learn how to write for others, write professionally, or start your career as a full-time writer, check it out.
Have you ever thought about writing for other people? Do you think it could help your writing? Let us know in the comments below.
PRACTICE
Take fifteen minutes and write down everything that’s stopping you from potentially pursuing your dream to write full time. Write down your fears, your doubts, and the questions you have about the whole process. We want to hear your thoughts!
Post your comment in the section below and we’ll be answering questions and encouraging you in whatever way we can! Be sure to leave some knowledge and kind words for your fellow writers.
The post How I Became a Better Writer in One Year appeared first on The Write Practice.
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