Tag: freelance journalist

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What I Love about Ghostwriting

Not only am I a ghostwriter for therapists and other busy professionals, I’m also a content writer for small businesses plus a freelance journalist. That’s a lot of hats for one person to wear! I often joke around and say I’m a Jill of all trades because of how multifaceted I am when it comes to writing. Why have I structured my business the way that I have? After all, I’m choosing to wear these hats. Why have I done that? Keep reading to find out.

Why I love ghostwriting for therapists

I love ghostwriting for therapists because first and foremost, I care about mental health. As someone who has had her own mental health journey, I know the importance of people receiving support. And therapy isn’t only for people who are struggling to survive. It’s also for people who want to thrive. Working with a trained professional lets a person see their own shadow. It helps them spot patterns and dysfunctional behaviors that are difficult to spot on your own.

In my free time I like to read about various psychological topics — attachment theory, epigenetics, family constellations, etc. I could talk about those subjects for hours. Therapeutic topics come up so frequently in casual conversations that people have asked me over and over again whether I’ve thought about being a therapist. The answer is “yes, I have but it’s not my strong suit.” It’s really not. As an introvert and highly sensitive person, I’m drained by spending large chunks of time with people. I couldn’t handle talking to people about their challenges all the livelong day. Plus, my strong suit is writing. How do I marry these two passions? Ghostwriting for therapists!

writer for therapists

As a ghostwriter for therapists, I write about topics that interest me without spending years in graduate school. And because I don’t have professional training in that arena, the therapist or psychologist looks over what I’ve written and makes sure it’s factual. Everyone wins — I save the therapist time because they aren’t writing the article themselves and I get to do what I love. I mean honestly, what’s better than that? But I don’t only ghostwrite for therapists, I also ghostwrite for busy professionals.

What I love about ghostwriting for professionals

I love ghostwriting for busy professionals because I know everyone wants to be heard. I know people have their own area of expertise they’d like to share with the world. However, having a desire is not the same thing as having the time or the talent.

There are numerous professionals out there who have great ideas — they can support people with accounting or communication skills or whatever — but when it comes down to writing the darn thing, they can’t. That’s either because they have kids to look after or too much to do, or they’re more of a talker than a writer. Many people don’t have trouble speaking in front of a group but when it comes to typing on a keyboard they feel stuck. That’s where I come in. One of my clients likes to schedule a telephone call with me, or send me an audio recording where she discusses what she’d like her next blog to be about.

writer for therapists

It’s much easier for her to spend 30 minutes on the phone together rather than an hour and 30 minutes writing. Because writing is my forte, I’m happy to do the heavy lifting. It’s no trouble for me to take someone else’s ideas and put them in a coherent format. Plus, because I know a little bit about most topics due to my journalism training and natural curiosity, I’m able to pull in relevant books, articles, and quotes to flesh out the piece. Working with me takes your writing to the next level because you’re no longer going it alone.  Ghostwriting always involves partnership. However, the other parts of my business do not.

Why I love content writing

I love content writing for small businesses because it’s fun. I get to be zany, amusing, chipper. There’s so much room for creativity with being a content writer for small businesses because as long as I hit certain keywords, I’m set. I’ve slipped in a Mandalorian reference, song lyrics, and more. In one of my posts, I wrote, “If you want to be the prettiest pony at the party, that might not happen because you’ll have to contend with lookalikes.” I mean honestly, how frequently are you able to write with that sort of freedom in a paid setting? Answer: rarely. That’s what I love about content writing. My clients are happy as long as I repeat “Oakland web designer” or whatever their keyword is a few times. It’s fun! And content writing isn’t always fun because some small businesses think of it as a chore. It’s that thing they have to do to keep up web traffic but they’re not that great at it and have no idea what to say.

