The Extra Money Blog

$13,500 a Month in Ebook Royalties. Kara King’s Success Story with “The Power of the Pussy”

Nothing is more gratifying than being able to help someone else achieve their goals and objectives.

My favorite emails and messages received on social media platforms are those from people who are able to implement the information I share on this blog and as a result experience success after taking action.

 Although this blog makes money, I did not start it to primarily make money. I have several other passive income streams that I built long before I started blogging.

I simply use this blog to document what I know, my experiments and the results. When I see and hear others succeed because of the information I share on this blog, it gets me pumped up and it inspires me to create more content that I feel can help others.

One such example of success is Kara King, who took action and published her first ebook on Amazon few months ago titled “The Power of the Pussy”. Today, she is earning north of $10,000 in royalties every month from her ebook sales. Kara was kind enough to share her story, as well as her process of researching, creating, marketing and profiting from her ebook.

She has transparently shared everything in her story below. I have read it and found it super helpful and more importantly motivational. I hope that you too find it valuable and actionable so that you too can replicate her success if you choose to.

Here is Kara’s story….

My name is Kara King and I’m a successful self published author. I wrote a controversial dating advice book for women called, “The Power of the Pussy“.

My book’s been a best seller since it launched in May of 2012. Even better than being a best seller is the fact that I’m making more money from it than I ever dreamed possible. I wanted to write this article to serve as motivation and encouragement to anyone out there on a quest to self publish an e-book.

During my own personal journey of writing my book, I got a lot of great information from Sunil’s Extra Money Blog. I thought it would be a great karmic payback to write a detailed description of my own personal journey. It’s my hope that I will be able to motivate someone the way Sunil’s blog motivated me.

Personal Background

Over a decade ago, before I ever thought about being a writer, I was a college student and a waitress. In the course of 3 years I worked at The Cheesecake Factory, The Melting Pot, The Crab House, Latin Quarters at Universal Studios and even Bennigans. I would go from restaurant to restaurant because I’d always quit.

I was good at my job. I had great customer service. However, I did not work well under management. I knew that I could not continue on like this forever, and I would eventually go insane. I would have to let go of the financial security it gave me and move onto to pursue my future career.

I wanted to be an on-air radio personality. I wanted to be rich one day. I knew in my heart there was more to life than hourly wages and crappy tips. I was determined to make something of myself.

Unfortunately, with my lack of experience, the only way I could get my foot in the door at the local radio stations was to take minimum wage jobs answering phones. Here I was, at 21 years old, used to a weekly income of at least $400, quitting my job to take a part-time, minimum wage job.

Like most people, I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I had to work to survive. However, I lived with my Mom at the time, so there was no better time to make the sacrifice. I decided to leave the world of dirty dishes and  unappreciative managers to pursue my career at a measly $5.25 an hour.

I’m firm believer that you can do and be whatever you want in life. With hard work and a strong belief in yourself, anything is possible. I started at that radio station answering the request line and within months I worked my way up to being a producer. Months later I had my own show and was on my way to having the career I always dreamed of.

Then, a few years into it, reality set in. Once I was engulfed in the industry, I realized I would probably never make more than $40k a year. Even worse, it could take 10 years to work my way up to that level. To top it all off, there was no guarantee of success and I was still under the command of managers.

After three years, the new wore off and the fun began to dissipate. I began to get depressed. I would cry on my way to work. I wondered what I could ever do to escape the monotony of the rat race. I would day dream about investing in real estate, the stock market or opening a business. Anything to get away from the hum drum life of living pay check to pay check.

In between all of this radio chaos, I had met the man that would become my future husband. We both worked very hard for very little and we were really getting sick of it. We knew there was a better way.

Getting Into Business for Yourself – Ups, Downs and Ups

Self employment was the only answer. I left my unrealistic dreams of striking it rich with a radio career behind me and began a family. We used the money from our tax return to open our first small business; a screen enclosure repair company. I also began to invest in real estate via tax deed auctions. The tax deed auctions began to take off and I had profited $20k off of my first flip! Life was going well.

We decided to move up to Central Florida to be near my Father, who was my financial partner in the real estate business. We invested in our next property and moved into it while we were waiting to sell it.

