Fees for Ghostwriting and Consulting (38.9KB)
Fees for Ghostwriting and Consulting
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS:
Although I have many years experience analyzing business financials, the complete statements involve explanations by management and by public accountants. The explanatory comments involving projections and business direction are usually made by the owner or principle officer.
Upon reviewing an executive summary for a publically held company I discovered sixteen grammatical and clear-writing errors. These involved the use of pronouns whose tense didn't agree with the antecedents, and syntax errors that caused some sentences to lose their meaning.
I know that many successful individuals got to their position in life because of their skills and not because of their expert command of syntax and writing style. That's what I am here for.
BUSINESS LETTERS:
We write these to communicate to another person, so get to it.
1) "At this juncture I thought you might be interested in knowing..."
2) "We here at the insurance company feel that under the circumstances you would want us to bring to your attention as soon as possible that, since you missed your last payment, your policy has been cancelled and you have no coverage on your home."
3) "We have looked at all the future implications of continuing our agreement to provide you with chromed metal bumpers for your vehicles, and believe that it will be in both of our best interests to discontinue the agreement at the end of this month."
Let's take a look improving at these as follows:
1) Of course you think the recipient will be interested in knowing whatever it is. Otherwise why would you write the letter. Just say it. "Your parking lot is crumbling and I have noticed several people stumbling as they walk through it. I repair parking lots..."
2)"Your renewal date was March 31, 2011. If you mailed your premium payment, we have not yet received it, and so your homeowners coverage is no longer in force. Please call us..."
3) (It's not possible to see into the future, so don't go there.)"The government gasoline usage restrictions have mandated lighter vehicles. Therefore, our heavy metal bumpers are going the way of the buggy whip. We must terminate our contract to supply these bumpers, but are working on alternatives and will get back to you as soon as we have something."
The messages are now clear and still maintain empathy for the recipient. No one likes to give bad news, but I have found that getting it is easier when received clearly and directly with a modicum of verbosity.
NEWSLETTERS:
This isn't just a document bringing your customers up to date on your business, its products, or services. This is your image document. EITHER it says that your company does things quickly and without appropriate thought and planning, OR it says that you operate professionally and treat your customers accordingly. "How so?" you ask.
Example: "We like to think that all our products use cutting edge technology." REALLY? Are the products the latest, most efficient on the market or does the writer just "like to think" they are?
BETTER: Our products employ the latest technological processes.
This is better because it doesn't create any doudt, "like to think", and drops the time weary cliche' "cutting edge."
Another example: "The competitor's electrician incorrectly wired a breaker box, which created a power failure in the building where he worked for two days." REALLY? The writer of this newsletter attempted to illustrate the skill level of his company's electricians by referring to an event caused by an electrician employed by a competing firm. The result of that electrician's mistake caused the entire operations within a building to shut down for two days.
BOOKS:
Whether fiction or nonfiction, the writer may have the great idea and even a specialized skill or education such as nuclear physics or engineering, but have neither the time nor the skill to memorialize it in writing. This is where the ghostwriter comes in. The term ghost refers to the fact that the actual writer remains unknown to the reader of the finished product.
The good ghostwriter has demonstrated his or her writing skills through publication. My published books will demonstrate the diversity of my writing skills. Feel free to click on the title to your right to learn more about these books and to order them if you want.
Offering a BOOK FREE to your clients can result in more sales. It's a wonderful way to create a MARKETING ADVANTAGE to you and your company.
Typical questions to consider are listed to the left under my picture
