Off the Road Again

Wondering why you haven't received my newsletter in a while? I've been in the re-entry zone.

I think most of my regular readers also follow me on Twitter or Facebook, but for the record, I traveled across 20 states with a pink bra strapped across the windshield of my motorcycle to raise awareness and money for breast cancer research. Along the way I interviewed financial traders for a book I’m co-authoring with Matt Davio called “Tradeoffs: Leveraging the Longs & Shorts of Life.”

I posted a series of videos on my travel blog  where you’ll learn the basics: how I prepared, what I saw and did along the way, lessons learned and how advances in treating breast cancer have benefited other cancers. 

I'll be making another trip next summer -- including CANADA!  Stay tuned for details...

How to Work with a Ghost Writer

People ask me all the time if there’s A WAY to work with a ghostwriter. Chemistry and work preferences vary so I can only answer by describing the way I work with my clients.

Finding your ghost. Before you hire someone to write for you, be sure they have domain expertise. For example, my specialty is business writing and nonfiction because I have the background and education for it. If someone asked me to write for pharma or hi tech I’d have to take a pass — actually I’d have to question why they called me in the first place!

The right relationship starts with due diligence, including work samples and client referrals.

Ramping up. I spoke about this in a video. Once you have an editorial calendar and set of key messages (and SEO targets if publishing to the web), a ghost writer with the right background  (see above) can get to work straightaway. 

Getting YOUR voice. I like Q&A with my clients using voice files,. They enable me to write for clients in a way that replicates the way they think and express themselves. Of course I clean up grammar, arrange the piece sequentially, dig for case studies and add headlines, tags, illustrations, etc., but the end result is something that sounds familiar to the reader — only better than my client could have produced without my assistance.

Argh! Piracy in YOUR Blog, Newsletter or Book?

Most people committing acts of piracy don't realize they're stealing.  Perhaps President Bush didn't realize it when he outright plagiarized.

Over on my blog I give an example of pirated content in a newsletter and how easily the transgression could have been remedied. I also show how Mr Bush could have used the passages he liked in others' work and avoided the unpleasant charges of plagiarism.  Yes, it's quite possible to plagiarize while writing about yourself. 

Briefly, when you use or refer to someone else's work, you must give a nod to the originator. This demonstrates your professionalism and avoids any question of copyright violation.

When in doubt, give a nod to the source of your inspiration.