One month later, to everyone’s surprise, The Great Recession struck like lightning. The next few years would be the hardest yet, but it all brought me to where I am now. So, I honestly don’t know whether to call it bad timing or divine intervention.

Our screen business failed. Our real estate investments flopped. We were stuck in the investment house for years. I’m sure everyone has similar stories and can relate to the hardships of this terrible recession.

We could barely find work at a decent living wage. We had two kids to take care of. At times, it was really scary. We decided to open another business. We took our tax return (again) and gambled it on our next venture.

My husband and I opened a wildlife trapping company called Rodent and Wildlife Control in 2008. It was our saving grace. We made $60k in profits our fist year. We did very well…at times. Other times…not so well.

The Great Recession spared no mercy. It was literally a financial roller coaster. Up and down, up and down, month after month, year after year. I was tired of the uncertain ride and I wanted off! My life was not supposed to be like this! I was turning 30 soon and I was supposed to be on my way to riches by now.

The Next Chapter – An Ebook in the Works

Although a lot of people would have been very content with where we were at that time, I was not satisfied. It was a constant battle to churn up enough business to catch up, only to fall back into a slump. I was mad at the recession. I was mad at myself. I was pissed off. I decided I was going to channel my energy into something productive, rather than sit around in pity and wait for the recession to end.

I decided I was going to write an ebook. I wanted to write a book for women who struggled with men, relationships and dating. The reason I thought I could do this is because I had a really great husband. I knew what I did (and didn’t do) to land such a great man. I always had these opinions floating around in my head about the subject. I knew my ideas could be beneficial to women, especially young women looking for an honest, committed man in their life.

So I started writing a page or two here and there. I also purchased an ebook that discussed how to make a living writing ebooks. It gave me the foundation necessary to begin my long and grueling journey into being an ebook author. The most important message I got from this $27 ebook, I am going to share with you today for free.

100 people will decide they’re going to write a book. 20 of them will actually sit down and start. Five of them will actually finish the book. However, only one of them will actually get it edited, formatted, published and marketed. I decided I was going to be that one, no matter what.

Life Will Happen and Come in the Way

Then at the very end of 2009, New Years Eve to be exact, we accidentally got pregnant. The pregnancy was hard on me. I couldn’t do much. But I could write! I think it was another case of divine intervention. I wrote for months and months. I wrote while caring for my newborn. I wrote in between baths, home work, working on the business’s website, taking calls and paying bills. I churned out about 80 pages in that time frame.

Then, it happened. I got discouraged and I put the book on the back burner. I was becoming one of the people I said I wouldn’t be! It just seemed like such a far away goal. Sure, I had 80 pages written, but I was no where near having a completed book. I had three kids, a household and a business to run. It was hard enough to find the time to bathe, let alone write!

About 6 months went by and I’d totally forgotten about the book. Then one day I turned on my computer to find an email from my Grandmother. She told me she had found the copy of my book. It was a copy that I had emailed to my cousin and specifically instructed her not to let Grandma find it on her computer.

My book is very sexually explicit and definitely not something I would ever want one of my Grandparents reading. Yikes! I was so embarrassed, but she went on to say that she loved the book. She encouraged me to get it done and seek publication. She believed that what I was writing was very important information and could help a lot of women. That email gave me the encouragement I needed to get back to work.

Finding Inspiration and the Drive to Keep Going

Over the next few months I cranked out another 50 pages. Then, it happened again. I became discouraged. Now that I had the bulk of the book done, it was time to work out all of the kinks. I needed to finalize, organize, edit and format the book. There was just so much work involved; it seemed like it would never end. Writing a book is not easy. It takes a lot of dedicated, disciplined, consistent hard work with no guarantee of ever seeing a dime.

I dealt with my discouragement this time by going online and finding other success stories. (This is why I wanted to write this article. There is someone just like me searching for motivation right now and I want to give it to them.) I would search for success stories about self published authors. I had to know that other people had succeeded. That I wasn’t just day dreaming or wasting my time. One of the sites that I came across was Sunil’s Extra Money Blog.