That’s where I come in. I’m great at content writing! And I have plenty to say! I’m writing an entire blogpost about what I love in regards to my business. I could do the same for you if you want. Get in touch with me.

ghostwriter for professionals

So that’s content writing. What about working as a freelance journalist? Why do I like that?

Why I love freelance journalism

I love working as a freelance journalist because it exposes me to people, places, events, and subjects I never knew existed or don’t have much familiarity with. For instance, recently I wrote an article about the Dogpatch Paddle Club. It’s a club for water sports enthusiasts in the SF Bay Area. I had no idea it existed but now I can tell you all about it, the founder, and his future plans for the club.

The other thing I love about being a freelance journalist is the deadlines. I know, some people are scared of deadlines because they feel a lot of pressure. Not me! I’ve been working as a journalist since 2006 so I’m a pro at meeting deadlines. I know precisely how long it will take me to research and write an article so meeting deadlines is easy.

Plus, because I’ve been doing this for so long, journalism is familiar, it’s easy. News pieces have their own format; they have a formula to follow. I don’t have to think too deeply about how to structure a news article because the structure is practically a given. Feature articles are a different beast but I love those because feature articles are all about storytelling. I’m sharing the story about a person or a business. Or maybe I’m writing in depth on a topic, like how artificial intelligence will affect productivity for radiologists. Regardless, it’s fun for me to compile information and share it with the world.

So there you have it. Now you know why I love working as a ghostwriter, content writer, and a journalist. If you want to hire me for any of these roles, get in touch. Let’s see if we’re a good fit.

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How Business Can Be Like the Moon

I’ve worked in the news industry — both as a freelance journalist and a staff writer — for the past 14 years. One of the things that’s unique in the journalism world is deadlines are sacrosanct. This is for numerous reasons. For one, news is fast moving so if you don’t publish as soon as possible, it’s likely some update will have occurred and you’ll have missed writing about it. (One only has to think about COVID-19 for this to make sense.) If your competitor has written about the topic and you haven’t, you look incompetent.

The second reason deadlines are sacred harkens back to newspaper days before everything became digital. Newspaper editors set aside space in the layout of the paper for a specific story. They assigned writers a certain number of words, or more commonly, inches. If the writer failed to deliver there would literally be empty space in the paper, unless people could scramble and find something else.

Oakland freelance content writer

These days with digital there’s more fluidity, but even still, if a writer misses a deadline it often means their story just won’t get published. Maybe ever. One of the things I’ve found most challenging about running my own business as an Oakland freelance ghostwriter and freelance content writer is not everyone has the same view of deadlines that I do. They view deadlines as guideposts, as something to shoot for, but totally fine if they blow past.

What that means for me is I frequently have weeks that are jampacked, they’re a flurry of activity, and then that all stops. Work dwindles to a trickle and I have almost nothing going on. My business waxes and wanes like the moon. At first, I found that unsettling and missed the constant flow that characterizes the journalism industry. But then I realized it’s fine. That as spiritual teacher Tosha Silver often says, “All delays are beneficial.” And also that each period of pause is followed by a period of speed. Moreover, sometimes the pause, the break, is just what’s needed to gain momentum before leaping forward. If you think about a rocket, it builds up heat and pressure before launching into space. I think people, and business, are the same way.

Oakland content writer

We often denigrate periods of rest because in the West we lionize productivity, but what if like the moon, we wax and wane? And because business is made up of people, it does the same?

I’m not going to lie, there are days where I wish people valued deadlines as much as I did, but there are also days that I relish the decreased pressure. Days where instead of homing in on my computer screen I can take the time to gaze out the window and notice my plants waving in the wind. Or appreciate the flock of birds flying by. When you’re constantly stressed and have your nose to the grindstone, it’s harder to take time to notice the little things. At least that’s the case for me. So perhaps if a business is like the moon, it’s more sustainable in the long run.

Do you need help showcasing your unique skillset, or what makes your business special? Are you looking for someone to take the pressure off of writing? If so, contact me. I’d love to hear from you.