MICHAEL WALSH the award-winning author is also a highly regarded ghost-writer. Most writers engage a ghost (a professional writer) who will bring their books to retail standards. The ghost’s fees are recoverable through their book royalties. Eighty percent of celebrity memoirs and forty percent of conventional books are ghost-written.

Very often, family or friends cover the writer’s ghost-writer’s fees. Why not, especially if the book is family topic related or a biography? What better gift and incentive for mum or dad to get writing.

Michael says, ‘Writing is like playing music, painting, making models; brain therapy, it is also satisfying and fun. Your keyboard is your artist’s palette and the laptop’s screen the canvas.’

The author of 65 book titles adds, ‘Start where you wish. You will find the words flow. Writing your story becomes so addictive you won’t wish to stop.’

A ghost is a professional writer who adds flair and flow whilst enhancing the narrative and dialogue. Writers like Jeffrey Archer and Wilbur Smith do not write books. They simply provide the storyline and their ghost does the rest.

Surprisingly, not everyone who writes a book intends to publish it. They write simply to enjoy the satisfaction of seeing their work enhanced to the standard required by a writer’s agent or a book publisher.

For those who do wish to be published there are options: Amazon / Kindle are an online book publisher. The setting up process is problematic and for some is expensive. Marketing the book requires author assistance; advertising one’s novel on social media or via a dedicated website for instance. An Amazon book’s royalties are about 10% of the cover price.

Book printing is an option. The author’s book is printed in any quantity from 200 copies. About one month after placing one’s order the paperbacks are delivered.

In all cases copyright is the author’s as is responsibility for the content. For those who print their own, royalties can be as high as 70 percent. Unless the author is selling direct, a bookshop’s commission is 33% and salesperson commission (20%) if one is engaged.

Michael says, ‘my mother reminded me that my finger and my tongue do the same job so you simply write as you talk’.  She had a point; how many novels have you already written with your tongue?

Imagine that your close friend has implored you to tell her all about your life leaving nothing out.  Tell her with your writing fingers.  Don’t worry about where to begin and end. Start wherever it suits you as we can move life sections around when your novel is being worked upon.  

Few new authors become rich and famous; it’s the same for models, the acting profession, composers and entertainers. They write for posterity or for family records. Some just love to live their lives again by recording it. Don’t keep this story to yourself; share it with friends.

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