The information on his blog was invaluable, but the honesty and transparency gave me a great boost of motivation. That’s because Sunil had published a picture of a check he received from his ebook royalties. It was a $3,000 dollar check. I printed it out and put it on my wall next to my computer. I also wrote to him to thank him for publishing it.

A lot of people talked about their success, but no one had ever been brave enough to publish the actual checks to serve as proof. Something about witnessing that check put the fire back inside of me. It proved to me that success was real and it was within reach. It wasn’t just a fantasy. People did make money from their ebooks. I now had the proof hanging on my wall.

From that point on, there was no stopping me. Any moment I had, I worked. My poor husband only had one day off a week from our business. He would stay with the kids the whole day while I went in the room and worked.

We both made huge sacrifices without ever knowing if it would pay off, but we were so tired of the rat race (no pun intended) that having a glimmer of hope kept us going. By the time the baby was a year old, I had officially finished the book. It was invigorating. I couldn’t believe I had actually written a book.

Editing and Formatting a Raw Ebook

Unfortunately, that was only half the battle. It was now time to edit and format the book. I went through 18 drafts before I came to a final product. I had 4 family members and friends go through and edit it. Even after all of this, there were still mistakes throughout the book. I also had to gather affiliate links, file the copyright, format the book for Kindle, and a get a cover put together. The list of chores began to get overwhelming.

I couldn’t keep track of all the random things that I had to do for the book to get it done. So, I sat down one day and made a list of every last little thing that needed to be done to get to the finish line. I printed out the list and hung it on my wall (right next to that check). Every time I would get something done, I would scratch it off and over time the list grew smaller and smaller

This process took an additional year to complete. I did not have the money to hire people to do anything for me. From becoming an affiliate, creating the cover, filing the copyright, to formatting and publishing; I did everything by myself. This added a lot of time and stress to the process, but I couldn’t do it any other way.

If I could go back in time, I would have figured out a way to hire an editor. That was my one regret. I published the book trusting only my friends, family and my own editing skills. That was a mistake. After publishing, I had to eventually pay an editor. Even after an editor got a hold of it, there were still mistakes.

Sunil’s comments: I agree with Kara that tasks such as formatting, editing, proofing should be outsourced if you can manage to do so. I have been using Elance for these sorts of tasks for years now, and over time have identified my “go-to” resources for every task related to publishing and marketing an ebook.

Embedding Affiliate Links in Ebooks

I personally decided to add affiliate links into my book because of the research I had done about creating ebooks. Everyone talked about inserting affiliate links. I almost didn’t do it because it took some work. I had to learn how to insert the links into my book. Which at the time was a difficult task, but now that I look back I can laugh, because it’s really so easy to do.

The most difficult part creating affiliate links is establishing the accounts and going through the approval process. However, now that it’s all said and done, I will continue to make money off of these links for the rest of my life. In hindsight, I’m glad I didn’t go the lazy route and that it’s something I chose to follow through with.

My book actually meshes well with its affiliate links. There are perfect spots throughout my book where I point women to additional resources. For example, dating sites, books, mp3 links, and even a sex store! The links are really quite helpful for my readers, so I’m happy. Not only because I earn a little bit of extra income from it, but because they’re actually helping my readers.

My favorite affiliate accounts are Clickbank.com and Amazon Affiliates. I like these two because they were easy to set up and there’s an endless array of products to choose from. There are affiliate accounts for just about anything these days. Be creative and I’m sure you can find a way to promote just about any product that exists.

I even include my own links to my book’s Twitter and Facebook accounts at the end of my book. It’s kind of like being an affiliate for myself. I can build loyalty, trust and a connection amongst my readers by interacting with them. Then, I can update them about my next book and occasionally promote affiliate links via my social network.

Designing the Ebook Cover

My next step was the cover. This was the one thing I was willing to spend some money on. I needed my cover to be able to stand up against the published author’s covers. I had a certain level of quality that I was expecting. Unfortunately, the cover artist idea of professionalism and my idea of professionalism didn’t match. Once the work was delivered to me, I was heart-broken.  It was not at all what I was expecting, so sadly I had to fire her. Like the old saying goes, “if you want something done right you’ve got to do it yourself.”

I downloaded the open office application. It’s a free application similar to word. I learned how to make my cover on that application. I liked the application so much that I now use it to write and format my books. You can export any document into a PDF file too. It took me about four weeks of toying around with the program, but eventually I ended up with a cover that I loved. Better yet, I did it all by myself and it was free!

Sunil’s notes: Sadly, many judge a book by its cover. This is simply reality, whether we like it or not. I highly recommend you outsource the creation of a professional ebook cover if design is not your forte. Although you can use services like Elance and Logo Tournament to get an ebook cover done, I have found Fiverr to be just as good of a resource and much more economical. The only thing you need to keep in mind when using Fiverr is that you have to be very detailed and specific about what you want the freelancer to do. Many freelancers will give you one opportunity to provide feedback and they will incorporate it in their design. However, don’t expect more than once chance. Many don’t even give you that. When hiring from Elance and Logo Tournament, you don’t pay unless you are fully satisfied. If you are new at outsourcing, you may try one of these two before graduating to a more cost effective, but less flexible option such as Fiverr.

Final Touchups, Formatting & Publishing

Last but not least came the joys of formatting. I hate formatting. I could write an entirely different article on the challenges of formatting. Let’s just say it’s not the funnest part of being an author. My husband specifically remembers hearing me yelling curse words from the office for about three weeks straight.

I would many times come out of the room in tears. Formatting is no fun, especially for beginners. If you can afford to pay for anything. Hire a formatter and an editor. I have recently found a great formatter that charges really reasonable rates.

After all of that work, I was ready to go! It took me three years from start to finish before I was officially ready to publish. Then the big day came. On May 23rd, 2012, I published my first book!!! It was the biggest relief.

Publishing is actually the easiest part. Once you have all the other stuff done, it’s as simple as creating an account on Amazon’s KDP. You fill out some basic information, upload your cover and your book’s file and within 48 hours, you will be a published author. But, of course the work doesn’t stop there. It’s now time to market the book.

I decided to hold off on the website. I was exhausted from putting the book together and I needed a break. I thought it would be easier just to start on Amazon, see how it went, and worry about a website later.

I published my ebook exclusively on Amazon (a decision I’m very happy I made). I enrolled my book in the Kindle Select program. I had heard a lot about Select through the writer’s cafe. It’s an author’s forum at KindleBoards.com, which I highly suggest joining if you’re considering self publishing a book.

Sunil’s notes: Again, highly recommend services like Elance to hire freelancers to get things like formatting done. I also recommend reading this article, which talks about the ability for anyone to generate some passive income without owning their own blog or website. This is exactly what Kara has done in her example. You can too.

Kindle Select is a great program for new authors because you can take advantage of five free promotional days during the term of your three month contract. All they ask in return is exclusivity. You cannot have the electronic version of your book published anywhere else on the web. This was great for me at this time, like I said, I was exhausted and needed a break. I didn’t want to build the site, and I certainly didn’t want to upload my book onto several other platforms.

I also made the decision because everyone said they made the bulk of their money on Amazon. Plus, I had marketing to do. I didn’t have time to fuss around with a bunch of other sites that were only going to bring me a small percentage of the income that Amazon was going to bring in.

Pricing Ebooks

I decided to price my ebook at $5.99. I earn 70% of that and Amazon keeps the other 30%. I made this decision based on my competitor’s prices for similar products. At $5.99 I would beat their prices, but it wasn’t such a low price that people would second guess the quality of the product.

You get what you pay for. You don’t want people to assume things about your work based on a low price. $5.99 is actually a high price for a self published e-book. But I felt that I had a high quality product, that I worked very hard on.

I actually looked to my competitors for advice a lot, unbeknownst to them, of course. Anytime I had a question or wanted to know how or why I should do something, I would just look at my published competitors. I find that it worked quite well for me. Hey, if you can’t beat em’, join em’ right? Besides the publishing industry has time and money invested into knowing what readers want. So, why not take after them?

Here is more information on pricing an ebook.

Marketing Ebooks

Then began the never ending job of marketing the book. When it comes to marketing, some of the specific actionable takeaways from Sunil that helped me the most were about knowing how to do your keyword research and understanding your target audience. These two things make a huge difference between success and failure.

Knowing who your readers are and getting into their minds. Always keeping in mind that you’re solving someone’s problem. If you’re not offering advice that’s going to solve their problem, you’re doing your readers an injustice. You’re wasting your time, their time and you’re wasting their money.

Understanding your target audience is even more important when it comes time to market your book. You need to know your audience in order to properly do your keyword research. As a website owner, I know the importance of keyword research. I think it’s just as important when writing a book.

I made sure to find the top keywords for my topic. I included those keywords in my subtitle. They were also used on my book’s description page on Amazon’s KDP. Once a year, I re-check these keywords. Google’s search results fluctuate and what might have worked last year, doesn’t work so well this year. Update your keywords if needed.

Another thing I did while writing the book was I would write as if I was speaking directly to someone in my target audience. A lot of the time, it was Chelsea Houska from Teen Mom 2. I know that sounds strange, but she was a perfect example of my target audience. I would write as if I was speaking directly to her. Other times it would be other women. I think that’s a great technique to help you speak directly to your audience. It connects you as a writer to your readers. But, it won’t work if you haven’t done the proper research to truly and fully understand your target audience.

Here is more information on marketing your ebook.

Ebook Ranking System on Amazon and Royalties Earned

For the first few months after I published, I marketed my book all day, every day. I posted links to my book wherever I could. Any website that would allow me to post, I would post it. I was a link posting machine.

All I did was promote my book for months. I used sites like fiverr.com and tweetpeddler.com to pay others to market the book as well. I even posted links in the “books for sale” section of craigslist. I would go on to yahoo answers and when women asked questions about men and dating, I would reply with an answer and a link to the book.

All of this obsessive marketing paid off. Every day the sales increased and the rankings dropped lower and lower. Amazon sales ranks are updated regularly. As soon as a single book is sold you’ll get a ranking.

Then for each hour that goes by without a sale you’ll climb higher in the rankings. On the other hand, if you’re selling books, you’ll go lower in the rankings. So, low ranks are good and high ranks are bad.

My rankings started out somewhere around 220,000 on my first day of publication. In addition to being a link posting maniac, I asked all of my friends and family members to purchase the book on the same day. It was my theory that I would get a boost in rankings and then hopefully gain exposure via amazon’s search results.

The lower your rankings are, the more popular your book is and the higher you’ll go on the search results. Thus, allowing for more people to see your book. At least this was my theory, I could be wrong, but it worked.

My rankings dropped lower and lower every day. Then I used up two of my free days. I announced the free promotion anywhere and everywhere I could. A few days after the free run my rankings started dropping even lower. I started making it into the 12,000’s. I was in disbelief.

I was selling around 15-20 books a day. I was freaking out. I couldn’t believe that this was happening. It didn’t stop there. It continued to go lower and lower. Whenever the rankings would stall, I would do another free day. Eventually I made it into the top 10,000. I was sitting on the charts next to published authors.

Now that my rankings have pretty much leveled out, I no longer have to market all day, every day. The Kindle book’s rankings hover in between 1800 and 2800 and the paperback’s rankings bounce around between 1500 and 5000.

I still market the book at least 3 to 5 times a week for about an hour a day. If I see my rankings fall lower than that, I will go back to marketing more aggressively. However, I can’t do that all the time or else I would spend my whole entire life marketing and I’d like to start working on the second book.

I still make sure that my ads are posted on craigslist under the “books for sale” section. I still use fiverr.com and tweetpeddler.com a lot. I’m very active on my Twitter and Facebook accounts, but I never spam my followers with tons of ads about my book. I also have purchased T-shirts that my husband and I wear to populated events. Yes, believe it or not my husband wears a shirt that says, “The Power of the Pussy”.

I believe that the success of my book is in part due to the title. We all know sex sells. Having a title like that sure helped. However, I truly believe that I wrote a unique book that is helping women. Women are buying the book, reading it, loving it and then they tell all of their friends to read it. I’ve had many women tell me that they’ve encouraged every woman they know to read the book.

I’ve had mothers tell me they’re going to pass the book along to their daughters when they’re old enough. I honestly feel that in releasing a quality product that truly empowers women, I have been able to garner word-of-mouth and that’s what has catapulted my book on to the best seller’s list and kept it there. I didn’t throw together some words in an effort to make a quick buck. I really wanted to help people.

At my best, I had made it all the way to the top 1000! This is out of over 2 million ebooks on Amazon. The lowest rank I ever saw was 995. Eventually I made it to #1 on the top 100 of both of my categories. My second month of being published I made $5,000. The third month I made $7,000. I now average no less than $10,000 a month in royalties.

My biggest month was January, when I made $13,500. January is always a great month for authors. All of those new Kindles purchased as Christmas presents need to be filled with ebooks. I also get little bonus checks from my affiliate links. They make nothing compared to my book’s royalties, but it always makes me smile to get random checks in the mail.

Hard Copy Ebooks

One month after publishing the ebook I decided to go ahead and get the paperback version released. I used createspace.com to publish the paperback version of the book. I like createspace.com because they’re easy to use. You have the same issues with publishing a paperback that you have with the ebook.

You have to worry about a cover and formatting. But, things are always easier the second time around. I also paid $25 to be added into their expanded distribution program. This allows bookstores to purchase bulk orders of the book. I think it was worth it because I have sold quite a few books through expanded distribution. Enough books to make up for the minimal $25 investment. And it makes me smile to know that my book is sitting somewhere in a bookstore

I think having your book available in both ebook format and paperback is very important. Not everyone likes e-books and not everyone likes paperbacks. If you have your book available in both formats, you’re only broadening your horizons and allowing for more access to your book.

Besides, some people still like having a good old-fashioned book on their bookshelf. The Kindle version always sells more copies than the paperback version. However sometimes the paperback does really well. I’d say on average, it’s about six kindle books for every paperback sold.

I know all of this sounds like a lot of work. Writing and self publishing a book was a three-year investment and I had no idea if it was going to pay off. Well, I’m one of the few that has made it to the other side and trust me, it was all worth it.

Living a Rich Life Because of the Extra Income

Having my book is something that will continue to pay me and my family for the rest of my life. Perhaps even after my life is done, I will continue to make money off of my book. Being a self published author has changed my life. My husband no longer has to work full time.

We pay our bills with ease. We have moved into a larger house and we’ve been able to purchase a luxury vehicle. I will be able to have a large family, like I’ve always wanted, without worrying about financial issues getting in the way.

We’re able to take vacations and save money. In fact, one of the greatest things I love about being a self published author is making money while I’m on vacation. Just recently I left out of town for the weekend and made over $700 while I was gone. I’m so grateful that I was not one of the quitters. I made it to the finish line and the reward for my hard work has paid off and will continue to pay off for years to come.

Being an ambitious person, I never found it difficult to dream big, believe in myself or work hard to accomplish my goals. But being a self published author taught me one thing about success that I hadn’t previously discovered: perseverance.

Many people, just like myself, will have the ambition to set goals and work very hard to accomplish them. However, only a small percentage will persevere to the very end. This is why many will fall short, while the small percentage will shoot to the top. I know how easy it is to get side tracked. I was there. I truly believe that perseverance was the key to my success.

You have to decide that you’re not going to be the majority. You have to push your hardest to be that one. The one that takes the gamble, putting in hours and hours of unpaid work, not knowing if it will ever pay off. The one that pushes forth, when everyone else gives up. The one that believes in yourself, when everyone else thinks you’re crazy.

This was one of the best lessons I learned, because as time went on, I was getting less and less enthused and motivated about my book. But, I kept hearing that message again and again in my head. I refused to be the quitter. So, first things first, no matter where you are in your journey…refuse to quit.

If I could give one last bit of advice it would be to listen to what other authors, such as Sunil, have to say about researching before you decide to write. You need to have a plan. I carefully planned and executed a strategy, based on the information given to me from Sunil’s blog and other successful authors.

I hung on to their every word and did what they told me to do. I think when you follow the path that has been created by successful authors who have been down this road before, you will have success. You may not make $10,000 a month, but maybe you will…

Sunil’s Comments: I was so pumped up after reading Kara’s story. I hope you are too. She is a perfect example of how anyone can take their passion or knowledge and turn it into an income stream. You can too.

Please leave your questions for Kara in the comments section below. I am sure she would love to answer them and interact with you.

If you haven’t written an ebook yet, why not? What are your reservations? What do you need help with? If you are ready and are looking for a step by step guide, start here.

This story is very inspiring and super motivational. If you feel the same way, please help me spread the word by sharing it on your social media platform of choice. I have the Facebook, Twitter and Google + buttons below.

Why Your Startup Needs to Hire Ghostwriters

Websites need content and not all site owners are writers. Some do not have a clue as to what a proper post should look like or sound like. This is why ghostwriters exist. Ghostwriters work on their own schedules and specialize in specific niches to provide website owners with exceptional content.

Competitive Rates

Ghostwriters are also freelancers, which means that they work hard for a paycheck. When work is slow or their clients are on a break, they need work. They will reduce their personal rates often and negotiate to get that gig because it could lead to something steady for a period of time.

As a startup it is still best to offer the best pay that you can. Even though ghostwriters do need the work, there are plenty of other opportunities out there. When you find a ghostwriter that matches the style and tone of your website, keep them and pay them well.  If you need help negotiating pricing you will find a guide here.

Versatility of Skills

With the amount of competition out there, it is hard to bid on private jobs. This is one reason that ghostwriters have to have versatility. They have to be able to match the style and tone of another writer; they have to be able to write on more than one topic and have to be willing to work outside of traditional business hours. This versatility is priceless and takes time to develop.

Once a writer has these qualities, they are more valuable to website owners. They have an understanding of what the public wants to read and completely grasp how to deliver it the proper way.

Better Availability

One of the benefits of ghostwriters is that their availability is far different from those that work for companies directly. Most ghostwriters and freelancers are available on short notice and on-demand. Those that are fast, high-quality writers are often able to fit in small pieces without putting deadlines in jeopardy.

This is beneficial for start-up websites because the idea for a post or the requirement for a press release can come up quickly. Searching through a pool of writers and sending content back for revisions is not ideal, so work with a dedicated ghostwriter that understands that some needs may be immediate.

Ideal Formatting

Independent, freelance and ghostwriters stay up-to-date on proper formatting techniques. This is so that they can remain in-demand and provide relevant content for their clients. Formatting articles and content in a way that the general public wants to read them is important.

Google is also cracking down on formatting. These writers take the time to read the changes and updates to Google content policies to prevent their clients from dealing with penalties and from having content removed.

Flexibility in Writing Voice

Every writer has a voice that is all their own, a style that is just theirs. This is often set aside to appease clients. Putting their own voice and style into articles while still delivering the requested content is a great talent. Many ghostwriters also have the ability to leave their own tone and style out of content in order to deliver the right words for the readers. It is difficult to switch from writing a conversationally toned piece to something technical in nature.

Better, More Relevant Content

When ghostwriters provide content to startup websites, and even established ones, they put their heart into each piece. The topic may not always be their strong suit, but they’ll do the research and hit the nail on the head. Pleasing the clients to keep them coming back with more content needs is what a ghostwriter strives for. Sometimes a ghostwriter is better for a piece than a specialized niche writer, simply because they have a different approach to the topic and can convey an alternative point of view to your readers.

Do not be afraid of working with a ghostwriter if you are a startup website. You can find writers through an article writing service.  These writers will provide you the content that your readers desire. When requesting a piece, be specific. The more direct you are with the instructions, the better the piece will be. It helps writers to know exactly what the website owner requires and desires for their readers. Finding the right ghostwriter takes a little time, but you’ll mesh perfectly when you find that perfect writer.

IMPORTANT Message for RSS Readers of This Blog. Your Subscription May End

I’ve been a bit reluctant to write about this. I’ve already included a message on my news bar on the top as well as announced via Facebook, but still I am sure many don’t know. So here it is:

This blog has over 9,000 readers that are subscribed to it via RSS. If you are one of them and if you haven’t heard yet, Google Reader is SHUTTING DOWN on July 1st.

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